i don't really understand the phenonoma.. .
Besty, you seem willing to make an incredible leap of faith...namely, that people who are willing to break into your house will stop violating your rights when they have control of your posessions. What's to stop them from violating your right to continue living?
Seems like an awful lot to gamble. Especially when we're talking about people that are already willing to invade your home. You have that much faith in criminals? Good luck with that. I don't trust criminals so much.
i don't really understand the phenonoma.. .
Yup, less guns is the best solution. It's also not workable or realistic.
Are there any other items prohibited by law that can't be bought out of somebody's trunk with a wad of cash?
i took today off work due to a family reunion.
at around 0845 i found myself in the local mickeydee's for a coffee.
while sitting there almost ready to go, in walks a tall, very unhappy looking man, followed by his son [i assume] of about 12. the man was dressed like jw's sans the jacket - the boy in a full suit.. what struck me was the absolute look of unhappiness on both faces.
Are you sure they don't know how trapped they are? Maybe what you see on their faces is the result of a slow, relentless realization.
I sure as hell felt trapped at 10 and 11 years old. I knew I was in prison. Question was: did I want to sign on for life?
i was still a kid and living at home at the time, and so that must have been well over 30 years ago, that i heard ron drage (now a senior member of the uk bethel) say "if you are waiting at the bus stop it, is better to be 10 minutes early rather than miss it".
what he was referring to of course was the then then 1975 issue; in other words armageddon has arrived yet but it just round the corner and we are a little early for it.. i don't know what brought this to my mind the other day but i got to thinking, surely if you are waiting for a bus and you get there 10 minutes early and it doesn't then turn up, how long do you wait?
10 minutes, 15 minutes, half an hour, an hour, two hours?
Was it ever really about the bus coming? More and more, I suspect that it was only about having people waiting for something.
well at least i know it from my own friends and geographic region........... but i will wait to hear your response....i am fourth gen btw...and unfortunately birthed.... and did a good job at raising a fifth dammit....oompa.
Born-in-but-never-baptized here...
I've developed a narcissictic edge since I left. I think it goes back to the enormous set of stones it took for me to stand up, all alone, and say THIS IS CRAP AND I DON'T BELIEVE IT. Damn the consequences. I told the truth.
And yes, I do think I'm someone special for many reasons, especially that one. How many people thought what I thought but caved to the pressure to stay in and shut the hell up?
Again, not to diminish what any one of us has endured - we're all here for the same reason! But born-in is born-behind-the-8-Ball. It's amazing that any of us learn to function or think at all.
i recall the 'core' families that made up our little congregation in the 60's and 70's.
i had not thought about it, but the very vast majority of those families have left zero members carrying on the 'legacy' of the 'troof'.
here is the way it breaks down - the names have been changed to protect the innocent [or guilty].. the colsons in 1970 - dad, mom and two sons.
I think Gayle sums it up best...
Jehovah's Witnesses - not a generational religion, not meant to be, too hard to be.
This religion makes a lot of demands. Part of what made those demands tolerable was the notion that it wasn't supposed to go on forever. Hell, it wasn't even supposed to last the lifetimes of the people who originally joined.
I'll bet those chains are quite heavy after a few generations.
This has played out where I live, also.
Kids from strong witness families might stay in the cult, get married...but they aren't breeding. I don't quite get it. The WT, to my knowledge, hasn't in some time actively campaigned for young members to stay childless, so I'm left with the notion that they are choosing this on their own.
I was born-in. Of my peer group growing up, at least 1/2 are out. Of those 1/2 remaining in, 1/2 are having families. Not good numbers for the business. Given that the WT knows this, I often wonder if the magazines will start championing having kids and raising them in the cult. It's their best source of monied growth, right?
Of course, this will further discredit the 'end-is-near' mantra, but money talks.
those of us on this board, who live in the united states, know this country has a lot of christian history attached to it's founders and current political state of things.
if i look in the yellow pages, under christianity, in the church section and browse the listed selection; i will quickly notice that the large majority of options are christian based in one way or another.
with this said, more then likely you are working with christians, living next door to them or related to them in your life.
I had a friend who killed himself. He was a caring and generous person, who probably suffered from some chemical imbalance that went undiagnosed. He was not JW, although he raised in a very dysfunctional household and experienced abuse and neglect. His parents failed miserably to teach him the tools to cope with lifes challenges and make good decisions.
Hence, when problems came along, he climbed inside a bottle and attemped to dull the pain. He was unsuccessful and spraled downward until he decided to end his life. He was agnostic, and never claimed Christianity as his faith.
I was quite distraught when I learned of his death, and happened to be listening to a local Christian talk show on the radio. I called in, to explain my friend's life and death and ask what kind of hope I could cling to for my friend. I was answered with silence.
You see, it didn't matter that he was born into a shitty family and learned destructive behavior. It didn't matter that I was treated better by him, than ANYONE else I've met who called themselved Christians. It only mattered that he failed to 'Accept Christ' (whatever that means) and therefore, he is without hope.
The realization of this forced me into a whole new paradigm. What kind of God writes off my friend like that? Not one that deserves my devotion. Where is the justice for my friend? It was then that I realized how absolutely useless Christianity is to me, as I would demand justice from a just God.
i have already lost nearly all my friends....maybe just a handful will even be social........but i so hate to lose my mom and dad and my jw son.....one is df......so he still shows that he loves me.....but damm........i so hate to lose the little bit of fam i have left.......is that normal?......stupid question.....i guess i know from my time here....i so hate these guys that can take them away.....oompa.
i know a bunch of you have done it.....just please help me through it...........
how hard is it to move on?...lose everyone?...start new???
I think you already know. It's hard.
Yet, it's easier than the alternative...
There is something wonderful about living an open and honest life. Now that you know too much, you can't live it within that box. It helped me to know that I wasn't the first one blazing the trail. Others had gone before me and were there to give friendly advice and lend a helping hand.
They let me know I could make it through. Because they had made it through. And now, you can make it through.
Ah - Undercover beat me to it...
I support and recognize the right of an individual to adopt or discard any belief system as they see fit.
Just don't abridge my right of free speech when I hold your belief system to the fire of logical scrutiny.
guess what...i saw 2 persian rugs worth at least 10,000 a piece as the bail out was discussed.. i heard nothing.....i was just looking at those rugs....how about putting those up for sale?....like the rest of us our going to have to do to make ends meet....as if we all had persian rugs...... damn this makes me angry.. r..
They should have to do as the rest of us when business is failing.. be forced to sell all that they have and the money should be used to help get us out of this problem...
Agreed, Dawg. Still, this clearly won't happen. Who gets blamed now? I say it's our political class. Party labels are an intentional distraction. But both parties are 'coming together' now. Who loses? We do.
