by rebel8 45 Replies latest jw friends
Why do you think those 2 statements contradict each other?
I was prevented from working full time and going to college. Then I got outta the borg and did what I wanted.
And PS, I never claimed that only JW kids have no financial support for college. Those were not my words. My comment about being angry for being prevented from attending college and supporting myself was in regards to the fact that I told the elder that and he told me to say the opposite at the assembly.
Oh, for dog's sake, John. Don't you remember the talks and articles discouraging education? I was told that my father would have to step down from being an elder if I went to university. So, I went to a technical college for a one year course, instead. In 1979, I was the first in the history of my congregation to go to any college. Later, other kids told me that I opened the door for them.
It's far worse than not just getting any support. You are actively discouraged, with roadblocks placed in front of you - financial, emotional, and psychological.
Yes, I do remember Running Man, and I'll certainly agree that college was discouraged. But still, saying that you're prevented from doing something doesn't quite sit well with me. None of us are helpless victims, which is what this sort of language implies. We're all responsible for our own choices. But, I see getting up on a soap box again, so I'll be quiet now. :-)
Well, I guess it comes down to what constitutes prevention. If a person, or an organization does everything in its power to stop you from doing something that you want to do, and they succeed in stopping you, then I would say that they prevented you. It's not necessary to be put in leg irons. Although I'm sure that they would make use of that option if they possibly could.
definitely the mantra was NO COLLEGE, NO COLLEGE. actually, many even quit HIGH SCHOOL so they could go pioneering. i was on the assembly in rochester ny in 1977, just before i got married to the first JW loser
I was never on the platform at an assembly, but I was the subject of an experience given by an elder in my hall. It was at the assembly where I was baptized. I was listening to the experience, thinking that it had some very minor similarities to my life, but I didn't have a clue that it was actually me he was talking about. Later that day someone asked me if I recognized myself in the "experience" given. I didn't, and I was also a little pissed that someone would presume to talk about me like that from the platform without first asking for my permission. The fact that most of what he said was untrue pissed me off even more.
After that nothing changed. For the next 19 years as a JW the elders continued to tell lies about me, and they continue to this day.
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I was in many Circuit Assembly parts, gave talks, was a householder, demos, interviews, etc.
I was also in two dramas at the DA.
Big deal..............it was at the time, though.
| I was on the Circuit assembly twice and the District assembly once. Twice interviewed as a 'good example' as a pioneer, once for an experience I had in service. As far as college education.... sorry I have to comment, this is a sore point with me. Rebel, I can understand you being pressured to pioneer, but when you graduate, you're an adult. Did they hold a gun to your head? If you wanted to go to college, you could have. It's easy to blaim others for our lives, but taking responsibilty for our choices is a bit harder. I agree that Witnesses are not pro-college in any sense, but they will not make you do something unless you allow them. I secretly applied to college when in high school, despite the fact that each application cost money that I didn't have and the fact that I knew there was no way I would be able to go. Yes, I pioneered right out of high school, but people who are emotionally abused do all kinds of things that they don't want to. Usually they don't even understand why they do what they do. The emotional abuse that I experienced would have been 100 times worse if I had put my foot down and said I was going to college. I was incapable of doing that at the time.... I was 17 years old, for crying out loud!! I also had siblings that I cared deeply about, and did not want to make their home situation worse than it already was. Of course, emotionally abusive people are never happy, no matter what the victim does. I was accused of being the world's worst daughter, even though I was pioneering, working full time, paying a huge chunk of that to my mother, taking care of the housework when I arrived home at midnight, and being moral support for my siblings. I did finally take drastic action to get out of the house, but not until a few years later. I agree that people need to take responsibility for and control of their lives. But I am referring to adults here, not teenagers in abusive or even controlling homes. Once a kid is out on their own and removed from the situation, they can begin to pick up the pieces and take control. And they should, imo. My point: JW kids who do not go to college often have quite a bit going on behind the scenes. I know. I was one of them. GGG |
Thank you for saying that. I was 17 when I graduated high school. I did not possess the emotional maturity, know-how, etc. to run away from home when I was a high school student...nor do I think the outcome would have been better if I did. Therefore, I was "stuck" in my mother's jw home and was brainwashed since childhood to believe I would be executed by God Himself if I did not obey everything she and the elders told me I must do. I was a child in a mind control cult. Not much choice there.
How anyone could think I could have gone to college under those circumstances is beyond me. College applications cost money which I was prohibited from having. Those are understandable circumstances for not going to college directly out of high school. I did take responsibility for myself and did take control of my own life once I was able.
One major thing I "regret" is that my guidance counselor never told me I could get my own student loans. I had no idea that a kid could go to college unless their parents were the guarantors on the loans.
PS-Most people who b---- about not getting financial support while in college were not themselves prevented from working and supporting themselves. I think my b'ing is valid in that regard.
I did assembly talks
