Posts by pratt1

74

blow out at kingdumb hall build today

by johnny cip in

jw
friends

they are adding a second floor to this hall that they have had for at least 40 years.

in gunhill rd bronx new york city.

i started by asking dumb questions .

blow out at kingdumb hall build today

by johnny cip in

jw
friends

they are adding a second floor to this hall that they have had for at least 40 years.

in gunhill rd bronx new york city.

i started by asking dumb questions .

Johnny's in your face approach may offend some but based on the location of the Dumb Hall, those people are not used to the subtle way of life. Their life is a fight every day just for survival in many cases.

The poor econmony, drugs and rampant crime has forced these people to develop an in your face attitude to life.

My guess, this style is the style they are most comfortable with and I am sure they went back and gave Johnny points some serious thought.

A good speaker knows his audience and adapts his style to get maximum positive effects.

Johnny accomplished this.

12

What would you do? Follow-up

by pratt1 in

in an earlier post i spoke of a young relative who is 16 and pregant and wanted me to help her get an abortion without the knowledge of her parents.. well i got the young girl to speak with her parents.

i accompanied her.

i wasn't 100% comfortable with my advice to tell her parents, because they are both dubs to the letter and dad is a hot head - he and i had numerous fights as kids growing up.

pratt1

In an earlier post I spoke of a young relative who is 16 and pregant and wanted me to help her get an abortion without the knowledge of her parents.

Well I got the young girl to speak with her parents. I accompanied her. I wasn't 100% comfortable with my advice to tell her parents, because they are both dubs to the letter and dad is a hot head - he and I had numerous fights as kids growing up.

His temper and my temper - not a good combination.

My wife also came along to keep me in line.

The reaction of both parents was shock, hurt and although they wont admit it, embrassment over the "humilation" the family will suffer when this is obvious to everyone.

Dad's first respnse was - Get out of my house! I grabbed his daughter's hand and I said " go upsatirs, and pack a bag and come live with us." His wife intervened and eventually he relented.

There were a lot of tears, accusations, finger pointing at all sides, but after 4 hours, you could see that they really love one another and that they would try to get through this.

By the way, I stated in my previous e-mail that she was 3 months pregant - I was wrong, she is actually a week shy of 5 months.

Abortion is not an option.

The wives our taking her to a doctor this morning, she has had no pre natal care and she has a heart mermur? that could cause complications.

I think this worked out okay, but I am keeping the spare bedroom available just in case.

Next, her trip to the elders.

I'll keep you guys poted.

Please if you pray, say a small prayer on her behalf. I've always viewed her as the most fragile of my cousins and I am not sure of her emotion state.

14

Sexual advances from JWs.

by greendawn in

jw
friends

during your time as a jw were there any instances where other jws of the opposite sex young or old, attempted to sexually seduce you?

pratt1

Interesting question.

I was married at a fairly young age and the marriage was doomed from the start. We separated and I continued to go to the hall. We did not have "scriptural grounds" for a divorce at this point.

Well in my hall there were many, I mean many, single sisters in the early 20's to late 30's, all looking for a husband.

I can name at least 6 sisters who made it very clear that they we available for a little action. Interestingly enough, they were supposedly "spiritual sisters" , and also friends or at least associates of my estranged wife.

I always thought that they wanted to get in trouble with me, giving my wife grounds for a divorce and then the elders would pressure me to marry them.

It's not that I was such a great catch, but I was college educated, employed and a MS.

I also know of other brothers who had the same experinces.

Oh... and I actually seduced a dub.

But I married her.

21

Is age an excuse to hold back?

by stopthepain in

jw
friends

.

a few times me and my family have had it out about the cult,and my parents{especially my mom}who are now 50,get all craxzy sometimes.she almost acts like she's physically sick,or haveing a heart attack or something when things get heated.now i understand sheis emotional to begin with,thats what got her into this crap .but is all these factors a reason to hold back feelings?i often find myself tip-toeing around how i talk to her.i feel the fanatic state they kept thier kids(especially us o0lder 3 of 5}really had detrimental effects on us.it's not so much of what they believed,but how they held us kids back from normal growth.i don't want to make her feel terrible,but sometimes it's hard not to say things.she still clings to her meeting on sunday,and basic principlkes of the bible,but i at times feel betrayed because of her cntinuing to support that reloigion.i guess you just have to take it as comes.has this happened to anyone else?sometimes i care,sometimes i don't.i want my parents to know exactly how wrong the way they raised me was.i guess it was worse because i was so trusting.at a few times in my life,i actually beli9eved.when the rug got pulled out for me,i was left emotionally scarred.it is very difficult for me to forgive and forget.it's just the more you think about how ridicoulous there way of raising children was,the more angry i get.. its my little brothers 21 birthday tonight,and we are all going out to eat and have a few drinks{but it's not a birthday party}.i couldn't do crap in all my childhood.they taught me to hate.they used warped scare tactics on young children.they held me back socially in everyway.they caused,thru that cult,soooooo much pain,that still lingers today.will i ever truly forgive and forget,i dont think so,but thier age may spare them my full disdain.its a fine line i tread with my parents,one between love and hate.. should age matter when it comes to confronting people on this subject,one that runs deep for many of us children of the watchtowers 1980's /early 90's pinnacle of fanatisism?stp

pratt1

What works on one parent may not work on another. In my case I have a very open and close relationship with both my parents that is buildt on honesty.

Therefore, I do not co-sign on to any of the Dubism and I make it perfectly clear when it is discussed. I also do not let my mom off the hook when the topic of my childhood or the childhods of children of dubs come up. Nor do I let my dad off the hook for being silent in my upbringing when the dubs were concerned.

Do they realize the damage they have done, or the damage that is being caused to young children today by their dub parents? I am not sure, however I do know that my mom has become very outspoken in her congo about not shunning ones family and how by acting out of love and embracing them is what the bible actually teaches.

I know I am lucky in this respect, and I am grateful, but in my opinion everyone needs to accept responsiblity for their actions even if they had the best intention.

15

Did Anything Positive Come From You Being A JW?

by Why Georgia in

jw
friends

i know this has probably been asked before.. did anything positive come from you being a jw?.

i personally was never a jw....but i have benefited from darling husband being one.

from working on all those quick builds and being involved in all those cleaning businesses.

pratt1

I agree about the public speaking.

I am good at it because I have been doing it all my life.

And although my teen years were very restrictive, it did keep me out of trouble and taught me how not to succumb to peer pressure.

I was used to being the odd man out.

12

What would you do?

by pratt1 in

jw
friends

let's say that a young relative of yours is a dub, 16 years old, and live with her dub parents.. she has come to you because she is pregant and needs you moral and financial support in this matter.. because she was in denial about her condition, if she has an abortion (which is what she wants) it would require a short hopital stay.

she is 11 weeks i think.. what do you do?.

1. tell her parents?.

pratt1

Good points both.

I have a 19 year old daughter and I know in time I could except almost anything she does and still love her the way I love her today.

However this girl's perception of her parents reaction is her reality, and she definitely feels she would be disowned, definitely shunned, humiliated and embrassed in front of the entire congo, and perhaps thrown out of the family home.

Fortunately, for me she has also confided in my cousin who is a medical professional and he is looking into other options for her.

As to whether or not she will regret this later in life, it could go either way. I was involved in a similar situation a little older than she is now and both me and the other party are sure we made the right decision. We were not equipped to be parents.

12

What would you do?

by pratt1 in

jw
friends

let's say that a young relative of yours is a dub, 16 years old, and live with her dub parents.. she has come to you because she is pregant and needs you moral and financial support in this matter.. because she was in denial about her condition, if she has an abortion (which is what she wants) it would require a short hopital stay.

she is 11 weeks i think.. what do you do?.

1. tell her parents?.

pratt1

Let's say that a young relative of yours is a dub, 16 years old, and live with her dub parents.

She has come to you because she is pregant and needs you moral and financial support in this matter.

Because she was in denial about her condition, if she has an abortion (which is what she wants) it would require a short hopital stay. She is 11 weeks I think.

What do you do?

1. tell her parents?

2. Tell her to tell her parents?

3. Help her and then tell her parents?

4. Tell her you do not want to get involved especially since her parents refuse to speak to you because of your rejection of the "troof"?

41

Young JWs-living a lie

by Jez in

for the past year, i have been observing the jw kids that i know.

i am in a unique situation as i work at the local high school, therefore see many of them on a daily basis.

let me tell you, 80% of them are totally undistinguishable as jws.

pratt1

I agree it is a bad situation but if your choices are either live a lie or get thrown out of the house without any financial support, the easy answer is live the lie.

I did for many years, I was determined to get a college education and to be financial independent from my parents. It would buy me the right to make my own decisions and live my life the way I wanted without the ramifications from my family.

Once I got my education I got outta the "troof" as fast as possible and I have never regreted my choice.

Try not to judge these kids too harshly. They are just trying to survive in a tottally unhealthy environment.

28

Miss Universe pageant -- I think I'm in love! =)

by Elsewhere in

jw
friends

as far as i'm concerned, leva kokorevica (from latvia) won the whole thing the moment she first stepped on the stage .

leva!

pratt1

Miss Canada certainly deserved to win.

Miss Veneuzula was pretty hot as well.

They made my night!