Whiskeyjack

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Posts by Whiskeyjack

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  14

  Small Vacation

  by Sparkplug in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just had to share.

  i took a week off of work.

  i have been burning the candle ends and middle and am so worn out.

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  Whiskeyjack

  Three cheers for "unstructured" time!

  W.
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  20

  A VERY PECULIAR FEELING (and a pleasant one at that)

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i work at a bookstore that buys books for cash directly from the public.. we get maybe eighty or ninety people a day lugging in horrendously filthy boxes filled with roach droppings, mold, ancient dust and, oh yes, books.. among these books there is the occasional "find".. but, mostly (and disappointingly) it is 97% garbage.. today a fellow brought in three boxes full of typical dusty and unkempt books to sell his aunt was "getting rid of" that he thought he'd convert into easy cash.. i took his i.d.

  and phone number and then looked at the boxes.. they were all jehovah's witness books!

  bound volumes going back to the 50's, all the booklets, books, concordance, interlinear, bibles, etc.

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  Whiskeyjack

  Terry,

  Shame on you! Think of the great bonfire you could have made with all those books.

  W.
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  23

  Governing Body and rank and file liabilities

  by greendawn in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i get the impression that generally the rank and file jws are to be thought of as victims whereas the governing body are the real and only villains in this organisation.

  .

  do you think this is a valid opinion especially when it comes to the elders and circuit/district overseers who willingly enforce the gb's often criminal policies?

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  Whiskeyjack

  I'd have to give you a yes and no as well.

  I think they're similar to young Waffen SS troopers who were programmed in the Hitler Youth, but every thinking person has to evaluate their actions and the results they have on others.

  W.
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  73

  It took them exactly 13 hours from the news broadcast ...

  by kwintestal in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  .

  ... to ring at my door.. i didn't answer, why bother.

  i got a phone.. kwin

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  Whiskeyjack

  Kudos to you Kwin!

  I like the idea of getting fitted with a camera/microphone if you do meet with them! I laughed at Clive Thomas' comment about the "learning pains" the org. has faced in regards to child abuse (CBC-Fifth Estate program) when I remember all the Catholic priest jokes JW's used to enjoy so much!

  Hit them in their pocketbook if you can. It's seems to be the only place where they feel pain.

  W.
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  46

  What was your breaking point?

  by soundbox_guy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  okay, i'm new as you all probably know, so my question may have been discussed several times in the past.

  i'm just curious as to when some of you came to the conclusion that enough was enough and that you didn't want to attend the meetings anymore or not be a jw.

  was it in field service, at home, at the hall?

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  Whiskeyjack

  It was two main things for me that slowly came up on me after finishing high school and drifting purposelessly in life.

  One was the Orwellian nature of the cong. social stucture. Watching young people (I was about 21 at this time in a new town after moving away from home to aux. pioneer) engage in relativley normal, stupid adolescent behaviours that required that they lie and pressure/threaten/intimidate/exclude others that was the last straw for me.

  The other was the "infallibility" of the GB who took fifty plus years to decide that smoking was a "sin", etc.... The fact that there was no debate or discussion allowed got me wondering about what else they could be wrong about (this was a couple of years before the "new light" in 1995) since they were obviously figuring it out as they went along.

  I had my first real job in an office by this time (as a "good" JW youth, I led a pretty lonely, cloistured life) and decided I had to go to University if only to prove to myself that "I could have been something". I realized that most these "worldy" people were better moral individuals (or at least honest about themselves) than many of my peers at the hall who only filled me with distaste.

  Soon after, I faded away.

  W.
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  10

  An idea [Postive Action].

  by jimakazi in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  having only recently discovered this site and finally having at my finger tips [the internet is great] compelling evidence that the jw doctines are nothing but the work of men i feel a need to take action.

  people i care about are still wasting their lives.

  [1] i would like to see some "ready made" resource's that have factual evidence, well articulated, and formated ready for printing that we could use to help current jw's see what is going on.

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  Whiskeyjack

  Jimakazi,

  I'd have to side with the majority of the other posters here. JW's (even my own parents) will automatically categorize you as an "apostate" if your material is too well organized or if you argue too passionately. You need to act like a really laid back Jesus and not someone with an agenda (freeing them) to maintain a discourse with an org. member.

  Collect and compile items for a "scrapbook" you can keep handy but only bring it out when someone demands to see the "evidence" (most will still accuse you of making it up!). It takes a lot of little seeds to start a JW on the road to critical thinking (especially lifers who've been programmed from birth) and it can take years. But I think they're worth it.

  W.
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  41

  Recently Disfellowshipped

  by dfd in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i having been "lurking" around here for about a month--right when i was disfellowshipped actually.

  in a year long relationship--broke up-five months later had a bout of conscience and told on myself.

  myself and my ex are disfellowshipped and now most of my former group of "friends" are getting in trouble.

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  Whiskeyjack

  Welcome to the forum Dfd! Hope to read some of your posts soon. There's a lot of great people here.

  W.
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  11

  humanitarian volunteer or "peacekeeper"

  by tetrapod.sapien in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have always kind of dreamt about being a peacekeeper, or some sort of humanitarian aid worker overseas.

  of course, as a jw, this was a no no.

  instead, we were supposed to help spread fear, ignorance and guilt to the rest of humanity.

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  Whiskeyjack

  This is something I've thought about too. But my only area of skill would be in something like micro-banking! A military career would almost have been worth it to have been in a position to stop something like a Rwanda from happening (if only we could have had Lew McKenzie over there instead of Dallaire!).

  I still hope to do something substantive one day (more than donating a couple of bucks now and then) but that'll be down the road for me. Best of luck on your search and keep us posted!

  W.
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  76

  no stones please!

  by almosthome in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i am hoping a little balance is allowed here, or at least the coin's flip side.

  this is my story so far, but i am fairly sure it is going to end up a bit differently than most i have read on your site.

  the brothers couldn't help my husband, he didn't want help.

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  Whiskeyjack

  Almost,

  I find it a little hard to believe that you've carefully read that many posts on this forum. Faith is the assured expectation of things to come (a WT definition from years ago). Do you really still feel there is enough evidence for such assurance after researching the doctrinal mess and continual "adjustments" as well as the cult style control mechanisms the GB resorts to?

  Going back to the org. may be better for you than plunging into hardcore drug use (a sad path taken by many people who feel a void and inability to find a degree of relative contentmant in their lives) but hopefully you won't stand in the way of your children getting their educations and making their own decisions.

  Like you, I do have many fond memories of JW life (even some Elders!) but then again, I'm sure there were lot's of nice, charming NAZI's in Germany too! As far as intellect goes, any group of old men who tell me I'm not allowed to think (or read books) are welcome to take a long walk on a short pier! Truth cannot, by definition, be afraid of facts.

  All I ask is that you is to continue to research some of the points others have made and don't be afraid to ask questions since I hope you noticed that there are a lot of intelligent people on this board who don't throw stones just because somebody doesn't agree with them (maybe a pebble or two from time to time but hey, we're all human!

  W. (another former lifer)
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  56

  List Your Favorite Foreign (non-American) Films Here!

  by Funchback in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i hope this thread receives a lot of responses.

  not because i am egotistical.

  heck, really, i like any sort of film.

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  Whiskeyjack

  Funchback,

  My favourite "foreign" film is the Australian flick The Nostradomus Kid. It's a coming of age film (autobiographical for the writer/ director) about a young man in the Seven Day Adventist outfit who starts to reject his programming and his faith (the "assembly scene" in which they talk about the "last generation" is priceless!).

  Set in 1962, this film is a must see for JW's! (hard to find though)

  W.