Coming to terms with the Watchtower experience (page 4)

Truthexplorer

As someone who currently attends, having to come to terms with the fact that the GB wont listen to the outcries of the thousands of people who are being hurt as a result of their policies is a travesty. Their teachings and policies sets people up to fail, regardless of whether you are introduced or a born in.

Listener

Welcome faith no more, you are right àbout being victims, I think it is worse for those of us who were born in and knew nothing else.

SpiritualGal08

Great thread! Thank you for posting...I really appreciated the point of the 5 stages of grief as this is exactly what I would describe as having occurred when I left/DF'd in 2008. When you lose all the links to the only life you've ever known (I was born into it), the effects are definitely damaging and have to be processed over time. Even though its been years, I, at times, still experience the effects of the whole shame/guilt/you can never do enough syndrome...the confusion of 'what is truth' is definitely one I am continuing to work through.

Tenacious

@ OP - I sincerely appreciate the information you have shared with us all but I have to respectfully disagree with you.

If you listen to talks and commentary from the GB one can see that they are deliberate in their use of specific phrases that are used to elicit a specific physiological and psychological response. Simply speaking, they are using mind conditioning techniques on the members. Now the question begs, do they write their own speeches or is there someone else behind the curtain we cannot see?

talesin

A child of physical abuse is a victim. He/she grows up to be an abuser and is now a victim/victimizer. He/she was a victim of circumstance and will always be considered a victim of sorts when discussing what happened to him/her as a child and as a result of that becomes the thing he/she hated most, abusive. Some people that were abused physically don't repeat the cycle but many do, thus they are still a victim by virtue of the horrid way they were brought up and now a victimizer by repeating the abusive behavior.

Welcome, faithnomore!

I was thinking the same thing, but let's take it a little further.

Does the abuser get off? "Oh, the poor thing is a victim of his/her upbringing." No. It is not tolerated by society, and against the law. Especially the willful, repeat abuser.

I think the 'victim' stance is on a continuum and individual level - certainly the GB and other high-ups (and some folk at all levels) know exactly what they are doing.

Vidiot

wannaexit - "I've come to believe that the leaders are well aware of the what they are doing."

And yet, there's a fair amount of anecdotal evidence that strongly suggests they really are full-on True Believers, too.

x

A number of us have come to conclude that they know it's wrong, but believe it's True... at the same time.

faithnomore

I truly believe they are a victim of their beliefs. Do they know its wrong? I'm not convinced.

A couple of years ago you couldn't convince me anything associated with the truth was "wrong". My spouse tried so hard and I wouldn't budge. No way no how, this was the truth period, end of discussion. I went out and and used phrasing, illustrations and what not that played to emotions. I did this not out of malice but because I thought I had the cure, the truth.

I believe, speaking from experience, people can be so blinded by what they want to believe.

I personally can't blame one single person except myself for my years in the "truth". I read scriptures, I didn't use critical thinking. I can only blame myself.

Edited to add: thanks for the welcome everyone! I'm still sorta in a stunned faze. Seems nihlism is the way I lean at this point but give me time:).

Coming to terms with the Watchtower experience