"Do you happen to know if he has been sick or the cause of death?"
Well, he was 94 years old.
daniel-p
JoinedPosts by daniel-p
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27
Dub dub dub, another one bites the dust.... Albert D Schroeder is dead
by Abaddon in.
albert d schroeder died yesterday (8th march) at 10.30 est.
he was 94.. no need to book a holiday this summer, barmeygeddon is just around the corner...
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daniel-p
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14
The Bethel Life, Chapter 1
by daniel-p inpreface: .
following is the first installment of my recollections and notes on bethel.
they are from my personal viewpoint, and are not intended to be a comprehensive overview of what bethel is all about or any such thing.
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daniel-p
"Were you there, or do you know, how Bethel reacted to 9/11? I've heard conflicting stories."
No, I left just before that happened.
About 34 Orange, I'm sorry I have no idea what he means. Is it one of the residences down at Brooklyn? -
14
The Bethel Life, Chapter 1
by daniel-p inpreface: .
following is the first installment of my recollections and notes on bethel.
they are from my personal viewpoint, and are not intended to be a comprehensive overview of what bethel is all about or any such thing.
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daniel-p
Preface:
Following is the first installment of my recollections and notes on Bethel. They are from my personal viewpoint, and are not intended to be a comprehensive overview of what Bethel is “all about” or any such thing. They are more of my personal musings. I was only at Bethel for little over a year, so my experiences may by few, but I am a perceptive person and I will try to recall things as clearly as I can – of course, within the context of my own opinions. This is not a chronological story, just whatever hits me at the moment. Hope you enjoy.
Oh, the joys of living at Bethel. Don’t get me wrong – at the time I enjoyed my year at Bethel, sort of. In some ways I loved it, in other ways I hated it. I hated the things you all are very well aware of – the bureaucracy (commonly mistaken as theocracy) the corporate-mindset, the abundant self-righteousness, and worst of all, constant reminders of wasted lives.
There are men at Bethel who went there right when they turned 19 and never left… and never got married… and have no experience working outside of Bethel… and are anal as hell. These brothers are the ones who have an obscure but secure position. They might be the department overseer of the shoe-repair, for instance. Or they might be in charge of keys… yea that’s right, keys – all the keys of a Bethel complex may be in the hands of one man – a man whom ultimate trust is given, and for a reason. They are usually Bethel Elders, but do not typically take the lead in handling matters. This is because they have absolutely no conception of youth, energy, ambition, ego, independence, or fun. Their name is either Bob or Bill.
100% of the Bethel family is required to attend breakfast. There are all sorts of stories of young guys who were perpetually late and what happened to them in response, but for the most part, no one is overly anal about it. Unless, of course, you have Bob or Bill as your table head. The slightly younger Bob or Bills will be on you like Stalin, making a scene out of your lateness which you were trying be nonchalant about. On the other hand, the slightly older Bob or Bills (perhaps in their 50’s) may very well not give a shit. They wouldn’t say that of course. And although these slightly older Bob or Bills may be anal retentive in some matters, they are likely to display complete apathy in other matters. Thus, your Morning Worship experience becomes a perpetual state of ambivalence.
On any given morning, Bob (or Bill) will attempt to engage in the most mindless and uninteresting conversation with any willing ears. The two persons closest to him may trade days when they offer themselves willingly (lol) and allow him to go on and on about how back in 1978 something extraordinary happened that for some reason doesn’t sound extraordinary anymore. And everything is a process. Before each meal at which he heads, he meaningfully deliberates whether he should pass the food to the right or to the left. If there is a guest at the table, he will pass to their side, “in their honor.” During his oration, he can be seen tapping the hard-boiled eggs with his spoon, breaking them, peeling off the shells with his thin, spindly fingers, placing the yolks on a saucer to his left and eating the whites. When the saucer gets to have about 3 or 4 egg yolks on it, he will then slide it down to Brother-FUCKING-CRAZY, who will then devour the yolks judiciously. This is a loving arrangement, because one likes yolks and the other likes whites and all are satisfied with no waste. He also has little concept of tact, and does not realize it is not cool to grab the waiters as they walk by, handing them an empty dish that wasn’t picked up for ten seconds. After all, we only have 25 minutes to eat; gotta make every minute count.
Just before lunch Bob or Bill can be seen in the locker-room, leaning over the circular hand-washing sink-basin with his shirt off. He has a terry cloth in his hand which he wets under the streams of water in the basin and then applies said cloth to his armpits. He repeats this little bird-bath process until his armpits are squeaky-clean, then puts his somewhat-dirty shirt back on, and returns to the dining hall where his tuna casserole and ice-berg salad await him.
He is the butt of jokes but is blissfully unaware. The ones who make jokes about him could very well be younger Bethelites, but just as often are older ones. For instance, an old-timer with a hunchback and the last name of Rippley (no kidding), notorious for nearly running over Bethelites in the hallways on his motorscooter and for eating whole garlic cloves during breakfast, comes into the bathroom, and while he is taking care of his own business, cracks jokes with some other old timer. Conversation turns to Bob.
“Bob, bob… master of all the keys to Bethel, all the keys to Bethel… except one!”
“Hehe, what’s that, Rippley?”
“The key to wedlock… yep” says Rippley.
But Rippley is another story. What some young Bethelites find hard to accept is that their fate at Bethel is inextricably tied to what Bob or Bill thinks of them. So they may try to secure their future by sucking up, perhaps going so far as to share their egg yolks at the breakfast table, or offering the last bit of orange juice to him. What they soon realize is that Bob or Bill is fickle, and will forgive and forget, not because it is the right thing to do, but because he doesn’t have a good memory. Neither will sucking up do any good, because all other people are one entity to him, as he no longer has a concept of individualism. He is the wheel in a cog, and happy to be one.
This is Bob (or Bill), your table head. -
31
It REALLY does hurt
by inaneframe inwhere to begin?
new here... i was raised jehovah's witness and am still confused by the experience.
heh, deep down i think i still feel guilty for even coming here.
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daniel-p
I don't like to hear it called a cult either, although I think it has more to do with the word's stigma (and rightly so) attached to more extreme groups and their leaders like Jim Jones or David Koresh. By all indications, the JW's are a cult, as far as the textbook defenition is concerned, although I prefer to call it a "high-control group." I think I do that to save a little bit of my ego in not admiting that I was "fooled" for so long. But it goes much deeper than being "fooled." We were PERSUADED and MANIPULATED to believe this and sometimes even BULLIED and COERCED, some of us from the day we were born. So give yourself some credit; yes, the pain goes deep.
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Movie: The Truman Show = Jehovahs Witnesses? Anyone seen this movie?
by Trojan inby now, i realize there are a couple of good movies that help to understand the situation a jw finds himself in, once he finds out the truth about "the truth".
like: the village, the island, stepford wifes.
i find that these movies help me to understand the situation of being trapped in a cult and the mixed emotions about finding out and the courage and strenght needed to leave.
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daniel-p
Unlike with the Truman Show, I wish it was as easy as walking through a door in the wall somewhere and being free. At least I am mentally free, I guess.
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47
I want a refund . . .
by cruzanheart inafter reading all those threads and articles about how much money the wtbts has squirreled away and invested and after volunteering to serve birthday cupcakes and punch at a homeless shelter run by the combined efforts of first presbyterian church and first methodist in downtown dallas, i have decided that i want my money back.. i want back every single cent that i ever contributed to that jabba the hut of an organization that just sits on its money and never uses a penny of it to benefit its members or the rest of humanity.
i want back the $10,000 that my dad "loaned" the society in the 1970's that they -- 10 years later -- strongly suggested he just give to them to save them the trouble of writing a check.. i want to be paid for the 13 years of regular pioneer service that i wasted on that organization.
let's see, at roughly 100 hours a month (that's what the requirement was back then), 1200 hours a year times 13 + 15,600. hmmm, okay, i'll take minimum wage for it -- isn't that $6.50 an hour now?
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daniel-p
"you have to admit that making them pay money back is an interesting way to force accountability."
Yes, and I am positive they will pay a large sum of money in the future either as a settlement or through a court order. -
47
I want a refund . . .
by cruzanheart inafter reading all those threads and articles about how much money the wtbts has squirreled away and invested and after volunteering to serve birthday cupcakes and punch at a homeless shelter run by the combined efforts of first presbyterian church and first methodist in downtown dallas, i have decided that i want my money back.. i want back every single cent that i ever contributed to that jabba the hut of an organization that just sits on its money and never uses a penny of it to benefit its members or the rest of humanity.
i want back the $10,000 that my dad "loaned" the society in the 1970's that they -- 10 years later -- strongly suggested he just give to them to save them the trouble of writing a check.. i want to be paid for the 13 years of regular pioneer service that i wasted on that organization.
let's see, at roughly 100 hours a month (that's what the requirement was back then), 1200 hours a year times 13 + 15,600. hmmm, okay, i'll take minimum wage for it -- isn't that $6.50 an hour now?
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daniel-p
There's an old (racist) name for someone who takes something back after they have given it. I have had to come to terms with all the years I spent giving my ALL to the orgnization and Johoober, and now have to make up for lost time building my life. But there's no use in dwelling on it - its all water under the bridge. Better to forget about it and just move on.
(Besides, I never gave a dime to the contribution box, even as a pioneer! My reasoning was, if im doing all the work, let all the lazy ones pay!) -
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BETHEL NEWS: Bethel Elder Arrangement to be dissolved as of Aug. 31, 2006
by Elsewhere inhere is some news from a source within one of the wts branches:
hot news from todays morning worship announcement worldwide -- letter from gb being read on 1st of march 2006 to every branch (hopefully we will have a copy of the letter soon.).
as of aug. 31, 2006 the bethel elder arrangement will be dissolved!
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daniel-p
"The congregation elders wanted to act, but had no jurisidiction over the Bethelite."
I believe this is why the arrangment has been changed, because it essentially creates a second rank of Elders. But hey, Jahoobar's chariot keeps right on going, making changes where necessary, eh? Of course, his arrangments are perfect so why would they need to be changed? Oh well, its not my place to question those "glorious ones." -
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BETHEL NEWS: Bethel Elder Arrangement to be dissolved as of Aug. 31, 2006
by Elsewhere inhere is some news from a source within one of the wts branches:
hot news from todays morning worship announcement worldwide -- letter from gb being read on 1st of march 2006 to every branch (hopefully we will have a copy of the letter soon.).
as of aug. 31, 2006 the bethel elder arrangement will be dissolved!
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daniel-p
I should write more but I gotta go to school right now. Heh, if I would have know my stories would have went over so well I would have told them long ago. More later.
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122
BETHEL NEWS: Bethel Elder Arrangement to be dissolved as of Aug. 31, 2006
by Elsewhere inhere is some news from a source within one of the wts branches:
hot news from todays morning worship announcement worldwide -- letter from gb being read on 1st of march 2006 to every branch (hopefully we will have a copy of the letter soon.).
as of aug. 31, 2006 the bethel elder arrangement will be dissolved!
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daniel-p
"table head? home overseer? locker room? I HAD NO IDEA Bethel was this intense! Sounds like one big fancy labor camp to me."
make no mistake about it, Bethel is an institution. There are a lot of rules not so much for the effectiveness, but simply in order to impose more regiment. Believe me, a lot of men get off on this stuff. Everything centers around the power structure. Even the smallest things are ordered and arranged to support the incremental hierarchy. It's just like the military: they break you down, then build you up, and in the process create a person who is eager to do whatever his superiors say.
For example, requisitions. In order to put a framed picture up on the wall you must retrieve a form from some obscure desk somewhere, fill it out, and place it in the mail system. Then you must leave your picture leaning against the wall directly under the place where you want it hung - you never know when someone is going to come into the room (after all, you arn't there and your door is left open during the day) and hang it using a Society-approved nail. Your requisition may not be filled for weeks, but you can't put your picture somewhere else, because what if the brother comes in and looks for it and can't find it - that is inconsiderate and unloving to your brothers and sisters. And that's just ONE requisition. Any alteration, no matter how small or trivial to the premises requires the form to be filled out.
So you got all this small stuff bugging the hell out of you, but also the glaring stares from Brother-50-year-old-virgin at the table when you talk about what you watched on TV last night. The hashbrowns and hard-boiled eggs are shitty, so you brought your Wheaties to tie you over. But of course, if you bring anything to the table you must be prepared to share it, because if you didn't it would be onloving and inconsiderate. So young Brother-straight-from-West-Virginia, reaches is oily hand over and pours himself a bowl of your Wheaties which happened to cost 3.75 at the commissary - your last few dollars and cents. Which means you have to ask the guy who drives you to the meeting for a loan so you can pay his gas fare. That makes you popular in a hurry.
Then, your'e at work, making Romano in the cheese room. Brother-hasn't-had-sex comes over and tells you to speed it up, because we don't have all day, nevermind its your first time doing the job. You forget to wear latex gloves while you grate 500 lbs of cheese in the machine and by the end of the day your hands smell like pigs + ass. That night, all the guys are complaining about the nasty smell in the car during the 1-hour trip to and from the meeting. So you spend the entire time with the window rolled half-way down, hanging your hands out the window so no one has to smell the pigs + ass scent of Romano cheese stains.
Then you get home at 11pm, and have to get up at 5:30 the next day. So you get out your blanket and pillow and stretch out on the floor because if you had a bed it would take up 60% of the livable space of your room. 7AM comes swiftly in WT Land, and you almost fall asleep sitting in front of your breakfast without being able to eat it, listening to some old 90-year-old go on about how Catholics are horrible and the world is one big Shit Stack reaching up to heaven and the end is so close you could almost smell the rotting bodies.
As you work your ass off at work, hurrying ever faster for Brother-never-got-laid, Brother Sponsored-by-outside-money comes by in his suit and walks around, staring at all the hard working young men. He never says anything, never does anything. In fact, you never seen him carry anything, either. He just looks at you with a blank stare. His forehead is big enough to land a 747 on, and his eyeballs are glazed over in a perpetual gaze, fixed on the immutable. All you know is that he wears Hermes ties and Bally shoes and drives a Cadilac. But there he is, showing up every day, walking around, watching everyone, and when he leaves he's always carrying something out, like a brick of cheese, a salad to go, a sausage, whatever.
Freaking hell, I could go on and on and on. Bethel sucks in so many different and absurd ways.