Posts by Trevanian

25

This proves that time flies!!!!!

by Es in

jw
friends

my baby turned one today.

it was a great day and a great party.

this year has just flown by so fast.. .

Trevanian

Congratulations Kaia!

Well done Es. She's a cutie.

11

Ever attacked by a dog (or householder) while out in service?

by sacrebleu in

jw
friends

i knew a little kid who got bitten pretty badly.

his parents didn't seem appalled enough to suit me.. they acted like it was a badge of honor of something.. i was chased out of a yard by a dog but didn't get bit.

i think i didn't get bit because i knew enough about dogs to get off the property and then turn and face the dog with my book bag in front of me.

Trevanian

Um. I was HIT on, many times. Does that count?

I guess if you go to someone's house uninvited, and try hard to get invited inside, and you're young and vaguely attractive, well, it's gonna happen.

And if there are two of you, that's a Royal Flush to some lonely "householders".

11

Ever attacked by a dog (or householder) while out in service?

by sacrebleu in

jw
friends

i knew a little kid who got bitten pretty badly.

his parents didn't seem appalled enough to suit me.. they acted like it was a badge of honor of something.. i was chased out of a yard by a dog but didn't get bit.

i think i didn't get bit because i knew enough about dogs to get off the property and then turn and face the dog with my book bag in front of me.

Throwing the Baby out with the Bathwater Goodbye Watchtower Hello Nothing?

by Magick in

as witnesses who were deeply indoctrinated.

we accepted all of jehovah's witness teachings as a total package, it was "the truth".

there were no cracks in our armor that would allow other ideas, doctrines or thoughts to seep in.

Trevanian

LOL at gregor!

My first thought is that It would be nice for you to condense your thoughts and musings into bite sized morsels

Have to agree, but an excellent post, Magick. Your heart is in overdrive.

When I take a big bite of potato salad at the picnic and it tastes really bad I turn to the nearest garbage can and spit it out, "p'tooey!" I don't stop and say to myself,"Hmmm, if I don't eat this bad potato salad what will I eat? Maybe I should see what else there is to eat first, otherwise I will not have anything to eat...hmmm..."

But I damn sure knew that the Watchtower dogma was spoiled potato salad.

Brilliant. Have to agree with Gregor.

When I left, I had not a SINGLE moment of grieving.

Since then I've had to separate out:

The good values that the WTBTS teaches
The crap that the WTBTS teaches
My family's own values, taught to me at the same time that I was feeding on the rubbish
My own values - the toughest of all to figure out, and the most rewarding exercise

But about religion, I still can't imagine ever going to a church (except for a wedding or a funeral). I know this is residual from my JW background but also, maybe I'm like the lesbian mentioned earlier, who had a really bad experience with one "man" so now can never trust men again.

43

How long before you tell people you were once a Jehovah's Witness?

by Trevanian in

jw
friends

most of the people i've met since i left don't know that i spent years of my life as a door knocker.. i have very dear friends who don't know.

i've even had lovers who didn't know.

my last partner knew, and found it vaguely amusing.. i guess i find it deeply embarrassing, although over the years it's become easier to mention it.

Trevanian

Most of the people I've met since I left don't know that I spent years of my life as a door knocker.

I have very dear friends who don't know. I've even had lovers who didn't know.

My last partner knew, and found it vaguely amusing.

I guess I find it deeply embarrassing, although over the years it's become easier to mention it.

Still, I think most people wouldn't understand, so I just leave it out of my autobiography, even though it shaped decisions that make me who I am today.

30

Opray Winfreys handling of sexual child abuse~an example for Governing Body

by purplesofa in

the governing body should be hanging their heads in shame watching how the events unfolded in south africa at oprah winfrey's school.

her fearless way in meeting the problems head on, not covering up, calling in expert help, investigating, apologizing, getting all adults away from the campass so the girls could talk openly about what happened.

those girls came first.

Trevanian

Having said all that, I adore Oprah.

I truly believe she should be the US president. The one after Hilary.

20

Do I owe my life to the org?

by Serg in

jw
friends

the only reason i'm here and i exist is because of the jw org., my parents met in a hall.

is this your situation?.

if it weren't for that missionary couple out in dominican republic in the 50's that called on my grandma and if it weren't for the brother in the early 70's who called on my dad, my parents would have never met and i wouldn't be sitting here writing this post.. i just realized all of these years i thought i owed my life to god and his organization what i actually owed my life to was an organization that claimed to be god's channel.

Trevanian

Randomness is an awesome thing.

It's a wonderful life, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyfu_mU-dmo

And it's your life. Enjoy it.

43

Well I finally resigned as an elder - Phew.

by The Scotsman in

jw
friends

thats right, about 2 weeks ago i confronted the po and told him i just could not do it anymore.. i genuinely have been under alot of pressure recently with my work so i used this as the pitch.

he was not happy but i received little resistance, which suited me.

i handed him my letter last week before i went on holiday.. i have to say it is a great weight off my shoulders, no book study, meetings for ministry, talks, public talks etc etc.. i will no doubt be the subject of local congregation gossip!

Trevanian

Dearest man from Scotland

Congratulations, and what a great wee country you come from.

I have to point out to you that if you don't believe the elder stuff, you have to seriously consider whether you believe the rest.

Have you set a time limit on being a regular-publisher Jehovah's Witness? Do you believe that you can-live-forever-in-paradise-on-earth-because-you-can't-go-to-heaven?

Take your time. Use it or don't use it.

Agape brother

30

Opray Winfreys handling of sexual child abuse~an example for Governing Body

by purplesofa in

the governing body should be hanging their heads in shame watching how the events unfolded in south africa at oprah winfrey's school.

her fearless way in meeting the problems head on, not covering up, calling in expert help, investigating, apologizing, getting all adults away from the campass so the girls could talk openly about what happened.

those girls came first.

Trevanian

Dear Princess Daisy Boo

Your heart might be in the right place, but in my humble opinion your rhetoric needs some work.

... people like this who... create an impression of this country that damages the entire country as a whole.

Oprah's one sexually abusive dorm matron didn't "create an impression" of South Africa "that damages the entire country". The public relations (PR) term "create an impression" worries the hell out of me, and contributes to my concern that you are more worried about the image of your country than the realities of your country.

Sweetie, what actually did the damage was the capture/apprehension of this woman. And the resultant realisation on the world stage that abuse of women IS LARGELY considered *okay* in South Africa.

Your knee-jerk reaction may be: "But abuse is not considered okay in South Africa." If you have lived in South Africa your whole life, I can understand why you may feel this way.

With about a quarter of all school girls abused at school at some stage during their primary and high school years in South Africa, oftentimes by male teachers, and I mean OFTEN, I'll tell you absolutely for free that this is a problem that Oprah's dorm matron did not in any way cause.

Her actions merely alerted an influential international media figure to it's existence.

The reputation of South Africa was tarnished by one person in ten thousands being caught, perhaps. But not by one person.

... and these girls have been empowered etc, but the damage to the country's reputation is irreparable.

The "damage" to South Africa's reputation is irreparable???

Irreparable is a big word. Um, what exactly are you talking about here?

If anything, abuse of girls in South Africa is now on the world map more than before, if only slightly. Aren't you as a South African happy about that?

By exposing one abuser at a time, South Africa will eventually be healed.

but we have come a long way

Absolutely. It will take a few generations, and South Africa will be healed, but please don't let denial intercept that process.

30

Opray Winfreys handling of sexual child abuse~an example for Governing Body

by purplesofa in

the governing body should be hanging their heads in shame watching how the events unfolded in south africa at oprah winfrey's school.

her fearless way in meeting the problems head on, not covering up, calling in expert help, investigating, apologizing, getting all adults away from the campass so the girls could talk openly about what happened.

those girls came first.

Trevanian

I would just like to comment on how saddened and angry I am that this one individual has ruined the lives of some poor young girls and tarnished my country by her terrible actions. This is a country that has come a long way in a short time and what this one woman has wiped out so much good that has been done by so many great people her in SA.

Princess Daisy Boo, your sadness and anger are misdirected.

This one individual hasn't single-handedly tarnished your country by her terrible actions. Quite simply, by being caught she has alerted the world to the ongoing actions of literally tens of thousands of South Africans who abuse poor young girls, unchecked, unstopped, unexposed. And the tens of thousands more who know about abuse and silently turn a blind eye to it.

One woman hasn't "wiped out so much good". Those tens of thousands of abusers are wiping out so much good on a daily basis.

Rather, the fact this this one woman was caught and exposed internationally has probably done a huge amount of good.

May this set of incidents at least cause a subtle shift in South Africa's culture of acceptance of sexual and other abuse.