by ScottyRex 68 Replies latest jw friends
You have the right to ridicule them in your own space. They have a right to worship undisturbed in theirs. If you want to make it OK for someone to burst into their space and be disruptive then that also makes it OK for them to burst into your space and be disruptive.
My thoughts exactly. Had it been in open public that would have been a different matter entirely. Even so, it still reeks of immaturity.
Most fundamentalists are in the public space therefore deserving of ridicule. I would not do what they did because I believe it is ineffective .
You can criticize and ridicule people in the public space. Their church is their own private space though and no one has the right to disrupt their religious services.
Since it is a setting that is open to the public I believe they were in their rights to do what they did. Especially since groups like jws stifle and prevent open discussion.
"Open to the public to attend" does not make it a public space - it is still a private place of worship. The invitation to attend is conditional on following basic standards of behavior. That they stifle open discussion is completely irrelevant and doesn't justify any actions other than criticizing them for it and highlighting it to others.
Simon which rule did I break?
You can read the guidelines here, they are pretty common sense but I'd sum them up by saying "be civil". Your post on the first page clearly isn't.
It's your site after all Simon. So I will abide by them even if I don't agree
Good, because posting and not abiding by them is not an option. The rules are there to protect the community and everyone's ability to enjoy using the site.
Disrespectful. Guys like this fit the description of mentally diseased apostates, that drive people with any doubts, straight back in the Borg.
I can understand someone wanting to do something like this though and it's sad that some people feel they have no other avenue to express themselves - they want to "do something" but there is little anyone really can do. Over time though you realize it's not the most effective approach and it does play into the WTS portrayal of people who leave the religion to a large extent.
Although it's less instantly satisfying, walking away, forgetting about them and living a happy life is the best revenge and shows other people that they too can leave and be happy if they do so rather than thinking "wow, I'm never going top leave - look what happens to people!"
Just to clear up your confusion pbrow; Johnny the Bethelite was a fictional creation designed to lure the gullible to Rick Fearons Sick Screams website.
Billy the ex-Bethelite is one very real and very cool badass Apostate!
It is possible that one person in that hall already had doubts about 1914. Hearing someone else (even if not in the "proper" way) express doubts about that may help such a perso
I doubt that. When someone is this rude and childish nobody takes them seriously, they just think the Watchtower is right when they say apostates are evil and mentally diseased. Jehovah's Witnesses have a right to worship in peace as does every religion. These people could be arrested for trespassing. I fail to see how that is going to wake anyone up.
When I was still a JW I once saw a woman standing in the median of the street, dressed all in black, including a hood covering her face. She was jumping up and down and waving a sign that said something about what Jehovah's Witnesses had done to her. I know now that the elders are capable of great cruelty and she had probably been pushed over the edge, but at the time I just thought she was a loon. It wouldn't have caused me to question anything, quite the contrary. Men trying to disrupt the memorial would not have caused me to question either, most JWs will just think Satan is trying to make things difficult for them, if anything it reaffirms their faith.
There is a place for activism, if you think it will do any good, but the kingdom hall is not that place. In my experience people will leave when their own experiences or reasoning cause them to start to question things. Until then there is very little anyone can do to wake them up.
Is this vid about activism? I think not. I think it is about personal venting, and would not call this person an activist. This type of ridicule usually makes people defensive, and strengthens their persecution complex.
It's like these so-called peace activists who are ANGRY. Really? An angry peace activist. That's a bit of an oxymoron, and no one really is inspired to peaceful action by someone spouting vicious bile. It clouds the issues, and directs attention to the self-proclaimed activist, rather than solving the problem. LOOK AT ME! I AM ACTIVIST AND CAN SHOUT YOU DOWN. Puh-leeze!
nicolaou... got it. yes I concur about billy ex bethellite... sorry to billy for the confusion!
lisarose.. I hear you when you say it would not work for you and thats ok. I dont know if it would have worked on me... never happened in my hall. When I was young and not getting answers that made sense to me (before the doubts were then squashed) and someone just happened to defiantly rant about it in front of the entire hall, that **may** have lit a fire under my ass. Who knows...
talesin.. lets say this wasnt activism. Maybe this is his therapy. I know I have suffered the effects of being brought up in a group that fostered a spirit of "just let jehovah handle it" I can easily see this as a non-violent non-conformist way of proving to oneself that they no longer have control over me and I in fact have the power to handle things myself.
Feel free to pick him apart or praise him but he participated in civil disobedience and did not resort to violence and then left. ALLAH be praised!
pbrow
