I haven't visited this site in several years. For whatever reason, I decided to check it out again today, and the first post I saw was this one. I can't believe it's been 50 years; I was six years old when that article came out and had been raised in "The Truth."
I can remember: The fear I felt in grammar school that Armageddon was coming soon as well as the excitement I felt that I wouldn't even have to finish high school in this system, the relief I felt when 1975 came and passed, the pride I felt for giving up a college education to be a pioneer, the guilt I felt for knowing I was gay, the exhaustion I felt getting married anyway and trying to raise a family in "the Truth", and the incredible freedom I felt for myself and my children when I finally walked away from the JW cult at age 37.
That Awake! article was just one piece of the Watchtower web of control that imprisoned myself and my family. Thank God, or whomever, that that part of my life is in the past, and that my kids and I have had clarity for almost 20 years now. I hope this site can continue to help others gain that clarity as well.
I think I'll check out what else I've missed on this site over the past few years. Thanks for letting me vent
Steve4nLanguage
JoinedPosts by Steve4nLanguage
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Fifty years ago today: One quote to demolish the Watchtower
by JeffT ini did not have any connection to jw's when they published this, about two weeks before i graduated from high school.
i'm now on medicare and collecting social security.
so much for their ability to see into the future.
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Steve4nLanguage
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My Best Friend... Wasted youth
by trapjaw inhi all, apologies if i've put this in the wrong place.
please excuse the long post, i'll try keep it as short as possible.
i just wanted to tell my story.
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Steve4nLanguage
TRAPJAW: Thanks for the encouragement on the age thing. And thanks especially for the link; I registered and am excitedly devouring the information there.
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WOW, just dug out my old Queen albums
by zagor inhow easy it is to forget those great claissics.
i can't believe almost every song on any of those albums was a hit.
just remember some of them.
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Steve4nLanguage
Wow, memories. Yes, Queen was "my" band growing up in the 70's. During my teen years I obtained every US album and single they released (I preferred albums over 8-tracks and cassettes). If I had to pick out one favorite song, it would have to be one that only Queen fans would know, "It's Late" on the News of the World album.
Sadly, when preparing for baptism in 1984 I destroyed all my Queen albums, including the 'naked bicycle girls' poster that came with the Jazz album. What a idiot!
These days I've been replacing my collection with CD's.
I even got the Live Killers album off eBay, and am in the process of translating the Japanese insert booklet into English.Edit: Wow, what was I smoking? The Japanese insert that I'm translating was in Cheap Trick's Live At Budokan album. See what that demon rock music will do to ya?!
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My Best Friend... Wasted youth
by trapjaw inhi all, apologies if i've put this in the wrong place.
please excuse the long post, i'll try keep it as short as possible.
i just wanted to tell my story.
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Steve4nLanguage
Thank you for sharing your story trapjaw. I got teary eyed, and here's why...
I finished my degree before him and headed off to Taiwan to teach english, which was probably one of the best decisions I've made in my life....C dropped out of college halfway through his final year, despite his good grades, saying he had just had enough of the place. I've been urging him ever since to go back and finish the degree. I've also been telling him a lot about Taiwan, and trying to convince him to come back with me, as I'm planning to go back for a while, and move on to travel the world from here.
I can identifiy so much with your friend, and with you. While in high school (and a JW) I fell in love with languages, and dreamed of going abroad, teaching English, and learning the local language. I was even accepted to Georgetown University, one of the best language schools in the US. However, the infuriating JW teaching that "higher education=satan's education" caused me to decline the Georgetown acceptance, go to community college for 1 year, drop out to pioneer (full-time preaching), then get stuck at jobs I hate until this very day, frustrated at not going for my dream.
I wish I had had a friend like you at that age; please keep encouraging him. Just continue being his friend and keep on telling him all the wonderful stories about your adventures. Hopefully he will come around.
By the way, I finally started back at college two years ago, but because I work fulltime at my crappy job, it will take me until 2009 and age 46 before I graduate. But my determination is strong. And, coincidentally enough trapjaw, I'm hoping to teach in Taiwan (just started studying Mandarin). Good luck to you and to your friend!
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Ongoing 'Don't shun me' campaign.
by AK - Jeff inas many of you know by now - i do not tolerate 'shunners'.
i have done no evil, killed no one, never raped or pillaged any witnesses.
i do not tolerate small-minded witnesses who called me 'brother' for most of 40 years, now acting as if i am no better than sh*t on the bottom of their shoes.
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Newbie here with a DF question
by Steve4nLanguage ini discovered this site only this morning, and have been reading for about 3 hours now.
very interesting.this is my first post, and i have a question, however, if this is the wrong forum please let me know or please move this post to the correct location.
thanks.. i'll try to keep this preface short.
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Steve4nLanguage
Thanks everyone for the welcome and for your comments.I guess because I don't go to meetings/field service/identify as a JW anymore, I must be of little interest, as Backed away mentioned.
One troubling aspect is my family. My sister and mom and still active JWs, in another part of the state, and kept in contact with me during my inactivity. However, this past February I came out to them as gay (yeah, that was the 1999 confession), and now I'm being treated as DF'd, even though I've never been officially (at least that I know of). My sister tried to show her "compassion" by telling me that it didn't matter that I was gay to her (she had suspected anyway), as one sin is not worse than another (which I applaud her for thinking). But now that I officially told her about my lifestyle (she asked if I had a partner, and I told her that yes, I was in a monogamous relationship but unfortunately marriage is not legally recognized) she's decided to cut me out of her and my nieces and nephews lives because, as she said, "You've essentially disassociated yourself", even though I never sent a letter or anything, and I've never been DF'd.
Maybe I'm harping on technicalities here, but the troubling aspect is that some acquaintances from my former cong. will still talk with me (and some do know that I'm gay), but my family won't. That hurts. But perhaps it's karma; my mom had been DF's for a number of years while I was "Mr. Spiritual" and sadly I'm afraid that I followed the WTS dogma and had Limited Association™ with her (I had to borrow YoursChelbie's humorous idea there).
Wow, I seem to have spilled my guts here a bit. Is there another part of the forum for unloading like this? I still have pent up rage about the whole "higher education=satan" thing, of which I'm still paying for at age 43. Don't get me started....
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Newbie here with a DF question
by Steve4nLanguage ini discovered this site only this morning, and have been reading for about 3 hours now.
very interesting.this is my first post, and i have a question, however, if this is the wrong forum please let me know or please move this post to the correct location.
thanks.. i'll try to keep this preface short.
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Steve4nLanguage
I discovered this site only this morning, and have been reading for about 3 hours now. Very interesting.This is my first post, and I have a question, however, if this is the wrong forum please let me know or please move this post to the correct location. Thanks.
I'll try to keep this preface short. I was raised a JW since birth and got baptized in 1984. I pioneered and did a stint as a MS, but since around 1993 my meeting attendance, etc. gradually declined. In 1999 I went before a judicial committee for something that I confessed to. I could have been DF'd, but I guess I seemed repentent enough that I wasn't. However, I have never been back to the KH since then (except a couple of times to an out-of-town KH for funerals). There's a lot more to the story, but for now I'll just say that I'm a much happier person.
My question is: Even though I have never been contacted by the elders since 1999, is it possible that I could have been subsequently DF'd anyway, without notice? I don't really care one way or the other, it's just that there are a small number of JWs in my area who will still greet and talk to me in passing, but I don't know if they're still doing this because I haven't been officially DF'd, or if they're breaking the rules and showing some humanity.
So, are any elders or others out there who know if one can be DF's without notice? Perhaps the trend now is to just leave inactive ones alone?
Thanks.