by logansrun 41 Replies latest jw friends
Thread topics like "How to mess up the Society"...."What Dirty Tricks Would You Pull on the Watchtower" and "The Society is about to go down the tubes!" don't impress me. You?
Honesty and forthrightness. Deconstruction and understanding. I feel these are the qualities that will expose the undesireable elements in the Society as well as help people within and without it.
Of course, this is just my opinion. I could be wrong.
Bradley
I think a bit of fantasy imagination about what we'd like to do is not too bad. C'mon ... who hasn't lost a job or had some other mistreatment by an organisation and not dreamt of some revenge? Considering what the WTS has done to people's lives I think it's understandable.
Now, where topics are more serious I think its better to be more professional and sensible. Talk of destroying them is sometimes a bit strong and gives the wrong impression but again, given what people have suffered it's entirely understandable.
Nice to see you back, Brad.
I think it's escapism, but I don't believe that it's harmless. Actually, I think that it extends the power that the event/person/group has over you, to continue to focus on your relationship with the past instead of the future.
logan u need to lighten up a bit....your wha? 27 going on 90 after all
Simon,
First off, by no means do I want to insinuate that all the topics on this site are sensational in nature. They are not and, overall, it's a great site; very helpful.
But, I am tending to disagree with the "considering what some have been through" argument. Sure, some people have been through sh....er...hell . All the same, is lashing out at the Society the answer? The real answer? I don't know.
Perhaps I'm just being overly serious. Perhaps. But, here's something to think about: the more sensational and "angry" the topic, the more we appear to be what the Society has depicted us as.
The question is: is the anger and sensationalism, the existence of which is definite, helping others and ourselves -- or is it superflous to our aims?
Again, just a thought. I could be wrong.
Bradley
LOL sens.
I know what you mean ... I think when people stop making revenge on the WTS the aim of their life they finally stop the WTS from causing them more hurt. Until then, it always has a power and is still disrupting their life.
Bradley,
I have to say, that as an outsider, I agree with you. I find topics like those kind of put me off, and are one of the reasons this site has put off a couple of people that I recommended it to. I can see why people say those things, I just think it doesn't do "the cause" any good.
concerned mama,
I wish EVERYONE on this site could read what you just wrote.
I ran into this site (and others) when I was experiencing my year of doubts which finally gave me the courage to leave this religion. Needless to say, I found some of the topics discussed, and the manner they were discussed, to be entirely distasteful.
Finding out the "truth" about this religion is an unbelievable shock to the system. But, when those "truths" are presented in some of the ways they are here that shock is utterly unbearable.
Something to consider.
Bradley
Bradley, you keep coming up with thought-provoking questions like this...maybe we'll have to reschedule your lobotomy.
I think the history of eschatological religions demonstrates that, typically, they survive, albeit in perhaps a highly modified form. The True Believer outlines quite nicely the social dynamic underlying the evolution of such groups.
imo, the WTS is here to stay, and whatever (inevitable) changes occur will be from the "grass-roots" level. The GB will be forced to change policy, as a matter of survival. For example, the decreasing level of enthusiasm for the preaching work, diminished contributions, lack of "enrollment" of the younger ones, the effect of legal actions...these will all lead inexorably (and, to some extent, already have) to a series of changes. Eventually, I suspect, the WTS will become yet just another "socialized religion."
For that reason, I feel that focusing my efforts on individual JWs is the most effective way to "take down" the WTS; and in the meantime, helping people in lieu of attacking an organization gives somewhat more immediate satisfaction...
although it wouldn't bother me one bit if somehow, someway, a "Goliath-killing" lawsuit chopped the WTS off at the knees.
Craig
