Posts by under the radar

12

Self Brainwashing

by OnTheWayOut in

so i would love to hear and make more comments here on how "self-brainwashing" is done in jehovah's witnesses and how it becomes a problem when trying to wake up our loved ones.leah remini was on bill maher's show on friday, feb. 17th.

she had some great comments about things said on her series about scientology.

one was how members are "self-brainwashing" because they spend some hours every day doing self-study.

under the radar

As everyone here knows, there are many many close parallels between Scientology and Watchtower theology. I hope so much that one day someone with enough celebrity to attract a wide audience will expose the Watchtower the way Leah Remini has exposed Scientology.

Every cult I have ever heard of uses "self-brainwashing" to keep control of its members. It's a matter of psyching yourself out to keep believing what you've already decided to believe. It's not really study or research at all. It's nothing short of self-imposed indoctrination.

10

Nashville Public Radio: Lack Of Education Leads To Lost Dreams And Low Income For Many JWs

by AndersonsInfo in

jw
friends

http://www.npr.org/2017/02/19/510585965/poor-education-leads-to-lost-dreams-and-low-income-for-many-jehovahs-witnesses.

february 19, 20176:51 pm et.

heard on all things considered.

under the radar

Thanks once again, Barbara, for posting this. I would have missed it. I've already forwarded it to someone who I think will "get" it.

I considered sharing it on Facebook, but decided not to because I still have a few JW Facebook friends and I'd like to keep them. I have no doubt they would consider it persecution and "apostate lies." There are none so blind as those who will not see. (John Heywood, 1546)

The full saying is: "There are none so blind as those who will not see. The most deluded people are those who choose to ignore what they already know." (Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings)

Sounds like Heywood defined a form of cognitive dissonance without ever having heard the term.

10

Nashville Public Radio: Lack Of Education Leads To Lost Dreams And Low Income For Many JWs

by AndersonsInfo in

jw
friends

http://www.npr.org/2017/02/19/510585965/poor-education-leads-to-lost-dreams-and-low-income-for-many-jehovahs-witnesses.

february 19, 20176:51 pm et.

heard on all things considered.

under the radar

Good eyes there, darkspilver. Could be a spelling error or a simple typo. Either way, it originated with someone at NPR and not necessarily a JW.

Or it could be a case of Autocorrect being autowrong. That "feature" has been known to completely change the intended meaning of a sentence, sometimes with hilarious or shocking results. If you ever need a giggle or two, check out "damnyouautocorrect.com". It's addictive.

42

Happy Birthday to Me!

by Iown Mylife in

jw
friends

there's a beautiful sky this morning.

it's my birthday, today i'm 64 and look every inch of it, but i appreciate my life and feel fortunate to be cult-free.

also very fortunate to have a purposeful and entertaining existence here in gorgeous north georgia (in the usa).

under the radar

Happy Birthday! And congratulations on such a wonderful family life. Having your mom and her sister still around is so nice. And I bet you're excited that your granddaughter will be going to college and has the luxury of pretty much being able to select where she wants to attend.

FYI, yellow cake with chocolate frosting is my absolute favorite. It may be a Georgia thing... I'm from Georgia, too!

Thank you for starting my day off with a smile.

23

Cart Witnessing On Their Wedding Day

by pale.emperor in

this photo is doing the rounds on jw inspirational on instagram.

although the brothers and sisters think this is "oh so amazing" and "so cool" it's actually very sad and quite shocking.

what, people cant even enjoy their wedding day without the cult invading their special day.

under the radar

Not that it matters, but here is my take...

The young bride is wearing a beautiful dress, but she is even more beautiful. I truly hope this couple finds happiness in the life they have chosen to live together.

That said, the bride looks like she is doing her best to smile while posing for a picture that someone else suggested and she felt unable to graciously decline. Her expression seems to be saying, "This is ridiculous. Happy now?"

The groom's expression seems to be saying, "Ok, we did it. Can we leave now?"

It's hard to believe that anyone would want such a cultish, totally unromantic picture in their wedding album. It seems obvious to me that they had it taken to please someone else. They both look exasperated.

78

Did you know that J.F. Rutherford was part of the Knights of Pythias? There's PROOF for this!

by ILoveTTATT2 in

jw
friends

wow.

wow.someone just sent me a scan of the boonville advertiser newspaper in which it mentions j.f.

under the radar

ILoveTTATT2, thanks for posting this. I'm sure it will get some folks all atwitter.

Personally, I don't care a rat fork about whether Rutherford was member of any Masonic type fraternal organization or not. I did find the old newspaper scans very interesting, though. Small towns like Boonville basically rounded up all the local gossip and printed it for everyone to see. It was fascinating to see the interest they had in who was visiting whom, who was sick, who got married and how many attended, etc., etc. I guess in that age of limited mass communication, it served a real purpose by promoting the strong sense of community needed for rural areas to flourish.

On a whim, I checked to see if that Knights of Pythias castle was still standing. Apparently, it still is, though the ground floor is now used by a senior center. I don't know if the other floors are still in use or whether that chapter of the Knights is still active or not. Anyway, here is a fairly recent pic of the building in all its glory.

20

"I'm Perfect, You're Doomed" . Tales from a Jehovah's Witness Upbringing

by stuckinarut2 in

hey all,.

we have purchased a bunch of great books recently, and one of them is from author kyria abrahams called "i'm perfect, you're doomed".

i'm only 5 chapters in at this stage, but i just have to share that this is a great read!.

under the radar

This is another great book by an ex-JW who actually knows how to write.

I sent a copy to my adult son to make it easier for him to explain to his Significant Other some of what his childhood was like. I shielded him from the worst of his mother's overboard religiosity, especially after he was about 12 or so. I absolutely forbade his getting baptized until he was at least 18, and fortunately, his eyes were opened well before then. But still, he had to put up with many of the same ridiculous rules and prohibitions that all Witness children are subjected to. He missed out on special childhood memories like holidays and birthdays that many look back on so fondly. He had no close friends except a couple of Witness kids, and that made socializing hard for him when he got older.

I have apologized to him more than once for not shielding him more than I did. He understands that I was trying to maintain peace in the family and provide some measure of moderation. I was genuinely concerned that if I formally left the Truth™, his mother would have left me (citing spiritual endangerment) and taken him with her. The way the courts are, she almost certainly would have gotten custody and I would have been even less able to protect him from her unbalanced and sometimes downright weird ideas about religion. Fortunately, he has forgiven me and we are now closer than ever. He has thanked me more than once for "saving him" from that horrible cult.

Anyway, thanks to this book and others, my son's lady friend understands some of what he went through and why his mom was the way she was. He loves his mom and they see her fairly regularly, but on some issues they have to keep her at arm's length and they are careful to nip in the bud any attempts to preach at them. (His mother and I separated more than 10 years ago and have since divorced.) I now live over 1000 miles away, but my son and I speak almost every day and visit back and forth several times a year.

Reading this book and sharing it with his lady friend has been healing for my son. In spite of his early exposure to the JW's and the mistakes I made in not standing up for him long before I did, he has turned out to be a wonderful young man that any father would be proud of. He is not bitter, but he is very aware of the negative and potentially devastating effects of subjugating oneself to anyone, particularly self-appointed religious leaders and their sycophants.

The best thing I ever did was give him the freedom to think for himself. Over his mother's vehement objections, he chose to go to a Catholic college (mainly because his friends were going there, but also because he had been offered a generous scholarship and they had a strong degree program in finance and economics). There he learned how to think and reason critically and how to do actual research instead of simply parroting earlier publications from a single source. That knowledge has served him well in his life and his career.

7

Former JW, Brenda Thornlow, named as winner in '50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading' book awards

by AndersonsInfo in

jw
friends

http://www.nbcrightnow.com/story/34294746/brenda-thornlow-author-of-my-shortlived-life-at-being-perfect-named.

brenda thornlow, author of 'my short-lived life at being perfect', named as winner in '50 great writers you should be reading' book awards.

posted: jan 19, 2017 2:29 am cst .

under the radar

Thanks once more, Barbara, for posting something interesting to lots of us who might have otherwise missed it.

I bought Brenda's book when it was first released on Amazon. She is an excellent writer with a great sense of humor and the admirable ability to laugh at herself and be completely open about her own foibles and mistakes.

Brenda's book is very entertaining and instructive at the same time. I think many here would enjoy it as much as I did.

42

Baumgartner - Dr. Mark Morehart: State of Washington Appeal Court - aborted use of cell saver machine

by darkspilver in

for information:.

court of appeals of the state of washingtondivision iidocket number: 48070-1file date: 01/24/2017.

keisha baumgartner appeals the summary judgment dismissal of her medical malpractice wrongful death claim against anesthesiologist dr. mark morehart and columbia anesthesia group, p.s.

under the radar

Thanks for pointing that out, ILoveTTATT2. I noticed it myself, but forgot to mention it in my diatribe about the cell saver machine operator.

Errors in detail like that are pointed out with glee by JW's trying to prove they're being persecuted and misrepresented by the press. Some even blame "those lying apostates" for giving the press false information just to make the JW's look bad. Yeah, like they need our help...

42

Baumgartner - Dr. Mark Morehart: State of Washington Appeal Court - aborted use of cell saver machine

by darkspilver in

for information:.

court of appeals of the state of washingtondivision iidocket number: 48070-1file date: 01/24/2017.

keisha baumgartner appeals the summary judgment dismissal of her medical malpractice wrongful death claim against anesthesiologist dr. mark morehart and columbia anesthesia group, p.s.

under the radar

As a layman, it seems to me that the cell saver operator breached her duties by leaving the operating room without first being relieved by someone competent to operate the machine in her absence. The court document doesn't make clear whether the suction was actually on or not, or whether it was supposed to be on or not. Regardless, the operator announced that the entire machine was contaminated and could not be used, and the surgeon had no basis on which to question or disbelieve her. So he did the only thing he could do: proceed with the surgery and do the best he could under the circumstances.

From this document, it seems that the cell saver operator was very (perhaps overly) concerned about the "Jehovah's Witness protocol" being broken and was therefore adamant that the cell saver not be used. Perhaps that would account for her seemingly hasty (and possibly erroneous) announcement that the entire machine was contaminated when it might not have been. In fact, it would not have been if the suction had not on at the time she left the room. That makes you wonder why it was on (if indeed it was) when the machine had not been needed or used up to that point.

It is obvious that the cell saver operator was more concerned about the protocol being broken than saving the patient's life by whatever means necessary. That makes me wonder if this operator is a JW herself. That would explain her determination that the cell saver not be used after the "circuit" was broken and her perhaps rash declaration that the whole machine was contaminated when it might not have been. That statement would buttress her position that the "JW protocol" had been broken and therefore the cell saver couldn't be used. If it turns out that the operator is in fact a JW, that could bring her true motives for declaring the cell saver machine contaminated into question. At least, it would for me.

The fact that the operator herself was unclear and perhaps mistaken about the "JW protocol" requiring a continuous circuit being established prior to the first incision and maintained at all times does not rule out the possibility of her being a JW herself. The Watchtower's ever-changing rules and interpretations on the "blood issue," even delving into medical minutiae that few laymen can understand, makes it hard for even HLC members (sometimes referred to as the blood policy Gestapo) to keep up with what is and what is not ~~acceptable for true Christians~~ allowed.

It is very sad that the patient died as a direct result of coerced adherence to a prohibition dictated by her religious leaders, based on questionable extrapolations of a few passages in an ancient book filled with myths and superstitions and contradictions. But the fact remains that the proximate cause of her death, however regrettable and unnecessary, was her decision to make that prohibition binding upon her doctors regardless of the potential outcome.

I think the Court was correct in this ruling. But the actions and motivations of that cell saver operator might well be looked into.

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