I agree with the above posts, as I sense a big change and the WT does too. I can’t put it into words only what I observe in my limited view of JWs from the distance.
1) The JWs are quickly and quietly becoming a social club, especially for the younger crowd, hell even for the older crowd. Many of these were born into it or found themselves brought in through family in there later teen yrs. They like to hang out with other people who they consider good people, but it is much more for the built-in friends that come with showing up at the hall. Most of these have little or no ambition to be anything much more than seat warmers.
Some of these can not escape for now due to family or the fear of a total loss of a social system. But don’t be mistaken, this is a totally different JW than the JW of the 70s and even the 80s. In those days you always reached out, never said no to an assignment, didn’t think about going to school, and actually sort of wanted to pioneer, etc. etc.
2) Another late development is the ex-elder. There is a growing group of JW x-elders, men who once were who are now more than content to be seat-warmers too. (Although from what I have heard there are growing reports of COs deleting long time elders for seemingly frivolous reasons). These men have heard it all. They’ve been through the complete cycle and heard every fear and guilt-laden diatribe the WT has spouted. They have heard the Last Days speech over and over and over again. They have not forgotten that the generation of 1914 was not supposed to die before the big A. They still go to the meetings, comment occasionally…but they definitely know bullshit when they hear it now. They know pretty much what lines to say to the CO when he comes around to keep him off their backs about reaching out again, but they have no intention of saddling themselves with that bs again. Oh, and just coming out with another book doesn’t cut it anymore…they have heard it all about the latest and greatest new pub…they are booked out.
I am old enough to remember the late 60s WT as a child. I am old enough to remember the old WT, and young enough to see what it has evolved into. I believe, looking back, the generation change of 1995 and the advent of the Internet will go down as milestones that irreversibly changed the WT. Yes irreversibly, because there is no way the WT will ever have the unquestioning allegiance it had before.
Nic, you are also correct in saying that the WT is creating not just complainers, but bonafide enemies. Why is that? It is because they took our souls. We were really ready to give it all. They may talk about us now and how evil we are, but WT you gave us this measuring stick. The only thing we are doing is measuring with the stick we were given.
Every action we took, every other religion we met, every job we took, who we dated and how we dated, who we married, whether we went to college or not, what clothes we wore and whether it “looked right”, whether we went to the prom or not, whether we got to go on school trips or participate in sports, music, or art. We suppressed every thing we were to support what we were told was the greater good. We suppressed our natural instincts to be good neighbors, to give to charitable causes, to be normal in order to place some magazines. Yes, in some cases we could have made worse choices (as many of us are not in jail or dealing with others problems), but that is not the point. We were ROBBED. And that just sticks in our craw.
The internet is providing the forum to let us know that we weren’t going crazy, that we were not the only ones who sensed something was wrong. The new social JW will not make the same mistakes we did, those days are bye-bye.
WT, yes you have plenty of money and assets to be around for awhile. But what you cherish most is what is vanishing. And ultimately, its not really about the money, its about your credibility.
Axel
