Posts by SnakesInTheTower

3

Went to the zoo today

by watersprout in

woke up to a beautiful warm summers day, the sun was shinning and the sky was a beautiful clear blue!.

so baby sprout and i deceided to go to the zoo.

i was very excited as i don't get out much!

that is ok...my 9YO (soon to be) step son finds me boring too. Completely ignored me when I picked him up at school today. Literally. I had to gently grab the top of his head and slowly swivel him around and have him look at me. Apparently, discussions of Pokemon battles with his school buddy are infinitely more interesting than some 43 year "old guy."

I love the zoo. The St. Louis Zoo is world-class, mostly free (free admission all the time, just certain areas and shows charge a small fee) even to us non residents and non members (though we did join the zoo friends this year...more than paid for itself already).

Snakes (Rich )

21

The borg and eggshells...

by VampireDCLXV in

"do not hurry yourself in your spirit to become offended, for the taking of offense is what rests in the bosom of the stupid ones.

" ecclesiastes 7:9. have you noticed: .

how so many witlesses get their nose out of joint if you make a wisecrack/joke that's even the slightest bit off color or heretical?

SnakesInTheTower

aussie oz:

Or that they are first to preach forgivness ...

and the last to practice it.

And if you bring it up YOU will recieve counsel.

PRICELESS.

Snakes (Rich )

30

Did you ever know any JW's/Pioneers who frequented popular nightspots and got drunk?

by James_Slash in

it used to make me sick at these hypocrites.. they would be at the meeting the next day or out in field service, obviously still intoxicated from the night before but putting a show on before the congregation.

i knew a couple of girls who would be regulary doing this over a weekend yet they would be pioneers all week, answering up at the meetings yet would be heading into popular nightspots and coming home at 4am drunk.

their dad was an elder (surprise, surprise).. i remember telling an elder about this once.

SnakesInTheTower

First hand observation. St. Louis Assembly Hall. There were official functions that were held on the premises outside of the assemblies. There was the local version of the Annual Meeting was held to make key decisions for the upcoming Service Year. Assembly Hall Committee members, the wives of the committee members, COs, DO's and their wives, some key elders and their wives were all invited to a special dinner after the private meeting. Some long-term volunteers were invited to prepare a nice meal (steak, chicken) and all the fixings....drinks included wine, beer, and other harder alcoholic beverages were made available. Of course, quiet counsel was given about drinking in moderation. I can tell you, having been one of the volunteers prepping and cleaning up, there was often very little moderation, based on the amount of drink containers I cleaned up and unsteady walking out the door I observed. Some were clearly drunk. If they had been stopped while driving, they would have blown more than a .08 (legal limit in most states in the US). There were many other times that I seen large quantities of beer bottles/cans, wine bottles in the recycle bin after a weekend outside of the personnel/CO apartments.

I dont have an issue with them enjoying an evening together, or being rewarded for their unpaid work (the meal was paid for out of private donations of well off brothers not WWW funds). My issue is/was that these same men were so outspoken against drinking alcohol..esp in excess...holier than thou......and were the first to serve on JCs for alcoholics (DF for "loose conduct"....sure to be changed to "brazen conduct." ) Hypocrites.

Snakes (Rich )

PS....anyone in Southern Illinois ever hear of the monster parties held by some teens/young adults in the Carlyle, IL area?

22

freeloaders steeling our tax $$$$$$

by DaCheech in

http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/110492/millions-of-american-taxpayers-make-money-off-federal-taxes?mod=taxes-advice_strategy.

feel free to comment.

.

SnakesInTheTower

I am a bill collector, our company is contracted by the local cable company to collect past due accounts and retrieve equipment. We also disconnect.

Two of my zip codes are extremely poor areas. Mostly subsidized housing complexes. A third zip code also has a lot of this. In itself this is not bad. What is bad is that people living "off the dole" are driving new cars, have 50"+ HD TVs, monster stereo systems, hundreds of DVDs and CDs....The men (living with the women who are officially living there) pay me off a roll of cash.....untaxed cash...because based on my discussions with them I know they work off the books....or deal drugs (I see it first hand). The women mostly return the equipment and let us shut them off....until they get new service in their 3 year olds name........Yet, they get subsidized (or completely free) housing, subsidized utilities, food stamps (Link card) and Medicaid and do not work a job.

By contrast, I know of a single mom who gets Medicaid for her and her son and takes the EIC each year....but she works (nearly FT...her job recently cut all but managers to below FT) a regular job. I dont mind my taxes going to benefit her. She cannot get regular health insurance through her work because they exclude pre-existing conditions for the first year.... if she takes that (expensive) insurance she loses Medicaid which does cover it...barely....she is treated like crap because she is viewed as lazy because of Medicaid. She cannot win. Hopefully when she graduates college she can find a regular job that has benefits.

So is it fair to stereotype everyone "steeling" our tax money? Nope... it exists...but not everyone is stealing. (Please tell me the subject line is a typo and not a reflection of a poor education or laziness).

Snakes (Rich )

38

Reinstatement-Curent elders please reply

by truthlover in

while being reinstated several months ago -- no restriction were given other than no commenting - service was allowed - getting over the average for the cong, not missing meetings - its been months now and the brother met recently with someof the jc members - they praised his hours and meeting attendance but because his lessons are not completely underlined, and he does make notes during the meeting, he has not been allowed to still make comments and become a fully active member of the congregation as they say this note taking is causing a problem with other members of the congregation.. have you even heard of anything so off the wall?

is this the way its done in most cong??

he thought if someone was interested enough to listen and make notes of a good point in their mags, it would be something to be referred to in the future... i know i have seen folks doing this while the lesson is being read.... .

SnakesInTheTower

havent been an elder in almost 4 years (yay)

Back in 1991 I was a pioneer and MS I was accused of lying by a bunch of jealous pioneer sisters. I was removed as MS and pioneering, stopped from going to bethel as a long term temp...but the only restriction I was given was not allowed public prayer....which lasted 30 days. Hell, in the congo I was in, that was not a punishment...we had so many brothers it might have been 2 or 3 months before one could give a prayer for a meeting (other than FS).... I was given the restriction because the CO told them if they JC'd, there had to be a restriction, even if something so technically small as that.

I have a fader friend who has been inactive for several years and is done with JWs except he still is married to a JW. When he was a MS, the Einstein Elders decided it would be good to place a ministerial servant on restrictions...even though he had not been through a judicial committee....it took a couple of COs, a DO, and the Society to untangle that mess. Fortunately it was the thing he needed to get the hell out.

Snakes (Rich )

highlighted in case elders are looking over my shoulder for spirituality checks:

ps..I have heard through the grapevine that the new 2011 elder's manual is going to have more specifics about JCs and such matters. as if Unit 5(a) (b) and (c) were not enough...they need an additional 5 (dumbasses get it right) section. Glad I dont have to deal with that $hit anymore.

28

Elder's message to me, on me being disfellowshipped tomorrow.

by whereami in

jw
friends

it saddens me greatly to see all that has happened and to see my friends in this position.

for me its a great loss but i hope that it will only be temporary.

please allow jehovahs discipline to mold you and youre way of thinking.

SnakesInTheTower

whereami...

congratulations on the beginning of the rest of your life.

As to the realities of relationships... fortunately I met my fiancee after I left the JWs, so I do not have to deal with the issue you have with your hardcore JW wife. My JW mom is issue enough, so I do understand some of what you are facing. For some reason I have yet to be DF, though they have plenty on me (though I would love it if they would DF me for apostasy...the worst of the worst offenses in their eyes...LOL).

I also understand life from that elder's point of view having been an elder until shortly before I left the organization. However, in my opinion....email has made it too simple to take the easy...and cowardly...way out of a friendship. An in person visit -- by himself, in blue jeans and a tshirt...not a suit and tie -- would have been more genuine. His email shows he is mind controlled by the cult. The fact that he sent that to you at all is surprising... it is going off the reservation. Once a decision to DF has been made by the elders, independent contact like that email is generally not acceptable to the Organization. Who knows, maybe there is doubt in that ones mind.

Wish you the best with your wife...do not give up...there are many here who gained their hardcore JW mate.... I met a couple at the 08 Apostafest in Toronto where one was in and the other out for a long time? I forget who it was...thought the poster name started with a P....crap...I forget....

Snakes (Rich )

25

Do You Constantly Think About The Witnesses At This Point in Your Life?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i was just talking to a guy who's been df'd for years and he still talks about things like it was yesterday in watchtowerland.. are you still consumed by your jw past?.

SnakesInTheTower

NO

However, my mom is a dub, so it is still there a bit.. and she speaks less and less to me as time goes by. Being hundreds of miles apart (12 hour drive) exascerbates that. She told me a couple of weeks ago that she will not discuss Spiritual Things® with me anymore and that is what made us close as mother and son; friends; Spiritual Brother® and Sister®.

Apparently she has nothing but DNA in common with me anymore so she rarely calls me. When I call her, she puts me on speaker phone to talk to her UBM (my stepfather), who I, for awhile I liked a lot, but recent events show me that he is crude, sexist, and stuck in the 60s.

I see dubs occasionally in the area, but few reach out to speak to me, and when they happen across me I speak to them as if there is nothing wrong... and with me there is not. MY life is great post-JW.

My fiancee and I want to move away from this area maybe in a couple of years..but less and less dubs and their stuff mean nothing to me. I come here because there is more to people than just JW stuff. I received support and hopefully can occasionally still give it.

Snakes (Rich )

22

Do you like Sunsets? why?

by cyberjesus in

jw
friends

people like to stop and appreciate a sunset.... but what is it they enjoy?

what do you enjoy?

who say its beautiful?.

SnakesInTheTower

my fiancee toni and I along with our 9YO went down town alton to the new ampitheater.... all of the fountains were on... he played in the ground fountain until it timed out...(about 10 min) and she and I watched the beginning of the sunset together for another 5 or so...we had to get home for dinner...crock pot gave us time to watch the sunset....

i dont know why i like them.. I just do.....

====<<< my avatar is a sunset ...more peaceful than the snake that used to be there. I took the pic on my way home a couple of years ago on the way home from Arkansas (to see fellow JWDers purps and RF)....

Snakes (Rich )

71

Notes from my Judicial Committee (I was DF'ed at the end)

by notverylikely in

these are the details of my disfellowshipping.

the names and locations have been changed to protect the innocent and the guilty.

my errors are not hidden in an attempt to make me look better, this simply is a presentation of the facts that led up to the disfellowshipping and a re-telling of the contents of the meeting.. .

SnakesInTheTower

NVL...

I was wondering about when this was going to occur. Lost track after the WW game on the other board.

They read several scriptures, there were hugs, some tears (I've known all of these men for years and they ARE sincere and kind in their own way) and then I was sent on my way with no closing prayer.

Interesting. All the JCs I was on, it was very cold among the elders once the decision to DF was made. There may have been tears, even genuine tears, during deliberations and after the so-called "offender" left, but no emotions were displayed when giving the decision to the person. Maybe there are some humans after all in the cult. I can say that in most cases, I went home and cried after DFing people (some people deserve the boot, but only because they were just generally lousy human beings). I hated judging people. Glad I do not have to do it anymore.

Isn't it also sad that the JC cannot even bother with a closing prayer in hopes of turning a person around? I guess the JCs believe that holy spirit has left the building as long as that person is still in the room

Enjoy freedom, walk away from the cult.

Snakes (Rich )

41

How common is swinging among JWs?

by JimmyPage in

jw
friends

my wife and i recently heard about two couples we know who switched partners in the past.

we then got to talking about a different couple we ate dinner with a while back who i thought gave off the vibe of wanting to swing.

my wife said she got that vibe too... thus the question: how common is this in wt-land?.

SnakesInTheTower

I mentioned this before.... two couples who were considered "Exemplary Publishers™ were DF for swinging. Wife swapping.... they were apparently rehearsing for their parts on the District Convention drama.... how that conversation got started we will never know...but they were doing the deed together....did their part on the drama...and were caught and DF a few weeks later.

The Society always assigns individuals married to each other to parts that involve married characters... and though there are cast rehearsals, there are often, because of time and distance, rehearsals only involving a portion of the cast. This is where the foursome came together.

The group was from somewhere in Southern Illinois and the DC was (I believe) in St. Charles...this was just a few years ago....sometime between 2000 and 2006. Not so exemplary anymore I guess.

Snakes (Rich )