intolerance

teejay

Generally speaking, are ex-JWs as intolerant as JWs?

iiz2cool

As a JW I was an intolerant asshole for about 20 years. Now that I've been out for a year and a half, I am only intolerant towards JWs. Everyone else is ok with me.

Walter

groovycat.

I'm definitely not, that is one feature of Jehovahs Witnesses that I don't like (read my bio).

Each to their own.

Hey T. I don't think so. If you are talking about religious issues I would say we are probably less willing to let people slide on bad behavior they engage in based on their religious beliefs. We also have less reason to be exclusive and a lot more reason to at least try new things and include new peopleexperiences into our lives. Just my 2 centavos.

Sincerely,

District Overbeer

OUTLAW

Hey tee-jay, I think in the begining we are all intolerant of JW`s and their bullshit.Once we`ve healed a bit we become more intolerant of the bullshit rather than the person..So many on this board like you and me,still have family in that shithole,and theres nothing we can do about it except try to be understanding of the situation...OUTLAW

teejay

The reason I ask, for one, is that I post on another board whose membership is, shall I say, not particularly fond of JWD or, more to the point, it's ownership. After a period of exile, I stated my intention of returning here. The membership, even some who mostly lurked, came out of the woodwork to let their ire for me become fully known. Why should it matter to anyone where I post?

Also here on JWD... there have been times when loyal JWs arrived and have not been treated kindly. Christians who show up don't appear to be held in high regard, either. Seems to me that, more than anyone, ex-JWs should understand and empathize with JWs. And if someone wants to believe, what difference does that make to the non-believer? Who is the Christian harming?

Why can't people just live and let live? As someone said recently,

It's amazing to me how you can leave a cult of judgemental people, be shunned and looked down upon and not learn a lesson from it.

That's something I will never, ever, EVER figure out.

Valis

T, it doesn't matter where you post or who you choose to talk to. it sounds like to me people who were dogging you may have assumed they had one less advocate of their shiity behavior. Lord of the Flies style.

It would disagree with you about Christians here. We have people like Ross, Mouthy, and others who are not pushy about their beliefs. The preachers and the cultists of doom get the what for, because this is not the right forum for people evangelizing. I always think back to the one sided preaching style of JWs where there's no "discussion" only preaching and have to say, thank you but no.

Sincerely,

District Overbeer

OUTLAW

Hey tee-jay,WBTS has set things up so that when shit hits the fan it`s the JW`S fault,not the WBTS..JW`s willing to take a bullet for a corrupt organization,are always the first and only casualties.Dubs(regardless of statis,DF,DA,X-Dub,Pro-Dub,Inactive-Dub) scrapping amoungst each other,takes the heat off of the real culprits of corruption,the WBTS,and they don`t mind that one little bit...OUTLAW

StinkyPantz

Generally speaking, are ex-JWs as intolerant as JWs?

I don't think ex-JWs are as intolerant as JWs, no. There are some though, that appear to be SO intolerant that it mars the face of all ex-JWs.

Big Tex

Why should it matter to anyone where I post?

It shouldn't, anymore than it should matter what religion you belong to (or even if you are an atheist). I think the most difficult part of exiting Jehovah's Witnesses is leaving behind the mindset. We were all taught 'WE' had the truth, and 'they' didn't. Jehovah would destroy 'them' and save 'us'.

I remember really struggling with the idea that Jehovah would kill everyone at Armageddon. There were good people in other religions, hell there were atheists who were better human beings than the Witnesses I sat next to at the meetings. This though really bothered me. How could Jehovah kill one human who was living their life exactly as Jesus taught, except they were not Jehovah's Witnesses?

I think this mindset, this ability to make sweeping generalizations of a nation, or group of people, or religion or whatever is very, very hard to get rid of. Non-JWs are guilty of this, so how much more difficult would it be for us to get purge this way of thinking? Hilary Step once told me that exiting this sect is a long, and sometimes ugly process. I think part of this 'ugliness' is this mindset, the willingness to generalize, and demonize, whole groups of people. Having said that, I find intolerance, judgmentalism and absolutism to be repugnant and something I don't care to be around.

I tend to look at who the person is, rather than what religion they are, or what race, etc. And so I've got friends who are still Jehovah's Witnesses, friends who are gay, tatooed and so on. My feeling is, that I am interested and care for who they are, rather than who I want them to be, and I also realize that they care for me for who I am, rather than who they want me to be.

Sorry if I sound preachy, I don't mean to be. This is a subject about which I feel strongly, and I have spoken up to friends who act this way, last night for example a good friend I've known for 20 years shocked me by saying that Hitler had "good ideas in the beginning". But when I speak up, I do so to the person, and not posturing out in front of others.

But what do I know?

Chris

intolerance

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