Posts by AnneB

7

What do you want to say in the final hours?

by juni in

goodbye 2011. you were rough sometimes, but i learned a lot, and i'll never forget you.

hello, 2012. i have great hopes for you.

please be gentle.

AnneB

I say get your taxes filed early and don't forget to fill out your 2012 FAFSA.

26

Do you want/expect your kids to take care of you when you're old?

by GoingGoingGone in

i had a conversation with my daughter tonight that got me pretty upset, and i'm wondering if i'm expecting too much from my kids.. both my kids went to outstanding colleges, have landed very well-paying jobs, and have very bright financial futures ahead of them.

this makes me especially happy because my husband and i have always had to struggle financially (we both grew up jws and never got to go to college.

) it was a sacrifice for us to send them to college, but i would do it all again in a heartbeat.

AnneB

GGG, your children don't have the same mindset that you do (obviously), and their formal education has a lot to do with that. Your daughter isn't really saying that she'd abandon you in your old age; what it seems to me she's saying is more the perspective of someone who views everything through the eyes of finance: child care isn't provided by family members, a day care is paid, vacations aren't used for family reunions, they're used to see the world, health care, convalescent care, old age care, etc. are also taken care of by paid providers, and why? Because the family and extended family who used to do all these things as a matter of course are now all in the wage market! Your daughter is only acknowledging that reality, and, of course, it sounds cold and unemotional because that's part of the attitude shift that comes with the acceptance of the current socioeconomic arrangement. Your children do still love you, it's just that they will be expressing that love in a style compatible with their education and resultant lifestyle. My guess is that the self-absorption stems from her schooling as well; it's a fearsome thing to be taught that your well-being as a senior depends solely on how well you do in your younger years, how much you save, invest sucessfully, put in Social Security, PERS, etc. That's a far cry from knowing that you have a whole family line to fall back on if times get rough!

If you think it wouldn't come across as abrasive, you might want to engage your children in conversation regarding their views on things like planning for your later years, health, finances, etc. You seem to have something set up already but again, they will have another perspective based on what they've learned during the course of their formal education; they might have some pointers that you could consider and it would probably help to let them have at least some idea of how you are engineering your future; at the very least it may forestall some of the clashes that can occur during a health care crisis.

Your children don't mean to be unloving. The love is there! Their world is just....different, and that's what you're just finding out. I would venture to guess that your daughter had no idea how surprised you would be by her views; to her it just made sense. My suggestion is keep talking to her about such things, as appropriate. That way you'll get a better picture of how she (and her brother) think. The more you listen the more you'll learn, then will come a meeting of the minds. You two may never see things exactly the same way but at least you'll understand each other!

8

One upsmanship: the art of the scathing reply

by Terry in

jw
friends

we naturally loathe the smug face of the holier-than-thou jw, don't we?.

the look down their nose and make some snide remark to put the "others" in their place.. and, why shouldn't they?

they are the chosen ones!

AnneB

People would have to overcome their "I shouldn't be impolite" training before this could work for everyone. How did you do it?

123

JW FAMOUS CLICHE SAYINGS

by strymeckirules in

what saying made it all around the country?.

the ones that were passed around, word of mouth.. for example.

"donations basis proves jehovah is behind the work!".

AnneB

"Jehovah's Witnesses: if they're not meetin', they're eatin'" (heard many times at each "gathering", always proclaimed in "happifying" tones)

30

ok jw teaching aside, can you see a time coming when religon will cease to exist?

by highdose in

possibly this could happen in a dramatic sudden way or a slow burn but can you see the human race progressing to the point were they no longer need to belive in these myths and legends?.

AnneB

I see a secularization of ritual. People do love their celebrations; even JW's have their Memorials, weddings, CO visits, good-bye parties, etc. I don't see such things ending, they'll just be taken out of the realm of religion and replaced with observations of non-religious occasions like Stephen Foster Memorial Day (January 13th), Idaho Human Rights Day (January 17th), International Mother Language Day (February 21), ad infinitum. Hallmark will still sell cards, there will still be Lay-Away at stores, gifts will still be exchanged on certain of the days, but the "benefits" will not be connected with supernatural beings of any ilk. The lessons once associated with religion are already being taught as human qualities or character traits; instead of having a good or bad spirit within oneself, it's now possible to connect certain behaviors with genetic or environmental factors, for example.

I've thought a bit about this shift, and it seems to me that even die-hard religionists can agree that the trend exists; perhaps viewing it as a necessary stepping stone from the elimination of "false religion" to the establishment of "The Truth".

8

Anybody here remember Mickey Spillane ?

by smiddy in

i was just thinking back to the time when i was a teenager , i would read a lot of novels,this was before i became a jehovah`s witness and i came across mickey spillanes novels ,mike hammer detective stories,which later became a tv series with darren mcgavin.

during the sixties i learned mickey spillane became a witness,as i understand it from a tract left under his door,and if i remember correctly he became a ministerial servant conducting the weekly book study.he had apparently stopped writing his sex /crime /booze,pulp fiction type of thing.. later on i saw, possibly the 80`s or 90`s that he had started writing again,with the same old formular,and apparently a new much younger wife.

can anybody fill in some details here ?.

AnneB

The story in Hollywood (CA) congregation back in the '70's was that he kept getting DF'd and reinstated, couldn't make up his mind whether he wanted to stop writing or not.

449

"Feeling sorry for yourself" about being hit by your husband is not Christian 2/15/12 WT Page 25 P 12

by yourmomma in

have anyone of you read, the absolutly jaw dropping paragraph in this article about a women who was hit by her husband?

its in page 25 of the 2/15/12 wt study edition (i read the dumbed down version).. .

if there was any question, that the watchtowers stance is for wives to simply take it when their husbands abuse them, this makes it crystal clear.. who the hell is scanning these things before they go to print?

AnneB

Are you saying that it would have been judgmental for the Society to use this paragraph as an opportunity to denounce wife-bashing?

I'm saying that WT is using the dialogue to teach only one point (Don't push people past their limits or bad things may happen). They may (or may not) denounce the use of force somewhere else.

I'm saying that the example teaches the woman how to redirect her own actions. Focusing on the actions of her husband is beyond the scope of the example.

449

"Feeling sorry for yourself" about being hit by your husband is not Christian 2/15/12 WT Page 25 P 12

by yourmomma in

have anyone of you read, the absolutly jaw dropping paragraph in this article about a women who was hit by her husband?

its in page 25 of the 2/15/12 wt study edition (i read the dumbed down version).. .

if there was any question, that the watchtowers stance is for wives to simply take it when their husbands abuse them, this makes it crystal clear.. who the hell is scanning these things before they go to print?

AnneB

they're not saying it's wrong to hit either - that's the point...

The point is how to dodge bullets, not how to judge others.

449

"Feeling sorry for yourself" about being hit by your husband is not Christian 2/15/12 WT Page 25 P 12

by yourmomma in

have anyone of you read, the absolutly jaw dropping paragraph in this article about a women who was hit by her husband?

its in page 25 of the 2/15/12 wt study edition (i read the dumbed down version).. .

if there was any question, that the watchtowers stance is for wives to simply take it when their husbands abuse them, this makes it crystal clear.. who the hell is scanning these things before they go to print?

AnneB

AnneB, are you serious?

Absolutely serious. They're using an inflammatory example, but the point would be the same no matter what example they used: Don't push people past their limits. They're not saying it's right to hit, they're saying if you don't learn to respect someone's limits bad things can happen.

449

"Feeling sorry for yourself" about being hit by your husband is not Christian 2/15/12 WT Page 25 P 12

by yourmomma in

have anyone of you read, the absolutly jaw dropping paragraph in this article about a women who was hit by her husband?

its in page 25 of the 2/15/12 wt study edition (i read the dumbed down version).. .

if there was any question, that the watchtowers stance is for wives to simply take it when their husbands abuse them, this makes it crystal clear.. who the hell is scanning these things before they go to print?

AnneB

Emotions aside, what they're saying is don't push someone past his or her limits. Makes sense and there's nothing wrong with it.