Posts by betterdaze

46

Abusive Families Drawn Like Moths to a Flame or Does WTS Help Develop Abusive Attitude?

by OnTheWayOut in

so many ex-jw's are stepping forward here and other places and relaying information about their upbringing in the jw's being an abusive one.. we have the two types of abuse- physical and sexual.

i thought i would give a chance to everyone to ponder on what's up with the high levels within watchtower congregations.

i know the subject has been covered before, but some fresh voices and some new readers might want to know that they are not the freak, not the problem in their family, not alone, able to relate to others.. as far as physical abuse goes, i consider the attitude of wts that is passed on- beat the littlest of children in order to keep them quiet during meetings.

betterdaze

I'd also like to add that NEGLECT can be a form of abuse, too.

Like not obtaining necessary medical/dental care for children or adults, because Thee End is coming SOON and we'll all be made perfect anyway. Why bother?

So a lot of Witnesses let themselves "go," never dreaming they'd need "worldly" healthcare benefits because no one was supposed to live this long. Many rely on snake-oil remedies doled out by other ignorant witch-doctor Witnesses because they were trained to reject "worldly," educated physicians. Not just blood, but doctors in general. And aluminum pans supposedly make you crazy!

Yet all sorts of maladies like depression and chronic fatigue lift and drift away, the farther you space yourself from Jehovah's Happy Miserable People.

More NEGLECT: Elders kept on a treadmill, so busy with Theocratic activities that their wives' and children's basic needs go unmet. This is why so many Witness ladies are forced to step up and "wear the pants" in the family: They are virtually single mothers anyway.

To be fair, how many Sisters were so busy pioneering, or greasing the congregation gossip mill, that they didn't give a damn about their kids' school grades? Those of us who were raised in it know how homework was blown off for meeting nights. Nobody cared about my A's but me, and my teachers. And a good share of them treated me like crap for being a "troublemaker" Witness kid who not only handed in homework late, but refused to participate in holidays or salute the flag. My mother cared more about her Kingdom Hall Social Club than our scholastic achievements that flew by the way.

(Of course, later she took credit for my success in the corporate world, but that's because all Witness parents are so smart it just rubs off on us kids. Or such self-discipline was beaten into us early for our own good. Or whatever excuse I was expected to be totally self-sufficient by age 17.)

How many children of elders had their dads throw a ball around with them, or take them fishing on weekends? How many Witness mothers cared to attend recitals, for us few fortunate enough to have dance or music lessons?

Too few. The Watchtower talks out of both sides of its filthy lying mouth: Do the barest scripturally minimum for your families, but TAKE CARE OF US FIRST!

~Sue

49

Movies that resonate with you as an ex-JW or awake JW

by RayPublisher in

the matrix - "do you want the blue pill or the red pill?

", "all i offer you is the truth", "ignorance is bliss", "the matrix is all around us".

shutter island - creepy, is it real or isn't it, it turns out the whole thing is a dream.

betterdaze

Antwone Fisher

~Sue

26

Did the Watchtower almost just go bust?

by TimothyT in

taken from the watchtower media website today:.

maybe im reading this wrong!!!.

http://www.jw-media.org/fra/20110630.htm.

betterdaze

far exceeds all the assets of the Association

Association = Whatever false front "shell" corporation they set up in France. Not including global assets and off-shore accounts, and despite the real estate holdings in NY.

No other major religion in France

What an overblown estimate of themselves. Like they're up in numbers or social/political influence with legitimate religious faiths.

~Sue

11

A very long time elder post this on his facebook page, he is not one of my fb friends

by Iamallcool in

bringing simplicity back to network marketing...$25 to get started...no selling, no pv, bv, or cv, no left leg and right leg plans, no 2-ups or cycling!!

!...learn how to turn $25 into $5000 residual income & more!!!

huge call 2nite @ 8:55pm est.

betterdaze

Looks like a dangerous cult.

They've got it all: Real estate, "personal development," endless training programs, and a vanity publishing company all under one roof. With love bombing thrown in for good measure.

~Sue

No Selling, No PV, BV, or CV, No Left Leg and Right Leg Plans, No 2-Ups or Cycling

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl0naSpVKO4&feature=player_embedded

http://www.teamfamonline.com/

The FAMILY stands for Faithful Alliance of Motivated Individuals Loving You. We consist of business owners and aspiring business owners who come together with the understanding that with faith and belief in each other, there is nothing that we can't accomplish.

Our organization embodies FOUR powerful things in one!

1. We are a Ministry: God is the only reason why our team is exceeding. Therefore, we keep Him first as a team.

2. We are a Business: There are multiple opportunities to earn money within our team.

3. We are a System: The Team FAMILY System is a system of support, designed for the ordinary, average person, that is quickly becoming known across the industry.

4. We are a FAMILY: Everyone that joins this team does so for the money, but they quickly realize what we have here is far greater than just the money.

We truly are a FAMILY!!!

20

SIXSCREENS - what happened?

by RagingBull in

i went to the sixscreens site to see if rick had posted any new conference calls, but the last one was from the 7th of may.

did he stop them?

was it the johnny "the bethelite" fiasco that put a stop to it all?

betterdaze

Mean Mr. Mustard: It does not matter what "I" consider religious hate crime, it's what is permissable under the law.

Hate crime is a VERY serious offense in my state (NJ), owing to the large Jewish population who sponsored much of the legislation. "We" practically wrote the book on it. The Anti-Defamation League is/was a HUGE influence.

And yes, it is freedom of speech issue but NO, you cannot stand outside a religious establishment barking at people who are peacefully attending services, ESPECIALLY when you deliberately target their "holy day(s)."

The shenanigans that Rick gets away with up in Mass., would never fly here. He'd be lead away in handcuffs. And I personally would be glad for it. Like it or not, people have a constitutional right to freely assemble for worship, period.

There are pluses and minuses to having a large, forceful, politically active Jewish population in your midst. We end up with special interest laws that apply to ALL, sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. Strict religious hate crime laws are a result.

BTW, I'm less than an hour out of Manhattan, the most ethnically, religiously diverse place on the globe. Ever wonder why there were no bias attacks against Muslims in NY/NJ after 9/11? Well, there you go. The laws that progressive Jewish folks pushed for, protect the Muslims, too.

~Sue

... Here's a few:

N.J. Stat. § 2C:44-3
Provides that a court may enhance penalty for crimes committed "with a purpose to intimidate an individual or group because of race, color, gender, handicap, religion, sexual orientation or ethnicity."

N.J. Stat. § 2A:4A-43.2
Provide for penalty enhancement for offenses if committed by an adult would constitute bias-motivated violence and intimidation.

N.J. Stat. § 2C:33-4
Enhances penalty for harassment offenses committed "with a purpose to intimidate an individual or group of individuals because of race, color, religion, gender, handicap, sexual orientation or ethnicity.

20

SIXSCREENS - what happened?

by RagingBull in

i went to the sixscreens site to see if rick had posted any new conference calls, but the last one was from the 7th of may.

did he stop them?

was it the johnny "the bethelite" fiasco that put a stop to it all?

betterdaze

Rick wants revenge in my opinion. I apologize for the far away judgement,

Please don't apologize. You really nailed it.

I live within walking distance of my local KH. If Rick harassed Memorial attenders in my neck of the woods, I would be the very first person to call him in for a religious hate crime.

His cheap vaudeville schtick just doesn't play around here. We practice tolerance (within the law, of course) for ALL believers.

And those who don't believe at all.

The focus of my aposta-work is prevention. My under-the-radar stuff does not get posted here and never will. Rick and his ilk are far too vindictive and amateur for that kind of "calling."

~Sue

16

Friday Fun Post June 17, 2011

by OnTheWayOut in

jw
friends

you know what to do.

post pics, vids, story; something for laughter.. .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwsqdl7fie8&nr=1&feature=fvwp.

betterdaze

Thanks for starting this Friday tradition, OTWO.

It's leaning toward midnight here… I'd like to squeak these in for the animal lovers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Bmhjf0rKe8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXo3NFqkaRM&feature=related

~Sue

10

Here's another claiming to be the returned Christ: Ra-el

by poppers in

jw
friends

http://www.ra-el.org/.

.

anyone familiar with this guy?.

betterdaze

Read about him just last week on another (non-JW) DB.

The board has too many wannabe messiah freaks as it is.

Ditto that. "We're full already, thank you."

Free speech is a wonderful thing. It allows us to sort out religious shysters, the mentally unstable, and the criminally minded elements. IMHO, this guy's got it all.

~Sue

21

New here

by Druid in

jw
friends

hi guys, long time lurker first time poster.

i will give you a summarized version of my background so as to still stay somewhat anonymous.. .

i was never baptised, but i grew up having most of my life stolen to the society.

betterdaze

Welcome, Druid! From another raised-in, never-baptized one here.

It's not all Easy Streets for us just because we weren't dunked into the cult, we still have JW parent(s) and Watchtower-poisoned siblings to deal with the rest of our lives. But you know that already. I wish you strength.

I suspect we'll see more of "us" here as you rassin' frassin' kids media-savvy, critical-thinking Millennials embark on adulthood. And that's a good thing.

~Sue

Jury selection begins in officer's theft trial

by betterdaze in

jury selection begins in officer's theft trial.

by virginia hennessey .

herald salinas bureau.

betterdaze

Jury selection begins in officer's theft trial
By VIRGINIA HENNESSEY
Herald Salinas Bureau
Posted: 06/15/2011 01:32:38 AM PDT
Updated: 06/15/2011 01:32:39 AM PDT

After numerous delays, jury selection began Tuesday in the embezzlement trial of Salinas police Sgt. Jay Malispina, who is accused of stealing $40,000 from his mother's bank accounts.

If Monday's pretrial session is any indication, the final panel should be anything but bored. Judge Terrance Duncan spent the day trying to cinch the limits of testimony to keep the proceeding from turning into a family soap opera.

For the time being, he granted prosecutor Gary Thelander's request barring defense attorneys from mentioning that Malispina's mother "shunned" him for 25 years because she is a Jehovah's Witness. Thelander said the alleged victim's religious beliefs were irrelevant and "may be prejudicial to some folks."

Duncan also declared off-limits defense contentions about the relationship between Malispina and his brother, Randy Malispina. Defense attorney Mike Lawrence said Monday his client's brother spent some of the "missing" money bringing "not one, but two foreign brides" to the United States and that Randy held a grudge against his brother for throwing him out "after one of Randy's ex-wives tried to burn (Jay's) house down with him in it."

"Is this one of the ones that was imported?" Duncan asked.

"No," Thelander responded. "This may be why he started importing."

Duncan said he could not determine in advance the admissibility of much of the testimony that was being challenged from both sides of the table. Among other contentions made regarding the alleged victim, Kay Malispina:

· That she is a "hoarder" whose spending habits might have contributed to the disappearance of her nest egg.

Duncan observed that his parents grew up in the Great Depression and "frankly what to us seems to be hoarding to them is common sense."

· That her numerous medications make her forgetful and that she is known to feign incapacity and strokes. Lawrence said he fears she will use such tactics on the witness stand. Duncan suggested, if she did, the jury would be smart enough to see through it.

· That she has made numerous false charges against her son and others. Among them was her initial allegation that Malispina had stolen more than $100,000. Police later determined, according to prior testimony, that at least some of that money was taken by Malispina's drug-abusing ex-wife, Sandra.

Duncan's reading of a witness list Tuesday confirmed she is on the witness list.

Defense lawyers Lawrence and Juliet Peck said it's imperative for jurors to understand the full nature of the relationship between mother and son. They claimed Malispina was first shunned by his parents over teenage transgressions, then "disfellowshipped" altogether "when he had the audacity to join the Air Force," because he might kill someone.

It was only after her controlling husband died and the Jehovah's Witness elders in Angel's Camp decided they didn't want to be responsible that she and they reached out to Jay Malispina to take over his mother's care, Lawrence said.

Thelander said he was tempted to let the pair pursue the defense since it established a motive on the part of Malispina, who is accused of stealing from his mother after he moved her to Salinas and she granted him power of attorney. The prosecutor alleges the defendant, who is on paid administrative leave from the Salinas Police Department, used the money on luxuries like a Mexican cruise and San Jose Sharks season tickets.

Duncan cautioned Lawrence that much of the evidence he was pursuing could confuse and distract the jury from the issue of Malispina's state of mind when he wrote 11 disputed checks between December 2004 and April 2008.

He warned Thelander, however, if Malispina takes the stand in his own defense and thinks the information is relevant, "I think I'm going to be hard-pressed to stop him from saying whatever he wants to."

Virginia Hennessey can be reached at 753-6751 or [email protected].