Actually, Bethel is within their legal bounds in tapping phone calls. They tapped mine when I was at the house. If they were on a witch-hunt it was legal because it is considered their private property. Sucks don't it.........
Black Man
JoinedPosts by Black Man
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71
Bethel Getting Paranoid, Tightening Screws
by AlanF ini have it from solid sources that brooklyn and patterson are now recording all incoming telephone calls.. a word to the wise if you have friends there you talk to.. alanf
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93
Position on College Changed?
by Maximus inseveral have made outright statements and others have suggested that the society's negative position on higher education has changed.
'the society does not discourage higher education where i live.
' worse, 'apostates have made it all up--the society has never discouraged education.
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Black Man
I'm pushing this back up just because............
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51
Gleaning at Bethel
by Black Man inwant to see bethelites act like greedy scavengers?
just check out the tail end of bethel family breakfast, lunch or dinners.
for those not familar with this phenomenon, gleaning was when bethelites could basically bring their tupperware dishes down and store up on the leftover meals once the family was dismissed (usually by prayer, except for the bethel dinner).
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Black Man
JT: I'll probably hit you up on your e-mail sometime this week.
TeeJay: A book, huh? I'll never say never.......
Michael 3000: Yeah, Pizza Night was particularly bizarre. Vultures were circling tables in full-effect on that night.
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37
My first time "storming" out!!
by lookingnow22 ini "stormed" out of a meeting for the first time in my life tonight.
well, i really just walked really fast, but inside myself i was storming.
anybody catch some of the insolent comments made in the 6/01km?
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Black Man
I feel what you're saying, Looking. I did the pioneer/bethel thing and found that I was sorely lacking when it came time to live in the real world. The WTS' whole focus on college has been wrong right from jumpstreet. They should have focused on how to gain a higher education and balance it out with spirituality instead straight out making it a "sin" to go to college. Now they are doing a constant backpedal routine on the whole subject. In Bethel they sorely need college educated skilled persons. If you were raised in the truth and did what you were told you subsisted on being a janitor or bank teller to promote your ministry. If you went to college you were BRANDED as a spirtual deadbeat. If you made it to Bethel you're thrown in cleaning or maintenance or bindery and told to be content with that for we are all God's workers. If you were a worldly person and went to college and THEN came into the truth and just so happened to apply for Bethel, you can be easily welcomed (depending on what field you studied) in as a doctor, lawyer, engineer and the like and no issue ever made of your spirituality because it was completely OK to do that BEFORE you came into the truth.
In fact one brother who was on the personnel committee a while ago, said that the fact that some friends went to college before they came into the truth shows industriousness and the brothers look at that favorably along with their spirituality.
The WTS owes an apology to the tens of thousands that forsook college education and bought into the rhetoric they were spouting for so many years and still are. It wouldn't repair the damage done, but at least it would be a consolation to those whose lives could have been way more meaningful. But no, you get the same arrogant BS along with the periodic articles in magazines and KM's about going to college now to further kingdom interests. Complete and utter bull-shit.
The concentration needs to be on taking an encouraging and NON-JUDGEMENTAL stance and focusing on how to be the best you can be and maintain have a spiritual focus. Spirituality is applying BIBLE PRINCIPLES and not serving the selfish interests of a publishing company.
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51
Gleaning at Bethel
by Black Man inwant to see bethelites act like greedy scavengers?
just check out the tail end of bethel family breakfast, lunch or dinners.
for those not familar with this phenomenon, gleaning was when bethelites could basically bring their tupperware dishes down and store up on the leftover meals once the family was dismissed (usually by prayer, except for the bethel dinner).
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Black Man
Wassup, man. Yeah, it was mos-def an institutionalized existence. The longer you were there the more weirder you got. Brothers who had been single for many years there were the most eccentric. I'd say that if you've been up there 10 years or more and don't have a mate you just a weird mofo. At least the married ones would have their wives to keep them somewhat balanced. But the single ones that had been up there for 10-15-20-25-30 years were just straight up bananas.
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51
Gleaning at Bethel
by Black Man inwant to see bethelites act like greedy scavengers?
just check out the tail end of bethel family breakfast, lunch or dinners.
for those not familar with this phenomenon, gleaning was when bethelites could basically bring their tupperware dishes down and store up on the leftover meals once the family was dismissed (usually by prayer, except for the bethel dinner).
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Black Man
Want to see Bethelites act like greedy scavengers? Just check out the tail end of bethel family breakfast, lunch or dinners. For those not familar with this phenomenon, Gleaning was when Bethelites could basically bring their tupperware dishes down and store up on the leftover meals once the family was dismissed (usually by prayer, except for the Bethel Dinner). You'd have greedy-ass Bethelites storing up on food for the next week or two depending on the meal. During the tail end of the family prayer over breakfast or lunch, you could just look around and see family members with their tupperware bowls in hand just waiting for the magic words "amen" then utter carnage would ensue.
You had peeps stampeding over each other making their way to tables that may have had any leftovers. I rarely dug any of the meals at Bethel, but once I was eating a meal that I actually liked and as I'm pouring another glass of water into my cup, this sister comes over to my plate with her gleaning tupperware in hand and proceeds to begin shoveling my food into her "storehouse". I go "hey, I'm not done eating yet. She then begins to berate me for taking so long to finish my food and that if I don't move, I'll lose.
Married sisters were particularly territorial about Gleaning (gotta please the hubby). Some would actually argue over who got to an empty pot first at various tables. Others would store-up on eats and have room parties with the leftovers. Nice cheap way to have catered pre-cooked food.
Some of your more sheltered Bethelites were just flat-out embarassing. Some of you Bethelites thought Willy Walker was an embarassment to the Black race, try this one brother named Rodney Nelson. Rodney was your typical black Bethel lifer, the kind that would never amount to anything on the outside but had been there so long that he carved his niche in the house. Massive pot-belly, laughing all the time at shit that wasn't funny, wearing clothes that your grand-pops wouldn't even be caught dead in. Anyway my man decides to bring a hefty bag down to the table, a GOT-DAMN hefty bag. I guess he wanted to make sure he had enough eats to take him clear through the new system. A few of the brothers were just watching this fool and shaking their heads as he navigated his way from one table to the next filling the damn hefty bag. I heard some brothers later pulled him aside and counseled him on the need to be less conspicuous.
Gleaning gotta love it........
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79
What is G-JOBBING for Bethelites?????????
by JT inhad enough asked :.
if you haven't already related to us the experiences at bethel that you told to your mom-in-law, (or even if you already have told us) could you tell us about what you told her.....and...what is "g-jobbing" (sorry for my naivity) .
i didn't want to take away from sl post about his mother but i thought a little insight into the world of the bethelites would be interesting this am.
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Black Man
By the time I got to Bethel they had cracked the whip on G-Jobbing. You had to report all earned income. You also had to make sure you did everything outside if you were gonna g-job. The busters bugged my phone line and found out I was doing some computer work for a company. I had to have a sit-down with a couple of bethel elders who made me stop working for them. It's not like any of it impeded on my meetings or work assignment. I would do this work on the weekends or during down time. They cracked the whip on me, but there were countless other bethelites g-jobbing on the down-low.
It was all senseless. You only got 90.00 a month. Over 2/3 of that went on just subway tokens alone to the congo. The congo was poor so they really couldn't help a Bethelite out. Instead of looking for hand-outs I g-jobbed. It wasn't a lot, but damn......anything that came in was a big help.
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Where's Obed?
by Black Man inwhatever happened to obed fernandez?
i used to lurk at witnet and that's where i first began to come to grips with my thoughts on the org.
i think his site inspired this one.
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Black Man
Whatever happened to Obed Fernandez? I used to lurk at witnet and that's where I first began to come to grips with my thoughts on the org. I think his site inspired this one. I knew he took his site down. But I was wondering whether he was still gonna post some of the old discussion threads that were on there.
You just don't know how appreciated peeps like Obed and Simon are for supplying DB's like this.
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93
Position on College Changed?
by Maximus inseveral have made outright statements and others have suggested that the society's negative position on higher education has changed.
'the society does not discourage higher education where i live.
' worse, 'apostates have made it all up--the society has never discouraged education.
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Black Man
This was one of the biggest issues that sincerely ticked the hell outta me. The article on higher education that came out (early 90's i think) was a couple of years after I graduated from high school. I did what was encouraged in my circuit and that was to turn down scholarship offers and pioneer. But then when I get to Bethel, peeps that hadn't pioneered for a day in their life (and had gone to college) had office jobs and I'm stuck cleanin' their crap outta the toilets.
I don't know if this was the case with anybody else, but the "white" circuits in my area were a little more open-minded and didn't put as much pressure on kids to not go to college, while me being a black kid in a black circuit would've been crucified at the mere thought. College was equated with being spiritually weak. My circuit definitely took what the the FDS said in the Watchtower literally while outlying circuits in the area (Michigan) didn't take those words quite as literally. Interesting dynamics there.
I'm just now making up ground. What kills me is the arrogance of the WTS. I would have felt a little better if they would have just admitted and apologized for their stance on college. But no, they resort to saying "we never implicitly forbade persons from going to college." BULLSHIT. I can't begin to imagine how all the hopes, dreams, aspirations and just personal self-worth of people were completely shot to hell because they blindly followed the Society's edict on college.
What's funny is that nowadays, if you're a doctor, nurse, lawyer, engineer and etc., you can most likely be accepted to Bethel as soon as you get out of the baptismal pool. While on the other hand you have peeps at Bethel or peeps that have served at Bethel that don't have any training outside of BUFFING TOILETS. Sad.........
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10
prince concert, minneapolis, june 15, 2001
by peaceloveharmony infirst, here is what the media had to say:.
from the mpls star tribune:.
birthday show reflects a more mature prince.
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Black Man
Thanks for the post. He's coming to Detroit next week.