by joey jojo 17 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Hi everyone.
I have been seeing a few international conventions posted here and on social media.
I can't help but notice what seems like blatant nationalism in terms of dress, greetings, welcome signs.
Am I right or have I simply turned into a hyper sensitive loser that is reading too much into things? 🤔
I cant fly a red white and blue banner, much less a stars and stripes, but delegates can fly union jacks, itslian, or whatever
Does this relate to the breasts post? Traditional somoan dress was bare
I could be wrong but I think the idea is to celebrate ethnic variety.....all coming together in peace and love.
An unintended boost to the identity movement, the right turn in the world. (visitors welcome, now leave, see you in paradise)
Even wt's panda paradise illustrations show retaining ethnic identities during the millennium.
When the Earth becomes flat again after that rule, and the nations gather in the four corners, that national identity is preserved. to the bitter end.
JWs are encouraged to dress up according to their local culture in international conventions, only for the sake of the sneaky Cult Propaganda.
That is, other JWs should see that and encourage (Brainwash) themselves as "Ahh see how the truth is spread to so many different lands. This is in accordance to the Bible that the good news would spread to all the lands. We are all speaking the same pure language. Truly this is Jehovahs Organization"
BTW, what if some tribal people - who are still naked - become JWs and attend the International conventions ?
I knew a jw couple that visited Nigeria, to see some jw friends they made who were going to the local university.
She purchased some of the native clothing, wonderful fabric and very modest with matching hat and wore it to the meeting. They were a white couple. They were chastised by some of the black brothers and sisters for wearing clothing that was not their cultural background. The elders counseled her for wearing clothing that made her stand out in the group, not appropriate for wear at the KH or out in service.
Did that make a big ruckus. Rather than "stumble" any, she put it back in her closet and never wore it again, where could she wear it and not offend someone?
One more example of how confused the WTS is with all its rules and regulations, written and unwritten.
Did i imagine it, or did i see a photo recently of some whites wearing traditional african garb on a wt site? I think it was labeled as Ethiopian
I think that national identity perception differ from region to region (talking about JW community). In example, in ex Yu exist a dozen of different ethnicities at relatively small area, with turbulent past (i.e. WWII and 1990ies) and still unsolved issues. For decades we teach that one must forget and overcome their own nationality once you become part of God's people. But, a few years ago we had Special Convention, with "convetion program" including presentations of different nationalities (music, dances, food, wardrobe, etc.). Some had to pretend to be of the other nationality just to fill the gap in the program. It was all fake, people who never care about their own nationality (not to mention other's) had to pretend to be something that not fit to them. On the other hand, we have a nice couple from Austria, serving as CO more than 30 years in our area, and she wear the "dirndl" pretty often all the time, even to the meetings, and no one found that as the problem (maybe because she was really cute in that outfit :) )
Social media posts from various conventions have been full of cultural dancing, singing and dress and it has left me wondering where the line between celebrating national identity and nationalism is drawn.
The display of national pride is ok if it's done by a jw in a jw setting! But don't dare cheer for your favorite country in the Olympics or feel proud during the medal ceremony! Hypocrisy at it's finest!
just saying!
