something to make you go HMMMMMM

Mulan

A fellow ex JW friend of ours is Norwegian, second generation, so very much aware of his roots because of his parents. He visited me the other day and we started talking about this discussion board, which he has read, but doesn't contribute.

I said "some people wonder why we can't get over it all, and just move on...........but it helps to talk with others who have had the same experiences we have".

He totally understood, smiled and said "That's why we have the Sons of Norway".

He also said that no matter how long we are away from the JW's, we will always be former Jehovah's Witnesses, and our experience with them contributed to who we are, so basically ..........live with it.

Just sharing. I thought it was pretty profound, and made me understand why there are groups like the Sons of Norway too.

Sassy

I totally agree with that. (I guess that is why I have thought it would almost be nice to be hypnotised and wipe it from your memory.. although not seriously)... It is like someone who has been raped, it will always be in their past and always affect them somehow. Others who have never experienced such things will not understand that moving on is not possible. It is dealing with it for all your life, even if in different ways..

I have heard of the Sons of Norway although I am not real knowledgeable. Trying to remember if it was my Norwegian/Swedish grandparents that might have told me.

(edited to go and see about them... I see now why I have heard of them.... this was what I found...

Professor C. Sverre Norborg begins his fine history of Sons of Norway, An American Saga, with this descriptive paragraph: "The founders of Sons of Norway were Americans. They had crossed the wide Atlantic in search of greater opportunities for themselves and their families. From the day they passed through the immigration gates at Ellis Island, they knew that their lives and fortunes were linked forever with this vast and free land."

The organization itself was founded right in the state that I come from..

Interesting analogy to being a witness..

wednesday

i have no idea what that group is. could u elaborate a bit? and yes i agree, being a JWS is a part of who i am, and always will be.

Mulan

Sons of Norway is like a club for those of Norwegian descent. Our area has a huge population of Scandinavian people, and Sons of Norway halls are all over...............kind of like a lodge only just for Norwegians.

Sassy

I found this site : http://www.sofn.com/home/index.jsp

The mission of Sons of Norway is to promote, preserve, and cherish a lasting appreciation of the heritage and culture of Norway and other Nordic countries while growing soundly as a fraternal benefit society and offering maximum benefits to its members.

I thought this was cool.. it was founded by a woman in Minnesota..

Interestingly enough, it was a woman who was at the center of all of the activity prior to this forming. Ingeborg Levorsdatter Langeberg was the first permanent Norwegian resident of Minnesota, coming here as a maid in the home of Territorial Governor Alexander Ramsey. She subsequently met and married a well-to-do farmer from a northern suburb of Minneapolis. When her husband died, she became a wealthy widow whose home was a friendly center for all newcomers, one of whom was Ole Draxten. He was the first Norwegian to build a house in the area and it was his son Bersvend who was later to become the first Supreme President of Sons of Norway.

It always bothered me that we were all losing our heritage. Where I came from in Minnesota, 85% of the people were of Scandinavien descent and yet the schools only taught French or Spanish languages. I was angry to grow up and not understand Swedish, Norwegian or Finnish. I thought it was so sad that we were losing touch with the very core of who we were..

Sassy

Maybe I am crazy on this... but in some ways there is a difference though.. I agree there are similarities in that we are who we are because of where we come from.. but the thing is I am proud to be Scandinavian . I find it a positive thing I would like to grow with regard to my heritage and have something to pass on to other generations... but.. I am not proud of having been a JW. With it scars have been passed on to my children.

Mulan

He wasn't implying they were the same, just comparing the need to be with those with the same history or background.

Englishman

I have been known to kiss the odd Norwegian..

alt

Englishman.

hillary_step

Co-equal, co-eternal, co-existent, these three are one....

Amen - HS

sf

God I miss Norm!!

{{{ hugs }}}

Alan is KINDA cute too, but Norm is topdog!

I have most of his essays in storage files. They are brilliant pieces.

If any are interested in essays that basically obliterate Watchtower doctrine and policy, read Norm and Alan's material; which can be found through engines and links. Type his name into here too to view what he wrote before he departed from this site.

sKally

something to make you go HMMMMMM

Share this