A Confused Public

by little witch 7 Replies latest jw friends

  • little witch
    little witch

    I have been using a consumer based website of late, rip-off report.com

    Out of curiosity I typed in "watchtower".

    You would be suprised how ignorant the general public is concerning the wtbts.

    People were very upset to hear that wtbts is a publishing company!

    Someone even stated that they only publish "giveaway tracts"!!!

    Maybe we arent making a big enough noise.

  • gitasatsangha
    gitasatsangha

    I don't think nonwitnesses give a damn about the JW world, or would want to. It's just not that interesting unless you've lived the life. It would be too obscure to make some sort of saturating novel setting about and expect people to learn and read along, and it would make really, really bad television or film (see how long "A Perfect World" lingered on the Witness stuff, of the Jackson family miniseries)

    Jonesville or a Davidian compound.. now that's interesting. If they've got friends or family on the inside, or if they are significant others who want to figure out just what makes us tick, maybe then they would care, otherwise, Jdubs are just the occasional comedian fodder for jokes about being woken up by the doorbell.

  • Flash
    Flash

    "...very upset" Why, they thought it was just old fashion religion? I don't think our noise is what will alert people. The Witnesses are undermining themselves, their reputation for cult-like behavior is preceding them. I mention the Witnesses and not to long after the word cult comes out.

  • little witch
    little witch

    From what I read, and from the feedback of non affiliated persons, the opinion seems to be PC, protective in nature. The general public seems to think that the jw organization is on the up and up and needs understanding, acceptance and support.

    To put your finger on the pulse of general society, you must venture off ex jw sites.

    We veiw the wtbts in a way that is well known. That is my point. The general public seems to be swayed by the only media attention that they hear. That of the org itself. You know, how meek and mild they are, how they are accomodated by cities needing the revenue from conventions etc.

    The public seems to be hearing pro-jw, and not getting the message from us on the more attuned end.

  • talesin
    talesin

    This is so true, lw.

    A short anecdote.

    My friend of about 6 years, told me a few months ago, "One thing I have learned by knowing you so well is how much of a cult the JW is. I always thought they were an innocuous group, but I am blown away by the TRUTH of what it really is." She is fairly well-informed and was shocked that she, as a member of the general public, was not aware of the reality of the JW life.

    It is an eye-opener, isn't it, when one lives a life so affected at times by this cult, yet most people just have no concept of what it's really like ... Hard to believe that our reality is so ill-perceived by most of the human race.

    t

  • Golf
    Golf

    LW, the system has conditioned the people to be self-absorbed. People don't give a hoot about other things (including the JW's) unless it affects them. Any sex scandal is just a juicy topic to some, again, until it affects them. Only when the message hits home, do people wake up. The C.C's pedophilia scandal has crowded out the Society's vile pedophilia's. My only understanding to this piece of puzzle is, the time is not ripe yet. The org. will yet have it's 15 minutes of fame!

    Guest 77

  • DevonMcBride
    DevonMcBride

    Very true. Until I met my JW friend 4 years ago, I never even heard the term Watchtower. The only thing I knew about the JW's was that they went door to door, refused blood transfusions, and that Michael Jackson had been one. I grew up in an upper middle class neighborhood made up of 60% Jews. The closest Kingdom Hall was and still is in a weathy area and has a very small congregation. It was rare the JW's every witnessed in my neighborhood. Once every two or three years they would come and we never answered the door.

    I only know 2 JW's. Everyone else I know is the "public" and they don't know anymore than what I knew 4 years ago. Maybe it's time we educate them.

    Devon

  • concerned mama
    concerned mama

    I was one of those ordinary people who only had the vaguest ideas about JWs. I thought they were kind of odd, very strict, refused blood and wouldn't stand for the anthem, but thought they were basically very "Christian" and good people.

    When my teenage daughter got involved with a JW boy, I got on the internet and started looking. I was looking initially for neutral sites, but those didn't explain his culture, and I couldn't really make sense of this boy's sometimes inexplicable behavior. This forum helped me learn more about his rules and the double life those JW kids lead. It all started to make sense.

    I still think most JWs are basically nice people, who are willing to do some really horrible things because some old men in New York tell them to. They close their eyes and don't think critically. Most other people who I know, who have been otherwise neutral about JWs, tend to develop an overwhelmingly negative impression of the JW religion, the more JWs touch their lives in any personal way.

    We have one JW employee now, and she seems to be a good worker, and so far, is not any problem at all, other than she doesn't socialize much with the other staff. That's OK as long as she gets along, and does her work.

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