Sending "Love" from the Platform (page 2)

Country Girl

All that clapping at the KH and at the conventions reminds me of an Amway seminar, or an Infomercial. Wierd.

CG

Gopher

This reminds me of an old George Carlin comedy routine.

It involves when someone says "give my love to" someone else you'll see before they do.

But what if that person doesn't want to take that love? Do you have to gather that "love" in a sack and bring it back to the sender?

What if you FORGET to bring the first person's love to the second? You could be carrying that burden around for a long time!

But the worst thing is if the 2nd person sends love back, through you, to the first person! Now you're hauling all this love back and forth! What a burden!

Actually, Japanese congregations meticulously send and receive love and greetings every single time someone from a neighboring congregation is attending. If you visit a congregation, you will be spotted within seconds and asked if you brought the love and greetings from your congregation. You can't just arbitrarily bring it, which means that in preparation for your planned absence from your own congregation, you asked your congregation for the love and greetings to take with you.

The long and short of it is that at about 75% of meetings, there are announcements like this:

"Sister Takashima will be attending the Neighboring City congregation on Thursday. Would we like to send our love and greetings with her?" (Allow for applause) "Also, Brother and Sister Nomura from the Other Neighbor congregation have brought their love and greetings." (Allow for applause) "Would we like to send our love and greetings back with the Nomuras?" (Allow for applause)

Honestly, it felt kind of nice at first to have all this love and greeting going around, but after about the third meeting, it started getting long and unwieldy. After about the tenth time in a month, it just seemed absurd. No one is encouraged, since it's such a mechanical thing. I think the only real effect is that since, in effect, you have to report when you will be missing your meeting (by asking for love and greetings to take with you), everyone knows who is missing for "legitimate" reasons and who is just skipping. Asking for love and greetings becomes this song and dance where you say, "Hey, I'm not going to be here on Thursday, but it doesn't mean I'm missing meeting! I'm still cool!"

I came to detest the love and greetings for this reason. They seemed much more real in America, where the Witnesses reserved them for people from faraway places. It seemed a little more special.

SNG

maxwell

Gopher paraphrases George Carlin,

But the worst thing is if the 2nd person sends love back, through you, to the first person! Now you're hauling all this love back and forth! What a burden!

LOL, When I was reading this thread earlier today, I was thinking something along these lines. There's a lot of sending and carrying of an abstract idea going on here. How about we just mail that love next time.

Mysterious

Another one of those quaint practices that seems almost normal when you are "in" but completely absurd when you are "out". And then there is the fact that we clap for assembly parts but not congregation parts. I mean heck a public talk is just as long.. And yet clap for visiting speakers, sometimes the C.O, or new students. Doesn't EVERYONE deserve our equal gratitude and appreciation. Or at least that is what they like to tell us..

Thirdson

I always found it weird (and would not applaud) when the "sending of love" was to be done via the visiting elder from the congregation next door. (We had a twin hall shared by 4 congs')

If I wanted to send my love, I'd go next door and tell them. Actually, I went next door if certain elders were giving the public talk and I didn't want to sit thru their drivel I had heard before...and that was when I was an elder.

3rd

PopeOfEruke

Stephanus

So is it "Absence makes the heart grow fonder",

Funny you mention this, actually I had a problem whenever I "broke wind" I heard this noise "honda honda honda". Went to the doctor and he examined me and discovered a small abscess which he said was the cause of the complaint. Seems its common medical knowledge that an abscess makes the fart go "Honda"...

Pope

La Capra

Love my ass. This was just another example of how the rank and file get drummed into their heads that this is a religion of love, when it isn't. (Like the Autumn tract campaign) Shoshana

seattleniceguy

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, there was a separate level of love and greetings that went just between bookstudies (intramural L&G?) in Japan. So if I were going to be at a different bookstudy next week, I would report it to my bookstudy conductor, who would announce it to the group, who would give me the love and greetings. I would take the L&G with me the next week, and the following week, report back to my original bookstudy with returned L&G.

It just got to be a gigantic process with no real feeling.

SNG

Country_Woman

seems logical: around the corner c.q. your neighbours, you can bring your love yourself - no need to use anybody else to send it............

Sending "Love" from the Platform

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