LongHairGal

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Posts by LongHairGal

• 
  72

  Reddit thread about Bethel Reducing Headcount

  by LongHairGal in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  apparently, the downsizing is still happening and from what i read those let go are over 50!.

  sad because these people expected to be lifers.

  now they have to make their way in the world at an advanced age with no education or desirable skill!..

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  LongHairGal

  THOMAS MORE:

  Thanks. Even though you did not mean it, they most certainly DO and will expect handouts from the rank & file…Maybe brothers feel more pity for these kicked out bethelites (as you have described you have tried to ‘soften the landing’ of those let go).

  You certainly did not have MY experience in the Witness religion - and maybe not sympathetic to what I went through as a working person.

  From how I have described myself (treated like garbage in the congregation, and whose life would have been absolutely ruined if I had listened to the JW religion).. Do you really think that I would throw money at these people - many of whom scorned me for working??? You’ve got to be kidding.

  I will bet that many JWs don’t care what I went through and just want somebody ELSE to also contribute… Again, this is another reason why I am Glad to not be in the religion anymore.. You would be hit up for money every step of the way, like an ATM machine.

  Also, this is not 30 years ago in the congregations where you would get somebody a bag of groceries until they ‘got on their feet’. NO, with few exceptions these people are NOT getting on their feet again and will be literally expecting handouts until they die. That IS what is going on here!!!

  Again, I would not presume to tell other people what they should do. I just know what I will not do.
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  72

  The Watchtower's Depiction of 'paradise'..

  by Ron.W. in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  perhaps we could post the pictures the wt have presented in their literature that depict their version of paradise here for comment/discussion:.

  from: spirits of the dead​—can they help you or harm you?

  do they really exist?.

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  LongHairGal

  BIAHI:

  Thanks. You develop a thick skin when you are on a public forum because there are all types and some will not like what someone says.

  Doesn’t mean it’s wrong or untrue. They just don’t like it or can’t accept it.
• 
  72

  The Watchtower's Depiction of 'paradise'..

  by Ron.W. in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  perhaps we could post the pictures the wt have presented in their literature that depict their version of paradise here for comment/discussion:.

  from: spirits of the dead​—can they help you or harm you?

  do they really exist?.

  1. 
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  LongHairGal

  JOURNEYMAN:

  You described something that was my pet peeve when I was in the JWs.

  They would look at a drawing in one of the books and say: “As the picture shows…”. JWs acted as if they had cameras and camcorders in the First century! You are also right that some Witnesses acted like what the religion portrayed was ‘real’.. Unless somebody went back in a Time Machine it is most certainly Not real but a product of their art department.

  The fact that we both have the same impression of this shows this feeling is pervasive in the religion. People there have to be seriously messed up to let themselves become so gullible.. No wonder there is so much mental illness there.

  I always felt there was an element of ‘playing pretend’ like as though the religion is a little village in ancient Israel - instead of the modern day high control group that it really is.
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  72

  Reddit thread about Bethel Reducing Headcount

  by LongHairGal in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  apparently, the downsizing is still happening and from what i read those let go are over 50!.

  sad because these people expected to be lifers.

  now they have to make their way in the world at an advanced age with no education or desirable skill!..

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  LongHairGal

  BETH SARIM:

  You’ve got that right about cash-strapped families.

  They are in no position to have an older person dumped on them who has poor prospects for bringing in any money! Let’s face it: unless the person has connections they aren’t getting a job tomorrow. This is so awful.
• 
  72

  Reddit thread about Bethel Reducing Headcount

  by LongHairGal in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  apparently, the downsizing is still happening and from what i read those let go are over 50!.

  sad because these people expected to be lifers.

  now they have to make their way in the world at an advanced age with no education or desirable skill!..

  1. 
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• 

  LongHairGal

  I just saw what seems to be a related thread on Reddit. The title: ‘What Happens to the Old Timers at Bethel’.

  So, I just thought I would mention it here instead of starting another thread because it’s so similar to this topic.

  The OP just clarifies to me that far too many Witnesses have heard urban legends and rumors that circulate in the religion..We all did.. In this case it’s somebody who was told that there is a ‘home’ to take care of old Witnesses and they were led to believe it’s free.. (If there is a residence to take care of anybody it might be old GB members.) Any other such ‘home’ you would have to pay for.

  The bottom line is that nobody should expect ANYMORE to be a ‘lifer’ at bethel reaching a ripe old age...This went out the window!.. Any young person who goes there now had better know their time there will be limited.
• 
  72

  Reddit thread about Bethel Reducing Headcount

  by LongHairGal in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  apparently, the downsizing is still happening and from what i read those let go are over 50!.

  sad because these people expected to be lifers.

  now they have to make their way in the world at an advanced age with no education or desirable skill!..

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  LongHairGal

  3rdGEN:

  I had read somewhere that a couple let-go from bethel some years back had a case and received compensation.

  As the story went: it was a couple who were enticed to bethel because they had a ‘needed skill’. They were led to believe they would be there for life. Anyway, maybe after ten years they were let-go in a downsizing.. Well, apparently they did something about it.

  I would also think this couple wasn’t interested in how they were viewed by the religion or anybody else.
• 
  72

  Reddit thread about Bethel Reducing Headcount

  by LongHairGal in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  apparently, the downsizing is still happening and from what i read those let go are over 50!.

  sad because these people expected to be lifers.

  now they have to make their way in the world at an advanced age with no education or desirable skill!..

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  LongHairGal

  THOMAS MORE:

  I am glad for you and others who left bethel on your own. You are lucky, along with those who never went there in the first place.

  You say about some who were let-go that ‘they are hopeful the rank n file will carry them’,👎 Well, I take offense to this commonly held mistaken attitude.. My answer would be NO to anybody who came up to me with an envelope asking for money.

  This is one reason I’m Glad I’m Out of this religion…The very idiots who hated me for working - would hate me for not giving money.

  I was criticized/shunned for having a full time job back then. I would not be retired if I had listened to the religion and did the ‘approved’ housecleaning and pioneering.. So they don’t GET to come up to me asking for $$. Nope. It doesn’t work that way.. By the way, I make it a point to tell this to any older Witnesses I run into who knew me back when I was working and viewed negatively in the congregation!

  It is the religion who owes these ex-bethelites. That’s who they were working for!
• 
  72

  Reddit thread about Bethel Reducing Headcount

  by LongHairGal in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  apparently, the downsizing is still happening and from what i read those let go are over 50!.

  sad because these people expected to be lifers.

  now they have to make their way in the world at an advanced age with no education or desirable skill!..

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  LongHairGal

  BETH SARIM:

  Seriously. You and me both can be thankful that certain things never happened.

  In your case, thankful you never applied to bethel (which was something encouraged). In my case, thankful I never pioneered!!! But, I DO think that somebody cloistered in bethel for decades and who gets kicked out at age 50 would have a worse time adjusting in general!
• 
  72

  Reddit thread about Bethel Reducing Headcount

  by LongHairGal in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  apparently, the downsizing is still happening and from what i read those let go are over 50!.

  sad because these people expected to be lifers.

  now they have to make their way in the world at an advanced age with no education or desirable skill!..

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  LongHairGal

  GORB:

  I am ignorant about linking things but it’s on the first page about seven topics down and was made 9 hours ago: “Are they continuing to reduce the headcount at Bethel.”

  DAGNEY:

  Yes, it’s sickening. One of the posters who answered thinks the org is intending to liquidate the whole thing (which I am inclined to believe).. But, these older bethelites are being let go first. The prevailing opinion is because they are perceived to be a liability because of high health care costs the religion doesn’t want to deal with. But, I suppose if liquidation is the plan then eventually everyone will be let go.

  There is even a horror story of a let-go bethelite who supposedly froze to death on a park bench nearby!😮 Don’t know when this happened and they managed to keep this quiet.. So, it seems these older bethelites are being handed their hats. Meanwhile, younger people are being brought in !!
• 
  72

  Reddit thread about Bethel Reducing Headcount

  by LongHairGal in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  apparently, the downsizing is still happening and from what i read those let go are over 50!.

  sad because these people expected to be lifers.

  now they have to make their way in the world at an advanced age with no education or desirable skill!..

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  LongHairGal

  Apparently, the downsizing is still happening and from what I read those let go are over 50!

  Sad because these people expected to be lifers. Now they have to make their way in the world at an advanced age with no education or desirable skill!.. So horrible that they get a “We thank you for your service but we do not need you anymore..” They are told they need to pack and some staffer might agree to show them to their car (if they have one). Don’t know exactly how much time they are given… There doesn’t seem to be any severance pay. I’m not certain if they even get any $ for a bus or anything….The experiences in the posts are heartbreaking.

  Anybody who was disappointed about not being accepted to Bethel when younger should thank their lucky stars that it never happened - or else it would be them starting over very late in life!

  I’m sure no words can describe how these people must feel.