what kind of "persecution" did you undergo as a JW?

what_Truth?

I'm not talking about the serious kind that occurs when elders start stalking you or government authorities that throw you in jail for not violating your religion. I'm talking about those harmless yet bizzare little incidents that cause the PO's wife to start shaking in her boots and say 'ohmygoodness we are being....persecuted!!!'

In my old Kingdom Hall a guy ran in during a watchtower study and yelled "worship satan" before running out. Everyone was talking about it for a week. Yeah, he was probably just doing it on a dare, but to here the queen bee circle tell it you would think that he was triggering the great tribuation.

Later, when i was going to a kingdom hall in the middle of a VERY strict bible belt community someone hung a teddy bear from the front door by a noose and covered it in watered down ketchup.

Finally no offense to anyone here, but was vancouver the only city to have that CRAZY apostate guy with the sandwhich board and megaphone protesting the convention (this dude even punched a cop and was taken away, but somehow he was back there the next years saying the watchtower is a SSSSSSNNNNNAAAAARRRRRREEE)? According to some of the old timers these guy where a LOT more common back in the 30's.

But enough about me, what have y'all seen?

hillbilly

Most of the persecution I endured was of my own choosing.

When I stopped the Dub thing it stopped too.

Satan wins again!

~Hill

confusedjw

When I was in the Navy and stopped saluting the flag and refused to carry a gun on watch it got pretty dicey. The other sailors trashed my stuff and I got threats.

I was happy to be persecuted for Jesus and ended up getting out as a conscientious objector.

Crumpet

I tried to think of any examples like that, but other than time some kids spat on me from their bedroom window while I waited for a householder to come to the door so I could do my presentation I couldnt think of anything.

But then a lightswitch went on and i thought of all the times I personally felt persecuted, and whaddya know all of those experiences were JW generated, not by worldly people.

I felt persecuted when I was forced to leave home on a job that paid me only £50 a week and had to live in an attic.

I felt persecuted everytime I was smacked for something, which was regularly

I felt persecuted when I was disfellowshipped, and even more when I was working towards reinstatement and moved home. When we had JW visitors I had to stay in my room for hours, even if I was desperate to use the loo, eat or drink. It was humiliating having to wait for one of my younger siblings come and check on me and then take me to the toilet so there was no chance my grandparents or aunts or uncles or cousins or old friends would have the embarassment of having to lay eyes on me in my parents house.

I felt persecuted when the elders had me marked and my parents removed me from school when I was 10 years old for a rude ryhme found in my lunch box that I didn;t even understand, but they said showed that I was going to get involved in sexual immorality. I was 10! My period didnt start for another 3 years!

I could whinge on and on, but you get the picture. All the times I remember feeling humiliated and persecuted was a result of JW action.

upside/down

None whatsoever... it was all "in-house" persecution.

The worst kind!

Most of the persecution I witnessed happen to others was 100% self inflicted, kinda like the geeky kids get. "Worldly" people are MUCH MORE TOLERANT as a whole than any group of Dubs. They can't stand the fact they AREN'T PERESECUTED the way they'd like to be. So that's why they have all the goofy little doctrines to make themselves stand out so if anyone does put them down for being a little "whacky" they can say "see we are being persecuted just like ~~Jesus~~ the WTS SAID- this proves WE have the truth!!!

u/d

jeanniebeanz

I was treated pretty badly by students and teachers through the 60's and early 70's. After that though, it pretty much stopped. Let's see, as a jw child I was:

Beaten (By a teacher in Redwood Valley)

Had my hand crushed (By a teacher. Saw her tombstone on a recent trip to the Ukiah cemetery. That felt weird)

Made to sit in the back of the classroom in a cardboard box for not saluting the flag (by my third grade teacher in Calpella)

Told my dad was a communist and that the state was going to take me away. (By the principal of the Redwood Valley School)

Physically attacked by groups of children in the play yard and pelted with stones for being a 'communist' child (at the Redwood Valley School)

Spat on for not loving Jesus (by the local group of predominantly Baptist Girl Scouts while they were visiting the Redwood Valley School)

And can't count the number of times that I had a dog sicker?d on me in field service. That was actually kind of funny since I've always had a good rapport with dogs, and they all just came up to me and licked me. Worst thing that happened is that one big bull dog humped my leg.

Would have been very different though if any of the dogs had been professionally trained, I?d have been toast I?m sure...The Jeannie as breakfast trick; "yummy, tastes just like bible thumper!" lol

J

Honesty

My dub exwife telling my kids that Joe Hoba was going to off me at Armageddon because I stopped reading the WT and quit going to any meetings and started reading other bibles rather than the NWT.

Archimedes

Yup - most of my persecution was from my fellow Dubs. Like, the several times I was pulled into the backroom by the elders because I had been accused of having sex with this or that person or stripping at this or that party. That's a laugh. Or, when the very wealthy family in the cong would deliberately choose an expensive place to go for the coffee break, knowing that my po' as dirt family would get (drumroll please) water. That was also fun. Or the time the other JW girls pulled down my pants at a party. But, I take solice in the fact that those losers are overweight, still live with they mommas, and will never get a man. (Which is saying something, because men are pretty freaking easy.)

what kind of "persecution" did you undergo as a JW?

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