Posts by onintwo

13

The Dark Tower, a prison without bars

by freeman in

three days ago i was chit-chatting with my wife about the impending cold weather and snowstorm forecasted to hit our area when the conversation unexpectedly turned a bit negative.

she made the statement that they might cancel the meeting if the roads become too dangerous, i replied that they just might but really if she went to the meeting or not, the decision was up to her based on her best judgment.

her retort was to the effect of not to tell her what to do and that she would go to the meeting if she wanted to.

onintwo

I can remember about 25 years ago a time when a group of us (young married couples, all in the troof) were on some sort of overnite camping trip. We were in a very rural campground. Somehow it happened that we were going to be unable to make it back to our area on Sunday afternoon and thus were going to miss the meeting. (I can't remember the exact circumstance). But I do remember this; A ministerial servant, very active, later to become an elder said: "Well, it's true we're gonna miss the talk and WT study, but hey, you hear one talk, you've heard them all!" We all laughed. It was a rare and candid moment for him.

Someone kind of then said that she had a WT in her car and we could conduct the WT study right there, but she kinda got drowned out and we never had the meeting. I think everyone kinda felt funny, skating out on a regularly planned meeting and all. But we soon forgot about the feeling and went back to enjoying the outing.

I can't believe how much control the WT had on all of us. Imagine feeling guilty about taking a weekend off, and relaxing like normal people do!

Onintwo

27

It's probably all gonna hit the fan soon!

by onintwo in

jw
friends

there must be hundreds of thousands of current jw's who haven't planned for retirement.

i know that i was "in" the troof til my mid-forties and always believed what's the point?

didn't they tell us that advanced degrees were useless?

onintwo

Analysis, I agree with you. It's not exclusively a JW problem. But I think you'll have to agree that this problem may be especially acute within the Borg. That's the one group that I can think of that definetly de-emphasized investing in this old system of things. At least persons in the general population know that they need to be saving towards their retirement. The SS thing won't be much. Never meant to be much more than a safety net, as I understand it.

I send my widowed mom money each month, have for years. My four brothers also do. (although three of them are sporadic...they always have some sort of reason why they can't) She gets a small pension from my dad's old union, SS and nothing else. (besides what we boys do). But then, that gets into something else. A previous poster in this thread talked about young married couples putting off having children to the New System. How many of them might wish they had some help in their older years? It's sad. The Society is truly guilty of steering persons in the wrong direction. That's why I hope that this issue can be spotlighted enough to put some pressure on them. They are ruining lives every minute!

Yes, I like to hit a few. (golf balls). My wife and I usually take the sticks when we travel or do a little road trip.

Onintwo

27

It's probably all gonna hit the fan soon!

by onintwo in

jw
friends

there must be hundreds of thousands of current jw's who haven't planned for retirement.

i know that i was "in" the troof til my mid-forties and always believed what's the point?

didn't they tell us that advanced degrees were useless?

onintwo

Hey drawcad, I'd forgotten about that bit about the "college degree equivalency" thing. What rubbish! Try entering any field for which some degree of certification is required with your Watchtower and Awake credentials.

People working into their 70' and 80's is depressing. Man, I hope that in about seven years or so my wife and I can travel to nice places and play golf! We do some of that now, but I'm hoping to do more of it on a much grander scale.

Well, I'm at work and gotta keep the squirrel cage turning.

Onintwo

27

It's probably all gonna hit the fan soon!

by onintwo in

jw
friends

there must be hundreds of thousands of current jw's who haven't planned for retirement.

i know that i was "in" the troof til my mid-forties and always believed what's the point?

didn't they tell us that advanced degrees were useless?

onintwo

Thanks kgfree for those actual years. I wasn't sure. But I myself am in that age group. When I was in, it was very common to see husband and wife teams in the janitorial thing. I spoke with many of the brothers who were self-employed, as was I, and was angered by the way they so casually treated their tax obligations, etc. I'll bet that many of them ran what amounted to an underground economy.

One bro actually told me that he was supporting his mom ( a good and noble thing ) but for some reason or another he was unable to claim her as a dependent. (and therefor get a tax credit) So he simply laundered that same amount of money from his business that the IRS rules wouldn't allow him to lawfully deduct. He served as an MS at the time. Very well liked, etc.

I wonder if others have met such individuals?

Onintwo

27

It's probably all gonna hit the fan soon!

by onintwo in

jw
friends

there must be hundreds of thousands of current jw's who haven't planned for retirement.

i know that i was "in" the troof til my mid-forties and always believed what's the point?

didn't they tell us that advanced degrees were useless?

onintwo

Just think about it! There must be hundreds of thousands of current JW's who haven't planned for retirement. I know that I was "in" the troof til my mid-forties and always believed what's the point? Didn't they tell us that advanced degrees were useless? Wasn't there a steady drumbeat explaining the urgency to pioneer, put the K first, forgo material pleasures and objects? Hell, material stuff will all be up for grabs after Armageddon, man! You want a nice house....just wait, and one will be provided. Armageddon is right around the corner! The main thing, we were told, was to insure your place in the New System by working for your salvation. Not corporate America.

Now we come to the subject of the Baby Boomers, you know, that group of people who are now about 54 to 68 years of age. And, if you are a part of that great big bunch of people, (hey, let's call them the "great crowd",...isn't that funny?) you know by now, maybe even firsthand, that there is a large amount of people that have virtually no investments, no savings among JW's. It's a sad irony that they'll be relying on the very government they have so much disdain for.

Anyway, back to the point. Does anyone think that there may be massive fallout for the Society about this? Lawsuits? Big time publicity, shining a very uncomfortable light on them. Brothers just getting angry about their situation, etc? Do you think that this problem, which promises to be a big one in my view, will spell their undoing? Will it all just hit the fan soon?

Onintwo

12

Internal conflict ? A JW is always "sick" and misses meetings. Doubting?

by somebodylovesme in

jw
friends

the person in question is my husband's mother who is a jw.

she is in her late 40s... has been a devout dub for 20 years or so, and has never to my knowledge had any spiritual "problems".

she exhibits every characteristic that the typical rank-and-file should have.

onintwo

Close tie between the emotional state and the physical state. Couldn't agree more.

I know that when I was "in" I'd wake up in the morning, get out of bed feeling tops, then suddenly remember it was Tuesday, and consequently I'd have to endure the Service Meeting/Ministry School that evening. I could actually feel the zest and vigor drain out of me. NO, I didn't want to go, but for years forced myself. I'm ashamed that I didn't buck up, and admit it sooner.

Onintwo

62

What Did you Plan On Doing In The New System?

by minimus in

jw
friends

every child and bible student was told about how wonderful the "new system" was going to be.

"and what animal do you want to have in the new system?

"......that was a very typical question.

onintwo

I guess I'm too much of a pragmatist. I always wondered who would produce all of those nice farming implements they pictured in the magazines. Because, baby, my own personal "paradise" didn't include any factory work.

Presumably some poor slob's version of "paradise" would be to grind it out 8-5 making all the stuff the rest of us would need. LIke toilet paper.

Onintwo

30

Home school

by Globetrotter in

my son told me the other day that he and his sister are just about the only kids at the kh their age that go to public/private schools.

almost all the other kids are home-schooled.

i was rather shocked.

onintwo

Public school serves more purposes than simply putting an education in front of a child. As has been pointed out several times on this thread, adolescents need the social interactions with their peers to properly form their sense of being.

When I was raising my own three, some sisters got together and formed OCHETO. Stood for Our Children Have Expanded Theocratic Opportunities. (read, more time for field service.) I never understood what teaching credentials these gals had. None of them had ever achieved anything academic-wise beyond H.S. I guess dedication and persistence to 'just do it' would be the banner under which they plodded forth. I didn't allow my three to go to their little school, and it sort of self-destructed after the first year.

I agree with a previous poster, it IS a travesty for some of these kids to get such a one-sided, mind controlling education.

Onintwo

22

Clapping

by Stefanie in

jw
friends

i was just remembering in the hall i attended, the "friends" would clap when someone got reinstated, then they stopped when there was a talk from the platform about it being inappropriate.

i was just wondering why they say something like that.

and it would seem to me that people going back in were doing them a favor, why would they be so cruel.

onintwo

What a soul-less, desolate group, .....this WT group! This definetly was one of the things that really bothered me about the religion. Did you ever go to a funeral/memorial service and see laughter? Did they ever let anyone other than the designated speaker come to the platform and relate stories/anecdotes about the person? NO!

Since leaving the WT, I have gone to "worldly" funerals and cried my eyes out for a person whom I didn't even know. (my new wife's grandmother). All of her friends and nieces and nephews, etc. got up and related anything and everything about her. Really made her live again, even if for only that brief moment in time. All maner of stories, some funny, some sad, ...all poignant. I laughed, as did others, when stories about her little peculiarities were related. Cried when someone talked about her generosity and caring. Made us all realize how much she'd be missed.

The Witnesses are a soul-less people. Everything must be planned and delivered by the designated speaker who is dutifully reading from an outline provided by our good friends in Brooklyn. Boy, don't ever deviate from the "appropriate" material and don't, what ever you do, improvise, wing it, or in some way show your individuality.

Weddings are similarly bland. Only with fancier clothes.

On a related topic, but along this same thread, I once asked an elder if I could bring things such as canned goods, food items, clothing, whatever and donate them? Could there be a place where poor persons within the congregation could simply go into a room and quietly help themselves? No paperwork, no meeting with a special committee, no nothing. If you're in need and it's there, avail yourself of it. Maybe escape with your dignity intact. But NO! He said he'd have to check, but he didn't think that the KH was for that purpose.

Oh, I forgot. The JW's talk about charitable works, but leave it up to others. Groups like the Salvation Army, United Way, etc. do all the heavy lifting when it comes to feeding the community. Or sheltering the community, or clothing the community. Then the JW's can point to the fact that maybe some of those resources that were donated went to some poor unfortunate UNWED mother and ain't that a shame! See, that's the world for ya!

Gosh, don't get me started. I'm spitting nails already. Thanks everyone for reading this long post. But God! I feel better.

Onintwo

10

What does 'spiritual hunger'/'spiritual thirst' feel like?

by onintwo in

jw
friends

this is something i've wondered about for some time.

when i was 'in', the wts threw those words around alot.

almost every study topic in the wt, it seemed talked about them.

onintwo

That's cool, I like that. So why DO they call you mysterious, if you can explain so plainly?

Onintwo