Posts by Gopher

14

Why Should I

by hippikon in

jw
friends

dear friends.. i am at a turning point.

why should i resist the borg?

why should i dedicate a sizeable portion of my life to shooting down religious bigots?

Gopher

Hippikon,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. (You'd been a bit quiet lately.) You start by mentioning a "turning point". What options are you considering?

As far as "shooting down" and "resisting" the organization and/or its members, I think we're doing that from afar in this forum. I was glad to see your comment "I am still happy to help on a personal level anyone who requests it". I think that is the most important function on the board, that is, to help people with all the overwhelming feelings and emotions that coming with leaving and with dealing with the past.

I too know it would be unwise to center my life on my participation in a discussion board. But I find great solace in the empathy and love shown by the majority of this discussion community. Sure it isn't perfect, little mini-wars break out amongst people of various stripes, but then things calm down and the board heals itself, going back to performing its function for those who choose to participate here.

Look forward to your answers, and always good to see you out here!

Gopher, enjoying the fresh air

5

More results of growing up in the "Borg"

by Liberty in

jw
friends

a very interesting topic.

part of the reason we're all here on these sites is to share our similarities and compare ourselves to others who have gone through the same things seeking the reassurance that we are not complete "freaks" after all.

i've noticed that their are several traits that watch tower mind control commonly produces in their victims.

Gopher

Liberty,

I remember (in our family, anyhow) that we would plan for the future and put things aside for it "just in case Armageddon delayed". My dad encouraged me to get post-high school secular training, encouragement for which I am still grateful.

I'd say meet with an estate planner/ financial planner. What they help you do is map out your goals, at least financially, for the future. It'll force you to think about...what would you like to save for? A house? Education for future children? Dream vacations? Savings for retirement?

That will help you get on the road to "life planning" with some goals, and you'll be better set for the uncertainties of old age which you allude to in your post.

Gopher, enjoying the fresh air

4

THEOCHRONIC WAILS (EEEEEKKK)

by Blackcat in

jw
friends

anyone seen this site...... http://www.geocities.com/theocraticgems/....reach for the bucket, i,m gonna puke !!!!

they are so sad,still when you aint got a life, anything excites i suppose !!!

!

Gopher

Blackcat,

I enjoyed the one on how the angels are supposedly keeping "hospital charts" tracking the heart response of each individual householder.

1. What about those who aren't at home when the JW's call? Those who never get reached? Their charts would be empty. I suppose God would have to take a "guess" as to whether they're good enough to survive Armageddon.

2. What about those people who were reached by a JW who was unprepared or ineffective? How can their hearts be measured if the JW really wasn't clear, or just looked to be a book or magazine sales person?

3. I thought the "separating" work was not happening NOW any more. It's supposed to be happening during the great tribulation, according to "new light" from about the year 1995. So then why would the angels need to take notes? All that should matter, according to the new light, was were you "in the truth" or not when the great tribulation started.

The people writing these things don't know what they believe or what they're talking about.

Gopher, enjoying the fresh air

28

Incorrect to use the term "Jehovah's Witne...

by TR in

jw
friends

i'm sure this has been brought up before, but it gives me the willies(brrrrrr!

) to say the...jw words.

since i don't believe they are god's witnesses, then i can't say the words.

Gopher

TR,

I remember journalists using the term "THE Jehovah's Witnesses", as opposed to just "Jehovah's Witnesses". The word "THE" helps the term "THE Jehovah's Witnesses" to look like a label, rather than validating that they actually may be the unique people belonging to Jehovah.

Gopher, enjoying the fresh air

4

How Does Field Service Work?

by Stephanus in

jw
friends

is the territory to be covered announced beforehand?

is there a certain member of the congregation who keeps a roster of territories covered and when the next visit is due?

if so, how easy would it be for an outsider, particularly one with a contact inside, to find out where the next territory to be covered is?

Gopher

Runningman, you asked:

If it's a crime to put flyers into mailboxes, how do JW's distribute tracts? And what about leaving mags at not at homes.

JW's will leave tracts and older magazines in between the outside (screen) door and the main door of the house, if the outside door is unlocked. That way they do not violate the postal code.

Then,

If you visit or mail to any householders to expose JW's, you will only bring attention to them. Your best strategy is to let the public stay asleep.

I totally agree. It's like the old saying "Bad publicity is better than no publicity at all". If we were to give JW's bad publicity, we'd be doing part of their work for them, IMHO!

Gopher, enjoying the fresh air

4

Timely Internet Anonymity Article

by You Know in

jw
friends

click here>>>>>>>>> http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/162428.html.

/ you know

Gopher

The key quote from the above-mentioned article leaves room for pursuing those who think they can use the Internet to trash ANYONE in ANY WAY and be defended by the ACLU:

"We aren't arguing for absolute immunity," Beeson said, conceding that targets of real online defamation should have an avenue for pursuing their antagonists.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines "defamation" as "calumny". What is calumny?

It is a noun, with 2 definitions:
1 : a misrepresentation intended to blacken another's reputation
2 : the act of uttering false charges or misrepresentations maliciously calculated to damage another's reputation

Anyone who uses this forum in a calculated way, to damage a reputation is guilty of "real online defamation".

If the purpose of your posting was to defend your right to defame someone else (e.g., Tallyman), forget it. You just brought the issue back to the top when you should apologize or at least let it drop.

Gopher, enjoying the fresh air

95

Org. Re-orging in JAPAN

by JWD in

jw
friends

for those of you who haven`t been following it,the wts is in a downward spiral here in japan.fs hours are down,memorial attendance.

is down,pioneers are down,studies are down,donations are down,number.

of congregations is down and the number of publishers continues to.

Gopher

JWD,

Thanks for that update. It appears the WTS tactic of spreading disinformation is doing little, except generating yawns all across the land of the rising sun!

I'm surprised (maybe I shouldn't be) they're taking this underhanded PR approach. I cannot remember anything quite like this in the United States.

Gopher, enjoying the fresh air

8

Cult of Apostates

by Victor_E in

jw
friends

the cult of jw apostates is a worldwide phenomenon that keeps growing.

unlike their counterparts it takes very little to recruit new members.

while the jws spend thousands of hours in making a new convert it only takes a moment to get someone to open their eyes and wake up from the social hypnosis the jws induced upon them.. there is no legal vow an apostate needs to take.

Gopher

Victor,

Your post is so true! Different people come here with different needs. I found myself agreeing most with points 2,5,6 and 13. I have found more love and support out here in 10 weeks than I did in the last 10 years in the 'spirit-directed organization'.

When I read your title, I thought at first "oh no, am I in a NEW cult?" I think it's more like an "association". We're not controlling like a cult would be.

Thanks for the post. It was a day-brightener.

Gopher, enjoying the fresh air

16

a bizarre decision!!!

by digderidoo in

jw
friends

hi guys...i just wanted to share with you all something that happened over the weekend, that i found really weird.. on saturday i went to a cousins wedding.....we are quite a large extended family, not jw's(only my mom is a witness), so it was nice to be with the family on such special occasions.. throughout the evening i sat down with a cousins husband, who i hadn't seen for about two years.

we had a pint and he decided to get out a pack of cigars.

now these cigars were big fat ones (you know the cuban type)...he lit up.

Gopher

Dig,

Thought I'd get in here before Fredhall throws you a one-liner!!

I've been out about a year, and found that old habits die hard too. For some reason, I just can't find it in me to celebrate birthdays and holidays, to drink any more than I did as a JW, or even to accept a smoke when all others around me are doing so (and I am passively inhaling as much as if I were smoking anyhow).

Perhaps your decision to not smoke the cigar in your mom's presence was a good tactical retreat. You showed her that you can control your decisions thoughtfully, even though you're not associated with "God's spirit-directed organization (TM)". Maybe in that way you'll be of assistance to her later if she ever has any leanings towards freeing herself of the JW's.

Gopher, enjoying the fresh air

22

Would like to make new friends all over again

by CathyM38 in

jw
friends

hi, i'm cathy.

am new to the site; some of you know me by now.

i have been dfd since 1997 and without many friends since then and felt quite lost as im sure many of you know the feeling.

Gopher

Cathy, Loki, NeedTime

Welcome home. Isn't this place just great? Look at all the response on this thread in just the first 12 hours! I truly feel the sense of community "out here" that I thought there could never be, after leaving "the organization".

Have a good time posting & in chat. Never be afraid to ask anything, or to ask for anything! Take advantage of the wealth of experience (both inside and outside the JW's) that is out here!

Regards,

Gopher, enjoying the fresh air