Posts by Axelspeed

74

Bethel Downsizing Again!

by zack in

jw
friends

i do not know if any of you have heard.

no one in my congo.

other than one other elder on the body has heard:.

Axelspeed

They've been slowly getting rid of their publishing angle. There's no money in it anymore. There's more money in real estate.

I have been thinking about this as well. As well as for other reasons for the shift in focus, while downsizing. Consider this scenario for a typical in his 50's life-long bethel middleweight:

I'm in my 50's and not getting any younger

I'm in my 50's and have no retirement to live on in the upcoming years

I have no marketable skills to use on the outside in the real world

I have seen the rough plight of others who have left Bethel and the hardships they are facing, and their dependance on the mercy of the friends.

I have no children to look after me in my old age

While at the same time:

There is this big pile of money and assets that should be able to carry me and my wife through for the next 30 or so years.

Yes people are leaving in droves, but if we downsize enough, at least we'll be taken care of (the ones left at Bethel).

I can live out the rest of life in a paid for prime location riverfront Brooklyn condo, while selling or leasing the rest.

I can get free med care and live off of the friends for the rest of my own life at least.

I have no kids, so there is no need to have assets to pass on, just worry about me and wifey.

Just some random thoughts about what may be going through the minds of some at HQ.

Axel

307

SERVICE REPORT 2005 : WATCHTOWER FEB 1ST 2006

by BluesBrother in

i have had a quick look and found no references to this, so - here goes..as in the mag we picked up on sunday.. worldwide % increase over 2004 = 1.3%.

memorial partakers 8524 (compared to 8570 in 2004).

most european and nth american lands show pretty static figs - britain 1% increase, canada 0%, germany 0%, france 1%, usa 0%... but spare a thought for the inhabitants of zambia where 1 person in 90 is a reporting witness, must be hell going down to the local market!

Axelspeed

Why does the Society endlessly nag the friends about college education - but never offer their own college to help preserve
their own subculture?

Off topic again:

This was another mistake. I don't know how they could have done it or the details involved in the whole process, but they should have created their own accredited university open to all jws and whoever else a long time ago. The Mormons did it and their membership thrives, and their members feel that they have gotten something, at least, that they can use for life. Whether it would have been Gilead or a completely separate institution, I don't know.

They have put nothing into preserving their subculture long-term other than pushing more magazines and books. There is nothing here that serves the practical interests of "the friends" for the long term as far as making a living and growing as individuals. Pushing books and magazines can only go so far, and is now becoming completely obsolete as a way to get more recruits. The friends know this even if they arent saying it.

The friends are not having success with this method, and this is translating to a dutiful, if not negative, attitude toward the door to door work. They just want to "get the time" to keep the elders and CO happy, and earn the salvation

The result is that even if they do still believe it is The Truth, as met said, The friends are getting tired of all of it. Many more are willing to just take there chances and just live the best way they can in this old system.

There is no infrastructure because 1/2 of the WT is really a book publishing business, and the other 1/2 really believed their own around the corner rhetoric.

Axel

74

Bethel Downsizing Again!

by zack in

jw
friends

i do not know if any of you have heard.

no one in my congo.

other than one other elder on the body has heard:.

Axelspeed

Its been my experience that ex-bethelites sometimes make the best x-jws.

Axel

57

I'm going to give you one more chance.

by LDH in

jw
friends

i hope all of you genx-r exjw will get a kick out of this story from my childhood.

i was just talking to jt and he says i should post it..... my daughter is studying wwi history in school.

i told her that when i was in 10th grade, i had a social studies teacher named nancy galbraith.

Axelspeed

These stories and remembering my own mindset at the time I was a jw reminds me to give new posters and those on there way out a little slack.

I mean we really really really bought into this stuff hook, line and sinker...and there was no one who was going to convince us otherwise!

Looking back, ...its so embarassing.

Axel (of the uggh! class)

57

I'm going to give you one more chance.

by LDH in

jw
friends

i hope all of you genx-r exjw will get a kick out of this story from my childhood.

i was just talking to jt and he says i should post it..... my daughter is studying wwi history in school.

i told her that when i was in 10th grade, i had a social studies teacher named nancy galbraith.

Axelspeed

LMAO!

I think that even puts my 10th grade biology paper on evolution to shame...which was pretty detailed and laid out itself.

I was deep, but not Actually bring info on League of Nations into the classroom deep.

Axel

50

College deletions?

by Collegegurl in

jw
friends

according to our new co, elders nor their children are allowed to go to college.

my dad is being deleted.

evidently new material was presented at the elder school.

Axelspeed

I asked earlier if this might be some new directive that COs will start implementing as they make there rounds. More likely it is the crusade of a few gungho COs...but we can hope.

There are way too many jws, elders and there wives included, going after a degree or taking courses for this not to become an issue. Maybe some will start to think.

Axel

307

SERVICE REPORT 2005 : WATCHTOWER FEB 1ST 2006

by BluesBrother in

i have had a quick look and found no references to this, so - here goes..as in the mag we picked up on sunday.. worldwide % increase over 2004 = 1.3%.

memorial partakers 8524 (compared to 8570 in 2004).

most european and nth american lands show pretty static figs - britain 1% increase, canada 0%, germany 0%, france 1%, usa 0%... but spare a thought for the inhabitants of zambia where 1 person in 90 is a reporting witness, must be hell going down to the local market!

Axelspeed

They got rid of food service at assemblies

A little off topic, but I think this was one of their first mistakes. Somehow they forgot the little things that made it at least a little fun to be a jw...or at least bearable.

In any business, there are expenses that you just know you will incur. In other words you have to give the people at least something to keep them happy. Somehow, some beancounter started slashing everything, thinking that it was the spiritual food that made being a jw a fun thing.

There are many things I regret about being a jw. But the fun times I do remember as a jw kid, were the assembly breaks with my friends, scouring for the hoagies danishes chips shasta colas and whatever else and running around the corridors.

Fast forward to today...shorter lunch breaks and people bring there own food. The result: People stay at their seats during breaks, roam and mix less, kids dont run and play as much. People dont mix and laugh as much.

This is only one example. If the people arent happy, a lot of them will ultimately leave.

They have forgotten that you have to keep people at least somewhat happy...you have to give them something. What exactly do they offer besides more meetings, fieldservice and personal study. They have succeeded in ripping all things fun from this religion.

Axel

76

Is the Watchtower Society strong enough to win this war with the internet?

by jack w in

jw
friends

could it be that the wts actually thinks it can win this war?

i mean, they are forcing sites to close down, suing the people that run them etc.

i wonder if this is the way they want to "handle" the internet problem.

Axelspeed

No, they seemingly do not understand it yet, much less have the ability to defeat it. Unless they already know its a losing battle and are simply trying to hang on.

I could possibly see that the more technical savvy (lawyers and financial people) already know this and are simply doing what they are told by those who are not so internet savvy but who are the powerbrokers and doctrine enforcers, and have the power. Being that this is and has been their life, they simply play out the string...perhaps just hoping to get an education, live well and safe on the WT's dime in the meantime, and then leave ultimately for other pastures in the future if necessary. Obviously this is only speculation.

Back to the question though - the internet is here to stay for the foreseeable future, and the changes so far are only the beginning. For though who are kids now, you simply will not be able to function well without the internet. Yes people have gotten by without college. It will be much much more difficult without the internet. It will simply become a way of life.

People research everything now. Before we step, we look...on the internet. Those looking to join the WT will be no different. Kids of jws will search the moment they log on.

They are showing that their achilles heel is the internet. If it wasn't, every piece of nonprofit, lifesaving, and inspired literature they have should be online.

This is not the Dark Ages when information found in books had to be tediously written or printed on presses that were difficult to move or hide, and then when found could simply be burned. This is digital information that once on the web, can be simutaneously downloaded and saved.

Even we are still learning...once a new quote site goes up, we zip it and save it. You can't burn digital information, much less stop it.

Most corporations have already seen this and reacted accordingly for their own survival. The problem for the WT is there past. They refuse to acknowledge past mistakes openly, ...cut their losses and move forward. They simply do not have it within themselves to do this. Nor do they have anyone with the charisma and clout to take the reins and do what needs to be done.

When the WT failed to embrace the internet, they lost.

Axel

26

Quotes Mirror Sites: Attempt at Making a Single Place to Report Sites

by Check_Your_Premises in

it appears that the work around for the quotes site will be a long term effort.

as the wt plays whack-a-mole with the new sites that pop up, we need to know where the new ones pop up.. so here is my attempt to bring some order to this process.

let's make this a running thread where we put all our links to the mirror sites.. the downside is that the wt will know where to go to find out where the new sites are they have to squash.. the upside is that it is alot easier to put a site up then it is for the wt to take them down!!!.

Axelspeed

The downside is that the WT will know where to go to find out where the new sites are they have to squash.

I think that your downside might outweigh the upside.

If there are more sites out there than I know about or can even find, I consider that a good thing. I understand your premise though.

Axel

36

Wow, new website! Pay Attention book, WT 2004 CD, Quotes all online

by kwintestal in

auld soul posted about a mirror site at www.reexamine.org/quotes/index.htm and so i checked it out.

i went onto the homepage www.reexamine.org and surfed around a bit and clicked onto the "community portal" and found a download section: .

http://www.reexamine.org/index.php/reexamine:community_portal:publication_downloads:secret_publications .

Axelspeed

while this may true, it is going to be like killing roaches- they just live on

I don't see how the WT could not see this coming based on the past history of the revolving door of the organization. The door has revolved so much, and couple that with the walk-aways and df'd, and it is easy to see that they have made many enemies.

Well actually I can see how. As progressive/creative as they are in some areas, in others they are still living in the past, and believe and expect that others do so too.

They have not really cared about this (the internet) or former members...until now. They didn't see the internet coming, and it is becoming increasingly evident that they still have not grasped the scope of its reach, power and the implications.

Did they really believe that requiring Quotes to destroy his copies would be the end of this information? If so, they really do not have a clue about this internet thing. If anything, it has now increased exponentially. This is not 1950. This is the information age! If it can be known, it will be.

Congrats to all the new mirrors! and Thank You Quotes!

Axel