Posts by dubstepped

182

The Danger of Settlements

by Tech49 in

jw
friends

i was pondering the recent influx of lawsuits against wt, specifically in regards to the child abuse cases (ie.

conti, fessler, lopez, etc).. in each of these, wt has settled for an "undisclosed" amount, assumed to be in the millions of dollars each.

i know there are many many more cases, subject for a different thread i'm sure.. i was reading something completely unrelated a while back that mentioned the dangers of settlement agreements for a large corporation or business (not just wt).

dubstepped

Fisherman: No, it is because I disagree that wt environment is dangerous for children. And if you are saying that children are in danger of getting hurt in wt environment which is what I think that you are saying, I challenge you to prove it.

You are not that stupid. You absolutely can't be. 13 years in and you've never heard of the two witness rule, the discouraging of taking matters of sexual abuse to the proper authorities, a little thing called the Australian Royal Commission, or seen people's personal stories of going to the elders and being ignored? The Fessler case recently is just another example of someone that was abused and the victim was punished why the offender didn't receive punishment until the proper authorities stepped in because your child molester protecting friends in your organization did nothing but blame the victim. You make excuses while children are raped and their abusers run free in an organization that won't even comply with mandatory reporting laws.

Why do you make excuses for those that protect child molesters fisherman? Why do you care more about legal technicalities than children?

182

The Danger of Settlements

by Tech49 in

jw
friends

i was pondering the recent influx of lawsuits against wt, specifically in regards to the child abuse cases (ie.

conti, fessler, lopez, etc).. in each of these, wt has settled for an "undisclosed" amount, assumed to be in the millions of dollars each.

i know there are many many more cases, subject for a different thread i'm sure.. i was reading something completely unrelated a while back that mentioned the dangers of settlement agreements for a large corporation or business (not just wt).

dubstepped

Where did I say anything about law? Why are you so fixated on that one aspect of the JWs? Is it because you can't defend their actions ethically or scripturally or in any other way but legally? I get it, they get off on legal technicalities. I will say though that they do break laws when they don't obey mandatory reporting laws and conveniently try to decide what side of the clergy argument they are on. They do break laws when it comes to service to countries that require that too and end up in jail. They also break laws like perjury when they engage in "theocratic warfare", or lying as normal humans call it, to further their own cause. That doesn't mean that they always get caught, but let's not act like Jehovah's Witnesses are above breaking laws, particularly when it stands to benefit them.

And again I say that you have been on here for 13 years and somehow still don't get it. That is sad. Why are you so happy to defend an organization that creates an environment where so many children get hurt. Why fisherman, why?

182

The Danger of Settlements

by Tech49 in

jw
friends

i was pondering the recent influx of lawsuits against wt, specifically in regards to the child abuse cases (ie.

conti, fessler, lopez, etc).. in each of these, wt has settled for an "undisclosed" amount, assumed to be in the millions of dollars each.

i know there are many many more cases, subject for a different thread i'm sure.. i was reading something completely unrelated a while back that mentioned the dangers of settlement agreements for a large corporation or business (not just wt).

dubstepped

Fisherman: Why do you want to cripple wt?

Are you stupid or just being daft? You've been here for 13 years and you haven't figured that one out?

You think it is a good thing that JWs protect pedophiles, don't you. Why on earth wouldn't you want a cult that has people refuse blood and die and that has pedophiles protected by elders to continue to exist?

26

Follow up: the baby did not survive

by Captain Schmideo2 in

jw
friends

it was always a long shot anyway.

but, after a week of emotional pain for the mom, and extreme physical pain for a helpless infant, the baby's body finally succumbed.. all those prayers from the parents, from family, from friends, were absolutely worthless.

that is a deity for ya!

dubstepped

Who are you to decide when someone can have an opinion, how they can express grief, etc. in a way that hurts nobody?

26

Follow up: the baby did not survive

by Captain Schmideo2 in

jw
friends

it was always a long shot anyway.

but, after a week of emotional pain for the mom, and extreme physical pain for a helpless infant, the baby's body finally succumbed.. all those prayers from the parents, from family, from friends, were absolutely worthless.

that is a deity for ya!

dubstepped

Maybe it's his way of processing the pain. It's not like he's pointing in the people's face, he's speaking anonymously about a situation that was sad and then even sadder due to the religious layer.

What your wife wanted to do was definitely a dick move, imho. She was taking it to them, while the OP laments the ridiculousness to those who will understand, apparently you notwithstanding.

7

The Rainbow Promise

by Funchback in

one day, the biblical god decided all humanity, less 8 individuals and some animals, should die via mass drowning, including infants, children and physically and mentally disabled people.. he expected rational people to listen to a seemingly oddball old man and enter a giant box filled with wild animals.

"god told me to warn you.

enter this thing and you will live".

dubstepped

Lol, well said! If only an omniscient god could have seen that the gay community would later take his rainbow as their own. How pissed off would he be.

14

New letter forces elders to finally show love to sinners

by poopie in

jw
friends

that desire not to be shunned whether or not they want to be jw again is not the point for some they just do not want to be shunned any more there are sick of being shunned it's disgusting.

no human should be treated like they do not exist it's eviil..

dubstepped

No, no it's not.

102

Any atheists here? Have you come to terms with your new reality?

by kpop in

jw
friends

alone, without my safety net of "god" being there to remember me when i die.

after much consideration, examining science, history and using logic, i have come to the conclusion that there is no "god" at least certainly no loving, personal "god.

" shortly before my final conclusion was reached, i read an excerpt from an expression attributed to marcus aurelius, .

dubstepped

I think that now I just try to control the controllables. Live a good life, do no harm, help others, etc. I'm not afraid of death, as I've been there once already, before birth.

With that said, I personally do have a struggle with loss. The interesting thing is that I struggled for my first 38 years of life or so with suicidal ideation as a JW. If I died, that might have been a relief. But now I have a life that I'm in love with, and just like the thought of losing my wife, the thought of losing my life does kind of always loom and makes me sad to think about. It's the beauty and curse of having something great in an impermanent world. I do struggle with unwanted thoughts due to that though.

148

Jehovah's Witnesses View of Jesus Compared to the Early Church

by cofty in

the following is an extract from something i wrote 16 years ago soon after leaving the watchtower.

i am posting it because it may help honest jws consider how far their beliefs are at odds with new testament christians.

if they have "the truth" then their attitude to jesus ought to reflect that of the apostles.

dubstepped

Damn, the things most don't notice while in. I'll save this in my folder of links to great points that destroy the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses just in case I need them. Stuff like this is gold to those that move on and don't really care about the bible anymore because I wouldn't do the research to compose something like this anymore. Nice work!

36

Sample Disassociation Letter please?

by LifesNotOver in

i want to send a disassociation letter to the elders at my old congregation.

how do i address it and what wording do i use?

i know it's not something i have to do, it's symbolic for me.

dubstepped

DOC - IMO, your opinion stinks (*like assholes) -- or rather, the pejorative way you refer of those who choose not to DA or who don't share your thoughts about DA -- stinks.

Oh, you mean like the way people here portray those that disassociate as weak and giving into the the Borg? I normally just encourage people in situations like this to do what they want and tell them to ignore the haters, but this time I decided to come back with the contempt shown for those that do disassociate or want to. It stings, no? That's how I felt when I wanted to disassociate, and decision I made, and I struggled to get any support from my ex-dub friends. It sucks to want to do what you want to do and have everyone tell you not to when all you're doing is looking for support. The OP didn't ask for opinions on her decision, just how to write the letter.

I did refer to DA as "playing by their game" because it is outlined in the JW Elders' Book of Rules.

Why does that matter? It is a way out permanently. It effectively ends the game. It isn't something they want. They want to continue to "encourage" you. Families will want to keep doing the same. Jehovah's Witnesses can't stand it when they have to stop being able to put in their not so subtle jabs and can't talk to you anymore. Talking to others, "witnessing" is the name of their game. DA'ing puts a bullet in it and there is no more game playing. Why do you give them so much power as to worry about them using the word disassociation? Take that word and make it work for you, if you want. If you don't, that's fine too, but I certainly wouldn't want to give them so much power that they keep me from being able to end the game completely just because they took ownership of a word.

And, as many here know and/or have had it happen personally, when the Eldubs come calling on you (esp if they suspect apostasy) you will most definitely be asked if you still believe "the GB/F&DS are God's representatives today"? Because if you deny the GB, you have DA yourself from the bOrg.

So you prove my point. By not disassociating and ending contact, you're subject to them calling on you, whenever they so choose, therefore you're still playing their game.

There are those here who have posted that they later regretted their decision to DA.

A fair point, just as there are people that have regretted their decision to fade. Again there is fear that prevents people from taking such a permanent stand. If that's not for you, great. If a person is brave enough to do it, celebrate with them instead of discouraging them. They've probably been through hell just to make that decision and don't need you adding to it.
Like I said, I don't go on threads where people want to fade and tell them to disassociate or else they will have to continue playing the JW game. I don't get why people feel it is their place to interject on threads where people want to disassociate and to try to shame them into not doing so because they're playing their game, which comes off just as pejorative. THAT is why I said what I said. I'm sick of the way people are treated for wanting to disassociate, as if they're somehow doing it wrong by finally making probably one of the first and most important decisions for themselves apart from the cult. I've seen the looks from ex-dubs that have found out that we disassociated at times, like we're weak for taking that step or must have been sad and pathetic and needed it. Fuck that. We should celebrate people that get out no matter how they do it. I said what I said here to illustrate the way people like you and others make people feel that disassociate. Instead we should be cheerleaders for others.
So, from now on when I see the tired and played out "don't play by their rules" I'm going to post the above because it takes balls to disassociate and if people are going to characterize one that decides to disassociate a certain way we might as well do the same for those that choose not to, right. Or we could just be supportive of what another chooses to do on the way out. Nah, let's decide why it must be that people disassociate and point them out as doing something weak and try to discourage them from doing it.