Posts by dubstepped

12

Activism ideas for our local communities

by stuckinarut2 in

jw
friends

i have been thinking of dignified ways to raise awareness about the toxicity of the jw religion in my local community.. so, yesterday, i phoned my local council head office to query the carts that are set up in several places in our town.. i was very polite and professional, and asked the council clerk if they were aware that a religious cult sets up its propaganda stands on council property near families and children on a regular basis.. i said:.

"while i am sure they may be very nice people, the group they represent teaches things that appear to me to be in direct conflict with the values and ethics of our local community and council.".

"their initial message seems pleasant, but i know for example, they are a very misogynistic and homophobic group.

dubstepped

Great work man! They have just started setting up in our town for the first time ever. Right on the busiest intersection, but there really is no foot traffic there and it's not like cars can stop there so it's very strange, but still. My wife and I were talking about informing our local council and boom, here's your post. Right on time. Jehovah is hooking us up with food at the proper time. ;)

110

Jehovah’s Witness who posted criticisms on Reddit can remain anonymous, judge rules

by Tameria2001 in

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/jehovah-s-witness-who-posted-criticisms-on-13855357.php.

i had this article pop up about the darksilver case.

it says a federal magistrate in san francisco has now ruled that darksilver can remain anonymous but then it says except for identification to lawyers for the religion’s watchtower publication.

dubstepped

Haven't JW nurses broken HIPPA laws to out people for taking blood and such? They view Jehovah's law above those of the land. They have no qualms breaking any of of this and will take down Spilver if they can for sure. Ultimately if you play these games you have to know that shunning is likely coming your way, but I just hope it ends there. The judge knows now what he's up against. They talk the talk about respecting Caesar but they don't. We all know that.

Dying Out Loud

by dubstepped in

my interviews are usually with ex-jws but this one is different.

you'll see a few things we had in common with pentecostals, including shunning in this one particular church, and more important you'll get inspired to live your moments well.

this man is on the clock with a terrible disease but he has such a great outlook on life.. - new episode - 31 - dave warnock - dying out loud.

dubstepped

My interviews are usually with ex-JWs but this one is different. You'll see a few things we had in common with Pentecostals, including shunning in this one particular church, and more important you'll get inspired to live your moments well. This man is on the clock with a terrible disease but he has such a great outlook on life.

- New Episode - 31 - Dave Warnock - Dying Out Loud

Today we have a story that’s different than the norm. We’re going to get to know Dave Warnock, former pastor and member of a charismatic evangelical Pentecostal church who is shunned by his children. But the story is bigger than that. Dave has been diagnosed in the last few months with ALS, sometimes commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and he knows that he only has a finite time left in his life. This is truly inspiring story and we talk about a subject that few want to talk about, death. More than that, we talk about life, as death isn’t as scary as never truly living.

You can listen on the podcast app of your choice such as iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Podbean, Podcast Republic (my personal choice), or many others.

You can also listen on my website at:
https://shunnedpodcast.com/episode-thirty-one-dave-warnock…/

And you can listen on Youtube at:
https://youtu.be/xEyj7gTiSmw

28

Why I now believe Jehovah's witnesses are a cult!

by UnshackleTheChains in

i always tended to avoid using the word 'cult' to describe jehovah's witnesses.

instead, i preferred referring to them as a 'high control group'.

however, having watched the shocking and bizarre behaviour by so called jehovah's witness elders toward eric wilson (borean pickets), this now confirms beyond any doubt in my mind that the watchtower organisation is nothing more than a cult.. i would seriously encourage everyone to watch the video in it's entirety and see how truly cultlike they are.. my jaw still hitting the floor 😮.

dubstepped

As to the cult part... Well.... Yeah. Didn't need this to know that. But it's good to see their crazy put out into the public sphere by as many people as possible. I followed Eric's early work when I was leaving the dubs and looking for something. His work helped me, though I ended up an atheist. It was good for me at a time when I needed it.

Good for you Eric! Expose them for what they really are.

48

Corporal punishment

by Incognigo Montoya in

so i just finished watching the latest cedars video on spanking children.

i like lloyd, and think that overall he does a good job covering issues in his videos.

but i've gotta disagree with him on this issue, to a point.. i don't agree with beating your children, but i do believe in spanking, when appropriate.

dubstepped

Just out of curiosity, for those claiming that you were hit and it was okay because it taught you a lesson, is that the only way you could have been stopped from that course of action?

My dad never hit me once. Of course, he wasn't healthy either, just emotionally abusive instead of physically and pretty unpredictable so the threat of physical harm was there anyway.

My mom spanked but she was a tiny lady and her spankings were hilarious. The last time she spanked me I laughed and laughed because her knee was in my side in a way that tickled. That just made her angrier. I had never openly laughed or disrespected the spankings but they were ridiculous theater of power and nothing more. I rarely got one because I was a good kid.

One time as a late teen she tried to slap me for being sarcastic, the first time that had been attempted, and I caught her hand. It was reflex, and I apologized because it was like a kid at school messing with me and I just reacted. Funny how she never touched me again. It just goes to show that it was nothing more than an act of power. It's not like after that moment I was uncontrollable.

New Episode - Thirty - Chloe is shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses

by dubstepped in

chloe’s family was in the circuit work, but her family also had a lot of pressure in the house, pressure that she’ll describe in a way that will put you right there, pressure that perhaps you felt in your home if you too had a particularly volatile parent.

chloe, like so many, lived a double life and ended up getting married young to another jw.

today she shares custody of her daughter with that jw and at my request she provides some really amazing advice for others in that situation.

dubstepped

Chloe’s family was in the circuit work, but her family also had a lot of pressure in the house, pressure that she’ll describe in a way that will put you right there, pressure that perhaps you felt in your home if you too had a particularly volatile parent. Chloe, like so many, lived a double life and ended up getting married young to another JW. Today she shares custody of her daughter with that JW and at my request she provides some really amazing advice for others in that situation. There are a lot of things here that I’m sure you’ll relate to on some level.

You can listen on the podcast app of your choice such as iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Podbean, Podcast Republic (my personal choice), or many others.

You can also listen on my website at:
https://shunnedpodcast.com/episode-thirty-chloe-is-shunned…/

And you can listen on Youtube at:
https://youtu.be/MXsmLqRtWgk

Love others, do no harm, and go be happy!

77

Advice on Disassociating

by HiddenPimo in

hello my exjw/pimo/pomo friends,.

i am working on penning my da letter and wondered if i should use it as a tool to maybe wake up individuals as the boe will have to read it.. anyone have any advice on what i should say versus what i should leave out?

i am not going to fade as my family can either be loyal to blood or loyal to a man made religion.

dubstepped

Clearly this is going nowhere so I'm not going to keep beating the same drum. I don't think it's fair for those that have never done a thing to create the narrative for it. I've been on both sides. Disassociation was my choice. I respect your right to make yours, though I feel like fading is playing their game and robbing family of the opportunity to wake up. Having to shun helped wake me up. It's the hardest thing a JW with any humanity left intact has to do. It creates more cognitive dissonance than anything.

I feel like fading is enabling the dubs. I still respect the right of others to choose and realize they have their reasons and it's not mine to impact and unlike you I don't go into threads where people want help doing something and tell them things to try to stop them, I try to support them in their decision. You can't do that. It's a shame, especially since so many of you claim to support those that disassociate. Your actions say otherwise.

Be you. Be happy. I'm out.

77

Advice on Disassociating

by HiddenPimo in

hello my exjw/pimo/pomo friends,.

i am working on penning my da letter and wondered if i should use it as a tool to maybe wake up individuals as the boe will have to read it.. anyone have any advice on what i should say versus what i should leave out?

i am not going to fade as my family can either be loyal to blood or loyal to a man made religion.

dubstepped

suppose the watchtower imposed a " release fee" to anyone wanting to leave ? how many would pay up ?
isnt it the same as writing a letter of resignation ?

No, not at all. You guys can't get over your JW centered thinking. Disassociating is something, like writing a letter of resignation, that you do to them because you don't want to be a part of someone or something anymore, it's not something they do to you like extorting money. You're so hung up on that being a JW term that you would let it keep you from doing what might actually be the most healthy thing for you. Or not, maybe it wouldn't be healthy for you, only you can answer that, but you keep trying to tell others what's healthy for them when they've made the decision for themselves, like the OP.

I disassociated from them. It was my choice. I didn't want the stench of the name Jehovah's Witnesses on me anymore. I didn't want to ever be identified as one. I didn't want them talking to me. They're largely toxic and crazy. I disassociated, they didn't disassociate me. I put them all behind me with one measly letter. Yes, it was a hard letter to write and I knew the implications, but that shunning is something they do to me and that's their choice, I had to make mine as well, and honestly shunning isn't all bad or all good. Like most things in life it's a mixed bag and I had to choose what fit me. I did one last thing that was associated with them by writing that letter and I was done with them. Game over. By fading you have to put up with so much and keep hiding things so that you aren't "caught" and disfellowshipped someday.

In contrast, if you're going to think through that lens,couldn't fading be said to be enabling them? Aren't you enabling their bad behavior by refusing to take a stand against it? What does it say to stay in a bad relationship or an inhuman or immoral company or group just because you think you can change them? How many times does that actually work? Isn't that what most abuse victims think in relationships, that somehow they will change them from the inside instead of running far away? Don't people on here make fun of Catholics for supporting that organization? Why support Jehovah's Witnesses by pretending to be one on some level?

Again, there are questions on both sides. You have to answer them for yourself.

77

Advice on Disassociating

by HiddenPimo in

hello my exjw/pimo/pomo friends,.

i am working on penning my da letter and wondered if i should use it as a tool to maybe wake up individuals as the boe will have to read it.. anyone have any advice on what i should say versus what i should leave out?

i am not going to fade as my family can either be loyal to blood or loyal to a man made religion.

dubstepped

Yes Incognigo (sorry Incognito for spell check converting the name earlier but you were wise enough to make it out), things are different for people dependent on family. That doesn't mean that they don't even out on some level though. First, you're trying to measure love, which is a tough thing to do, particularly objectively as you stated. Second, often those that had dysfunctional families, just have a different set of problems. Trying to measure it is silly. The therapy industry is built on people who had dysfunctional families, so it isn't something that is just easy to pack away and move on from. In my opinion you're greatly oversimplifying things and calling it objective. I don't see it the same as you. To me one isn't necessarily easier or harder, just different.

You're also basing an argument on a premise that somehow those that disassociate have dysfunctional families as if those that fade don't. I don't necessarily see that. Faders often have super messed up families too. Like I said earlier, there were dysfunctional families everywhere. Faders are often trying to get that love that they never got, still trying and hoping that someday it will turn around. Many faders put up with absolutely awful and toxic behavior.

It's like the assertion that I argue about that those that disassociate are playing the JW game, as if those that fade aren't. Everyone plays to some degree. Disassociating ends the game for you. Fading continues it. One is free to choose whatever one likes and again I'll support them either way, as it appears you will as well. That's rare, it usually only goes one way with support only for fading and false labeling and characterization of those that disassociate.

77

Advice on Disassociating

by HiddenPimo in

hello my exjw/pimo/pomo friends,.

i am working on penning my da letter and wondered if i should use it as a tool to maybe wake up individuals as the boe will have to read it.. anyone have any advice on what i should say versus what i should leave out?

i am not going to fade as my family can either be loyal to blood or loyal to a man made religion.

dubstepped

@Incognito - LOL, so it was easy for me to disassociate because my family was dysfunctional, like so many weren't in the cult. Come on man. If you listened to my story you know how hard it was but I needed to do it, and you probably don't know all the reasons why so let's not act like you know.

Time and time again I've supported a person disassociating on here. I also support fading. You don't get the same going both ways. Maybe you're the odd one, but every thread about disassociating devolves into this brought on by faders that can't respect the decisions of others. Don't judge my stance by one set of posts in one discussion. I'm often the lone supporter of anyone coming here wishing to disassociate.

I'm not butthurt, I'm actually on topic from the OP. I do know what it's like though to seek support only to run up against this. I did this very thing when I sought to disassociate and it would have been nice to have support. Instead I just got the same trolling, and I'm glad I didn't listen.

I have been far more supportive than most. You're lecturing the wrong person. In fact, I'm supporting the OP, something most aren't. Props to you if you can see past your own emotions to do the same.

Disassociation is a tough enough decision without everyone discouraging you from doing it when you've chosen that as your path.