Convention Weirdness (page 4)

punkofnice

We all know the R&F will mostly eat this all up. It will feed into their persecution complex beautifully. There will be brothers(tm) discussing the imminence of the 'end(tm)' and how the message will change and how they need to follow the direction of the governing body(tm) now more than ever..yada yada yada yada.......

WTWizard

Now, if everyone is supposed to move out of houses and into tiny (i.e., studio) apartments, who is going to have a basement for anyone to hole up in?

out4good4

I watched my wife get up, dressed, and go pick up some people she is studying with all three days and take them to the assembly with her. After my near outburst with her last year upon listening to several speakers pretty much pimp out the eligible single sisters only to brothers with position,I think she got the message that I'm not very interested in anything those ole geriatric turds have to say.

Doubting Bro

This was definitely one of the weirdest conventions I've attended. Very few local "experiences", just a couple of interviews. Lots and lots of videos. I will say the production quality has increased dramatically and so has the acting. They really pounded on being loyal to the organization and mentioned several times how people are "going through the motions" (a direct quote from the last speaker). Also, in several of the videos, you saw active JWs who had expressions very similar to what must be on my face at the meetings. And all those folks ended up leaving, so maybe there's hope for me!!

It's clear to me that the GB realizes that one of their biggest problems (outside their terrible handling of pedophile cases that is costing them $$$) is that they no longer have control over the rank and file like they used to. This RC was an all out attempt to drive JWs who believe but are slowing down back into a more controllable state. The problem with emotional manipulation is that while it can be very effective in the short term, it doesn't really work in the long term. And the more you use it, the less effective over time it becomes. I remember at the International Convention a few years ago here in the US, they showed a video with people being resurrected and there was hardly a dry eye in the house. This year, the last video I really didn't see many people crying at all. Actually, the only time I saw any tears was in the first drama when the poor parents lost their little boy and grandpa in a car accident.

My guess is there will be a 2-3 week increase in attendance after the RC then back to normal.

sir82

Here's what I can't figure out....

OK, so jackbooted stormtroopers are conducting a house to house search for JWs, right?

So in a typical JW congregation's territory how many houses are there? Probably 5000, 6000, 10,000? Our congregation's territory is even bigger than that.

So let's pick 5000 homes as a conservative estimate.

Now, based on the video, it seems the stormtroopers operate in teams of at least 6. And, based on the video, it seems to take about 15 minutes for each team to search the closets, attic, garage, and (of course) basement.

So with one team of stormtroopers per congregation, and 5000 homes to search, it would take 1250 hours to search every home. If they search 10 hours a day, every day, non-stop, it takes them 4 months.

So maybe there's more than one 6-man team per congregation? OK. There's 12,000+ congregations in the USA. ...so who's paying all these thousands, or hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of stormtroopers to do all this househunting? Who's feeding them? Where are they sleeping at night?

Meanwhile, the JWs are holed up in the basements for weeks, or months. What are they eating - manna? Do those basements have ventilation? waste disposal? a water supply?

The whole thing falls apart in a steaming pile of silly ridiculousness if you analyze it for than 10 seconds.

...which, come to think of it, may explain why the videos are so successful. Very few JWs I know are able to hold a train of thought for more than about 8 seconds.

Rose.G

I attended the Sunday program of the convention and I was observing people's response to the videos. Honestly, I don't think people were too impressed by the bunker video. My 28 year old son and his wife thought it was very cheesy and cheap. I did see people crying at the very last video where the father is united with his son who was killed in a car accident. Anyone with a heart would have been moved by this scene. What is really sad and pathetic is the overall message of the convention. In a nutshell, obey the governing body and remain loyal to it or you will never receive such blessings as seeing your dead loved ones again!

pale.emperor

There is the assumption that all jw live in houses with basements.

I live on the 4th floor in an apartment block, im screwed. Where am i gonna hide?

blondie

As to the demonstrations, local people were hard to find to fit the prescribed examples; the WTS had started doing reinactments using a couple and then children from another family, or children for 2 different families. We had 3 district (now regional) conventions in the same city and the same families were used for all 3 (same for assemblies, 3 circuits).

This way one family, couple, children, could be used in one country coast to coast.

Saename

pale.emperor - I live on the 4th floor in an apartment block, im screwed. Where am i gonna hide?

In some kind of container made of iron. For some reason, Jehovah seems to be scared of iron.

Judges 1.19: "The LORD was with the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country, but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had chariots fitted with iron" (NIV).

Vidiot

"...There is the assumption that all JWs live in houses with basements..."

Basement suites, anyway.

Most wouldn't be able to afford a full house w/ basement.

Convention Weirdness

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