Posts by pseattle

81

Your Cong = Which Songs or Band were "Demonic?" Did you toss albums?

by Witness 007 in

let me start = "kiss" stood for knights in satans service, "ac/dc" was anti-christ devils children.

"hotel california" was demonic who knew!

"yummy yummy yummy i've got love in my tummy.

pseattle

Oh, goodness, I should bullet-point these...

(1) A speaker from the lectern once claimed that Neil Sedaka's hit song "Bad Blood" was about gonorrhea. Neil Sedaka.

(2) My first big music hero as a kid was John Denver. My mother heard the oft-repeated urban legend that in concert once, John Denver asked anyone who was a Jehovah's Witness to leave the theater. The more likely possibility is that Denver was about to play a medley of patriotic songs, and suggested that "Those of you who are JWs might not like this next set... you might want to go to the bathroom or get some refreshments right now."

(3) My mother got mad at my hanging up a poster of the Commodores in my bedroom, calling them "adulters, drug users and alcoholics." She made roughly the same disparaging remarks about ELO, except they were also "demonized."

(4) My mother once ripped up the album cover for Bruce Springsteen's album "The River." She claimed Bruce "looked demonized" --

alt

Yeah, get out the split pea soup, I'm feelin' all Linda Blair over here.

(5) Same thing with Steely Dan, in the inner sleeve for their first greatest hits anthology, called "Gold." Steely Dan just look bored, surly, only possibly stoned. A great argument commenced about this, in which my father (not a JW) finally decided he'd listen to the entire album to verify if there was anything offensive on it. He found one: In "Show BIz Kids" they use the word "fuck." The album wasn't thrown away, but they called a ban on future music purchases, which I believe lasted a month.

Amusing side note: In 2006 I interviewed Donald Fagen of Steely Dan for my music writing job. I was so tempted to tell him about this, and ask him if he'd ever been demonically possessed, but I chickened out.

I so hope I get the chance to interview Bruce someday -- "Say, Bruce, don't take this personally, but my mom thought you were demonically possessed in the 80's. Were you?"

(6) My mom thought punk rock was evil because she saw Gilda Radner doing a parody of punk rock on Saturday Night Live.

(7) In 1977 my mom read an article in Time magazine about Billy Joel, in which they quoted lyrics from his then-current song "Only the Good Die Young," which is roughly about an attempt to deflower a Catholic girl. I believe they quoted the line "I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints/The sinners are much more fun." My mother asked me if I had any Billy Joel albums; I didn't at the time. She said, "Good. Don't buy any." Since I was a kid piano player, I wound up buying quite a few. I believe she'd forgotten all about the Time magazine article. (My tastes have changed, though, and now it's not like keeping your kid away from Billy Joel is a bad thing...)

(8) Yeah, all the KISS stuff, the AC/DC stuff too. JW's are curiously quite eager to cite urban legend as documented fact, even if they originated from bible-thumpers in completely different religions, as those two rumors did.

(9) When I was in high school I appeared in our drama department's production of "The Sound of Music." It ticked mom off that I had to miss some meetings to make rehearsals. Her exact words: "It's a stupid show! It's got all those Catholics in it!"

(10) The last thing that bugged her was when I got Tom Waits' "Heartattack And Vine" album, in which there's a line where Tom signs "I spent fifteen dollars on a prostitute, with too much makeup and a broken shoe." She overheard my playing this. She smirked about it. I think by that time I'd left the religion, and there was nothing she could really do about it.

Yep, music is my life.

--P

76

January '08 "Keep on the Watch" brochure campaign cancelled

by Billy the Ex-Bethelite in

i heard that a notice was sent to all boe this month removing "keep on the watch" as the featured january campaign.. can i get confirmation from anyone?.

pseattle

"....WT is paying out and they just sold one Brooklyn building for 50MILLION dollars(!!!) and have a bunch more on the market. THEY are the sign of the times! Wonder how many more lawsuits are in the pike?"

Hey, speaking of WTS real estate.... anybody besides me think this was, er, interestingly timed?

(Link: http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071130/NEWS/711300363)

Expansion proposed for Watchtower Farms
The Jehovah's Witnesses are proposing major improvements at Watchtower Farms complex in the Town of Shawangunk. Times Herald-Record/KEN BIZZIGOTTI
By Paul Brooks
Times Herald-Record
pbrooks@th-record.com
November 30, 2007
Shawangunk — Watchtower Farms wants to add millions of dollars worth of living, parking and support space to its massive complex on Red Mills Road.
The Jehovah's Witnesses organization has filed preliminary paperwork with the Town of Shawangunk Planning Board. The town wants to be the lead agency on the environmental review of the proposal. The county Planning Board is to review that designation at its meeting next week.
Watchtower Farms wants to add 300 living units, a 400-space parking garage and a three-story building for recreation and equipment. It also wants to add to the existing dining room, laundry and dry cleaning facilities, according to the documents.
The expansion, if approved, would not take any of the land out of current agricultural use or take land off the existing tax rolls, according to Troy Snyder. He is part of the management team at the farm. This expansion would not impact the school district.
"Some of the residence housing was built in the '60s and '70s, much of it in dormitory style. We are trying to upgrade the living quarters. It's a quality of life issue," he said. The parking and support services go along with that work.
The work would begin next year or perhaps even later. "We haven't gotten to that stage at this point," he said. Snyder did not have a cost estimate yet.
The farm is exempt from property taxes, according to town officials. If the property was taxed, the bill would be about $2 million.
On the other hand, "You can't get better neighbors," said Shawangunk Assessor Curt Schoeberl. Watchtower has helped the town build a park and rail trail. When winds downed trees all over town, Watchtower sprung into action with its equipment and people to help, Schoeberl said.
Such religious and other groups are under heightened scrutiny from town officials. A recent court ruling allows governments to reject the property tax exemptions in some cases. Assessors will be taking another look at some organizations as a result, Schoeberl said.
Property tax exemptions*
Ulster County: 14.4 percent

Orange County: 18.72 percent

Sullivan County: 19.03 percent

*Wholly exempt, 2006 roll

13

To all those who think the WT uses deliberate "subliminal" images...

by marmot in

(okay, i know i said i'd be taking a break from jwd, and i will, but i just remembered something that i felt necessary to post here because it was bugging me) .

there are some of you out there who believe the governing body meticulously crafts subliminal images that are hidden throughout the society's literature.

you say that it is impossible for these to be mere accidents or just the work of sloppy artists because there is so much painstaking review and every image must be approved by the gb before being published.

pseattle

This isn't funny, you guys. Turn to the 23rd page of the Awake dated May 22, 1977. If you look really closely at the crown of thorns, you'll see a plate of deep-fried clams.

I couldn't touch malt vinegar for months.

--P

53

OMG! OMG! I have some good news!

by erynw in

finally, right.

ok. i know this jw lady that i talk to.

she doesn't know i am an exjw.

pseattle

Best thing we've heard today? This is the best thing I've heard in 10 years of hitting ex-Witness boards. And I've only been on this one for, like, ten minutes.

It's been frustrating for a lot of us to see each new semi-scandal end up with the WTS girding up the Teflon and letting it roll off their back, so they could continue to perpetuate the dishonesty we know they've been selling for generations. This last week felt different. I think this is a great example of why. I hope it continues.

Anyway, my two and a half. Good job Eryn.

--P

29

NBC, here's what I think of you -- WTBTS

by Fatfreek in

the wts reaction to the nbc piece is that of the classic but unsuccesful spinmeister.

parts of it remind me of that river in egypt, dnile.

mostly, however, it totally shocked me that they chose to subscribe to some expert who implies that pedophilia is some recently discovered phenomena.

pseattle

Just out of curiosity. Legally speaking, could it be construed that the JW reporting policy on pedophilia could, in some states, be considered obstruction of justice? Is this something someone could get indicted for? Or has this case already been made?

61

This WT article makes me mad.... this is evil

by dawg in

it's bad enought that young people in the wt have to sell magizines, risk shunning when they find out the truth about the gb... but this article really makes me laugh and angry at the same time.

the part that made me the maddest was when the father said he "conquered" the habit, lying bastard!

http://www.watchtower.org/e/200611a/article_01.htm.

pseattle

Sorry, I didn't get a chance to read the whole thing. I was taking one of my half-hour-long showers.

24

The view of commercial artists on WT art ...

by compound complex in

air stream graphic design & illustration .

[pm me for phone number].

[extracts from letter of 10 july 1990, addressed "to whom it may concern:"].

pseattle

Is there any chance we could see JPEGs of some of the artwork he examined?

6

New Material?

by Beagle in

i am told that the march 'insider' w/t will have startling new light on this generation, true numbers of the remnant and a reduced time scale.

anyone in bethel able to give us a steer?

i understand the new figure for the remnant could be as low as 4,000...

pseattle

What I have heard from another apostate website (though the quote was apparently from a current JW) is that the WTS will be reverting to the generation doctrine they came up with in 1927, and that it will be announced in the Feb. 15 Watchtower -- which as I understand it is now a super-secret magazine not to be shared with the general public.

Nothing like in-house pedophilia and a public relations nightmare to bring about a "new light," eh?

I'm sure it's just coincidence. Ahem.

8

Response to the WT response to NBC

by outofthebox in

this is my line by line review of the letter published by the watchtower in response to nbc.

ok. this is my rant actually.

they are not jehovah's witness.

pseattle

JWs are blind with the idea that the WT is God's Organization. So, anything against the WT is something against God in their minds, and therefore it should be a lie. I tried to make aware many brothers and sisters in my congregation (even my family) but they don't want to hear it. They are scared. They are "trained" to feel a great fear when they hear something against the WT. It is sad, really.

It's called cognitive dissonance. The Watchtower has mastered it over their flock. The pedophilia scandal will simply not register with them because to them it will seem like a physical impossibilty that something like this can happen. It will take the equivalent of a Hiroshima to get JW's to accept what is really going on. They just can't handle the truth, or that the real truth is "the truth."

19

My thoughts on JW pedophiles

by TooBad TooSad in

what disturbs me the most is not that there are pedophiles in the congregations of jw's because.

there are pedophiles in all religions, it is the fact that the wtbts has always pointed an accusing.

finger at the churches of christendom for not following the bible, thus not being christain.

pseattle

When this scandal broke -- what's it been, five years or so? -- I knew the WTS would be spared a lot of coverage because that's what they've always done. The culture of secrecy pervades the Watchtower. This culture has produced both the shielding of pedophiles and the environment in which molestation occurs. All the WTS had to do was wait it out, and it would fall by the wayside. The incredible Teflon religion. And that sort of sums up my feeling as an ex-JW child: Whatever culpability you and I know the Watchtower bears, they'll squiggle out of it, just by being silent. It's very discouraging. But as any apostate will tell you, it's the norm. The gag order from the legal settlement was sad. Victims of this type need more than anything to talk about it. The legal agreement let the Watchtower off the hook, and might have prevented some people from effectively going through their process of healing.

Something felt different about the NBC report, though. Now I'm hoping the rage gets public. The question is, how do we not let this be forgotten? How forceful do we get so that this never gets swept under the rug, like before? That's my main issue. Is it just the way of life that the WTS, as a monolithic institution, is able to withstand the challenges of individuals just because they're bigger, and there's nothing we can do about it?

I've felt hopeless that the WTS will ever suffer from the exposure, and it's clear they need to. So what do we do to maintain this momentum?

Seriously -- we're one Oprah episode away from blowing this wide open. How do we make it happen? How does the world get affected and take note of how the WTS really operates? How can we push it out there so that everyone will know in no uncertain terms?

That's what we have to think about. And I do, every day. How do we finally get the WTS to explain who they are, why they do what they do, and exactly what good is supposed to come from it?

--P