Talked to an older Dub I knew as a child last week at BJ's >>>>>>

WingCommander

I thought I'd share my experience. For those of you not familiar with some stores here in the USA, BJ's is a wholesale chain very similar to Walmart's SAM's Club. It's a discount warehouse. Much nicer than SAM's in my opinion, but then again I absolutely despise Walmart. But that is another thread!!!

Anyway, this fine gentlemen works as a greeter at BJ's. I knew him as a child from our old congregation. I'd say he's about 70 now. I had some time to kill before my hair appointment, so I went in to shop and then chat with him. He is always very nice. When I was little, he was constantly reprimanded and disfellowshipped for alcoholic drinking. My father knew what he had was a disease, and I think tried to help him. The elders were of course critical and useless about getting him into AA or something. Of course today we know that people that can't "put the bottle down, or have just one drink" actually do have a disease, it shows up on MRI's and tests of brain chemicals. They truly need help, not ridicule or to be disfellowshipped right away.

Anyway, we chatted a while, and of course it led to him leading into about "how bad this world situation is," and about "how it's going to end really soon now"........ I agreed world conditions are bad, but said nothing about the end. You see, the end to me is coming, but I'm not going to agree it is tomorrow. It will be when God is good and ready, not when the JW's say - which is always "real soon." I almost laughed. You see, this same man and other older JW's that my parent's studied and were friends with told my parents when I was a baby that I'd probably never make it to grade school, and surely never graduate High School. Gee, I graduated in 1997. And college? They were told not even to think of it. It was frowned upon. I felt like asking this guy if he liked working this meneal job in his golden years, instead of at home relaxing with his wife because he didn't bother to save any money for retirement. But alas, I'm too nice, and figure the liver problems he now has due to 60 years of heavy drinking are punishment enough for being so naive and gulliable. I truly felt sorry for the guy. Also, his kids are too busy to even help take care of him or his wife.......probably out pioneering or some shit. But, seeing as how they are in their 50's, they'd better start thining about retirement as well......if the system "doesn't end real soon." It's like all the older JW's want the end worse then ever, so they don't have to die or work, and push it as immenant because their own death is immenant. How sad. I mean, it would be cool not to die - to go straight in paradise, new system, whatever you'd like to call it. I think it also funny that how in my adulthood, I can see the JW dogma shine through in even the simplest of conversations. They can barely say hello without getting into the dogmatic crap.

While talking about the past and his drinking problem (though clean for 6 years he claims) I told him I didn't think it was right even as a child that he was disfellowshipped for a time. He didn't comment, though maybe he didn't give a crap about something that happened 20 years ago. I know I would, if it made me look like a total ass like it did him. But, some people (like Dubs) are so used to putting up with being fed crap and told that it is fillet mignon, that they eat it up and ask for seconds without a second thought.

That's my encounter for now. Too bad this loyal Dub is so dupped. Thanks for listening.

Wing Commander.

BrendaCloutier

I'm sorry to hear he's still a "loyal dub". But he has family in, and no matter what he really thinks, if he leaves he'll loose whatever family he has. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to leave the tyrranical doctrine-base one has lived with for so long. He may not be so totally duped. He may just go because thats what is comfortable to him even if he know's he's eating dogfood. He may also have been feeling you out to see where you stood.

Keep talking with the man. At the very least, as a senior he deserves some respect.

Hugs

Brenda

sweet tee

That was a real display of Christian love. Kudos to you for that. You probably made his day.

GetBusyLiving

I know some dubs that are in the same situation as this poor man. It's pretty sad. Gotta feel bad for the older one's that have loyally wasted countless hours serving the WTBTS. A lot of them are looking really scared and freaky these days. There is a look of desperation in their eyes.

GBL

undercover

Nice experience, thanks for sharing.

I ran into an old family friend who's been a JW for decades. He was one of those fringe dubs. Always at the meetings, not much service, never given any privileges. But he told me that he had just gotten over open-heart surgery. He refused blood as he had been taught. But even though he was physically getting better, he said he had not been to a meeting since the surgery. None of the dubs came to visit him, not even the elders. They didn't even mention that he was in serious condition at the hospital to the congrgation. He said that an older fellow down the street who was a baptist preacher came to see him every couple of days just to see how he was. No one in the congregation did that. He was completely dissillusioned and was seriously considering not going back.

I know that most JWs will just look down on him as spiritually weak and not pay him any mind. But I saw the pain on his face as he talked about how all the people he thought were his friends didn't come to visit. So he thought he had true friends but they showed their true colors when it really mattered most to him.

LongHairGal

Undercover:

So very sad about that brother. Here a minister from "babylon the great" is showing more christianity than the so-called brothers. Doesn't surprise me though because long ago I knew their friendships were as shallow as saran wrap and conditional to boot.

But they will not see themselves as having done any wrong or committed any sin of omission. Why? Because their preaching work is the great "white wash" for any deficiency they have.

LHG

greendawn

That is the proverbial lack of love in the jws that we are often talking about how could a brother as they call them be in a hospital and be totally ignored? If you don't have family in the dubs you are pretty much socially dead.