i actually knew someone who did this, this was his approach to people at conventions or assemblies to find women.. i found it insane then, i find it even moreso now..
"Not JW related, but an old friend of mine used to go up to women and say, "Wanna get lucky? I've got 10 inches."
He got laid more than anyone I've ever known. He also got slapped more than anyone I've ever known. I guess it all balances out."
that was me
for me it had to be that i was trained to be judgmental.
i'm naturally a person who doesn't believe everything someone says---just because they say it's true.
still, a "good elder" is supposed to be watchful of what might "contaminate" the congregation.. so, it's time to bare your soul.
I was intelligent and thought for myself.
I was always in trouble for independent research, or comments based on independent research at the BS.
"don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened".
(do i dare to think what may come from oompa, joe d, outlaw etc).
.
"A friend will help you move. A real friend will help you move a body."
mine was simply the realisation that if a person had faith they wouldnt need a religon.. infact not associating with any religouse association is a bit like being on the oceon in a rowing boat.
but the thing is i dont care if the oceon gets rough.
it doesnt matter not having the answers.
10 years out of the kult, visiting my 6 Uncles and Grandfather in the veterans cemetery a few years ago, all decorated wwII combat veterans, and realizing, for the first time, at 53 yrs of age . . . the sacrifices they made for ME and MY freedoms.
I felt ashamed, sad, and elated all at the same time.
Ashamed because I never sought their friendship, association, or wisdom when they were alive. Because of the Kult.
Sad because I was not in their circle of friends and did not know them when they were alive. Because of the Kult.
Elated because I am finally free and can begin to get to know my surviving relatives.
Since then I have become the default family chronicler/historian/Grave Tender. Two of those Uncles are actually named in historical books relating to the campaigns they fought in.
Me . . . . I was selling worthless deceptive/subversive literature door to door . . . while they were alive. Now they are gone.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/05142007/news/regionalnews/the_land_lord_regionalnews_rich_calder.htm.
my cousin's wife sent me a scan of a clipping of this article, without a trace of irony in her message.
(actually, she sent it without comment at all!).
the Witnoids will ZOOM in - - - >> to the "devine intervention" comment. I was going to forward this article to my twitnoid parents until I saw that . . .
Edited to add . . Serendipity?? I was just in Brooklyn Hts yesterday and today and drove by some of those properties today, very nice neighborhoods.
she was one of the great ones and will be missed.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/us/12/12/bettie.page.obit/index.html.
1950s pinup model bettie page dead at 85. los angeles, california (cnn) -- legendary pinup queen bettie page died of pneumonia at the age of 85 in a los angeles, california, hospital thursday, a week after suffering a heart attack, according to her agent.. "she captured the imagination of a generation of men and women with her free spirit and unabashed sensuality," said agent mark roesler in a written statement.
I will miss her. I have fond memories of sneeking peeks of her in my Uncles "one-handed magazines" when I was a hormonally overcharged lad in the early 60s.
Sigh
if i die, i want to be cremated.
i want half of my ashes thrown over the mountains in greece.
and the other half of my ashes thrown over the colorado river in utley.. i came to this place because i was guided by my heart.
My will specifies cremation, then my ashes to be mixed with potting soil and grow Marigolds in me at my grandfathers grave.
i thought this was a pretty good article to find on cnn.
we all like to think that we could never be victims of groupthink.
randy.
+10 to the above three posters
I have Witnoids in my immediate family that are not far removed from the OP's examples . . it really is scary.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aroqwgz3gdg&feature=iv&annotation_id=event_546823.
enjoy!.
saint martin the martian
i dont just mean in the islamic world but in the world of ex jwd.. i am so thankful that at the time i was seeking help and new ideas this board did not ritually hang draw and quarter those who wanted to hang on to thier witness views (even thought they were already swimming alone in a pacific ocean with no boat in sight).
we need to be kind to those we disagree with, not make them feel like satan.. why complain about shunning when we treat those who disagree with our views just as badly.. reniaa is now going back to the cult because there were too many judgmental posts - some of which i found very offensive because they disrespected her as a person.. all of us matter.
so many come here hoping for support.
speaking from my own experience . . .
Pre-internet . . . .I was out for 10+ years. . . came upon some hard times/personal demons . . . I bolted back to the kult because it was a familiar place with very well defined boundaries.
I fully understand why she is doing what she is . .
Some of the posters here SHOULD be burned at the stake for being such A$$holes.
