This was the least effort of a tract campaign I've seen yet. My daughter opened the door (I was sitting 2 feet away but couldn't be seen by anyone at the door) because she thought it would be her friend coming over, and someone handed her a tract and told her to give it to her parents. She asked them why, and they just said "just give it to your parents" and walked away. She closed the door, took a step back so I could see her, shrugged her shoulders and took it straight to the recycling bin.
Ilovebirthdays
JoinedPosts by Ilovebirthdays
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26
Reports of lower memorial attendance
by thedepressedsoul ini have heard a lot of reports from kingdom halls in the area that there was less than last year, for both time slots.. we had the first time slot and we were down 50+/- compared to last year.
last year we had the lobby full of people standing and this year we had empty seats and no one standing.
we ran out of parking last year and this year we made it.. like i said i am hearing quite a few reports of this from halls in our area.however, somehow the number seem to inch up every year.
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170
Sign this petition - Investigation On Jehovahs Witnesses Religious Policy That Violates Human Rights and Abuses Religious Freedom
by TJ Curioso inlaunch an investigation on jehovahs witnesses religious policy that violates human rights and abuses religious freedom.
link.
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Ilovebirthdays
I saw this posted on Brenda Lee's wall. There were several posters that stated that as much as the JW's have hurt them personally, they either don't want to sign a petition that (very realistically) won't have any effect on anything due to freedom of religion laws and/or as much as they disagree with JW beliefs they don't want the government to infringe any further on our basic rights. She called those posters out by name, and then reposted the petition saying there would be no comments about it, and any comments would be deleted. Which seems to be the case with what few things AAWA related I've seen where anyone posts a less than positive view about it. This only serves in my mind to make me think that they could have a pretty good thing going with their organization, but they don't necessarily put their energies into making the best decisions, and their continued attempts to supress any debate or other way of thinking whatsoever don't make them much different than the organization they are trying to bring down.
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Would The Witnesses Be Happy To See You Come Back to The Kingdom Hall?
by minimus inwould you get a huge response if you ever went back to the hall?.
would nobody care?
?.
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Ilovebirthdays
Yes they would, because it would no longer be required of them to immediately look away and stare at the ground every time they saw me.
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Who/what is more responsible for you becoming a JW?
by minimus inis it family, friends, idealism???
what????.
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Ilovebirthdays
My great-great-great grandparents. They aren't my favorite people, whoever they were.
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A new DVD for 2013: The Return of the Prodigal Son
by Oubliette inin another thread, what's new for 2013 - lo nuevo de 2013, jwn member, oppostate, posted news of dc releases at this year's district conventions.
among the releases was this: .
a new dvd for 2013: the return of the prodigal son.
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Ilovebirthdays
The first thing I thought when I saw this thread title was that they're putting this out to try to give hope to the many that have children that have long left. False hope, indeed.
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What Kind of "Door Knocker" or "Bell Ringer" Were You?
by LoisLane looking for Superman ini preferred ringing the house holders door bell.
if i couldn't hear it.
i'd do it again, just in case.
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Ilovebirthdays
I was a pioneer who is fully acquainted with the "pioneer stroll", since that was the pace I prefered, and I also perfected the art of looking like I rang the doorbell when I really didn't. I never liked working with the new pioneers, since they were far more zealous than I.
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Constructive feedback for AAWA leadership (IMHO)
by besty in1 - reconsider your existence - there might be a reason why the most effective resources to date have been solo efforts.
2 - recognize that even well-intentioned organizations will firstly seek self-preservation.
3 - be aware that egos and emotional stupidity have torn apart much grander edifices than aawa.
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Ilovebirthdays
I was thinking about this, and it led me to wonder what is the uniting factor that we're all here on this board, and the only uniting factor I could come up with is the fact that we're all here on this board. We're made up of ex-JWs of many different lengths, JWs in various stages of fading, never-been JWs, JW apologists and who knows what else. Some of us are here because we need help or advice, some are here to give advice, some are random interlopers, and some are here to promote pro-JW beliefs. This site works, and has been around for such a relatively long amount of time, because it doesn't matter who you are or why you're here, its fine that you're here, and there isn't a "if you're not with me, you're against me" attitude and you don't have to follow the general consensus to stay.
Has there ever been (and I'm genuinely curious, since I'm not regularly here) a group that has caused so much division and infighting in such a short period of time on this board? I don't think name-calling and infighting from the get go shows that this group is off to a very good start. I know that Six Screens guy caused a lot of trouble, but that was over a period of time, and he is a lone entity. There are going to be disagreements and clashes of personalities on here. That's human nature, but getting a bunch of ex-JWs arguing against each other goes squarely against any group that claims to be Anti-Watchtower, I would think. Seriously, please re-think the name and the tone. If there were a group to pop up called AAAWA (Association of Anti-Anti-Watchtower Activists), how effective do you think that they would be here?
I think what people have to remember is that you're not just fighting a religion, you're fighting a multi-billion dollar corporation. People do that all the time, and there are many groups out there that have been around longer and have much more manpower, and they haven't done much. (Ever heard of Millions against Monsanto or the Nestle boycott? Your average person probably hasn't, and these corporations are still around, and while they may have been hurt on a small level, they're still thriving.) If you want to try to be the David to take down Goliath, go ahead, and good luck, I'm on your side. I'm just not going to put my time and energy and $$ into an effort for that, as the WT already claimed the 1st 25 years of my life, and, for me, I can't fight against them too long, or I get bitter and lose the good place I've managed to find for myself. I may not be blatant, but I do what I can. What I can do is, when appropriate, tell my story and the story of others who have been shunned to people I know when it is the right time to do so. Have I accomplished much? No, all I've done, that I know of, is get someone to stop taking the magazines from a JW because she was to polite to say no (I highly doubt I saved her from becoming one), and when they came this year on their Memorial blitz, they didn't get a very friendly reception from quite a few houses in the neighborhood. It may not be much, but it is what I can do to keep a healthy balance in my life.
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141
Constructive feedback for AAWA leadership (IMHO)
by besty in1 - reconsider your existence - there might be a reason why the most effective resources to date have been solo efforts.
2 - recognize that even well-intentioned organizations will firstly seek self-preservation.
3 - be aware that egos and emotional stupidity have torn apart much grander edifices than aawa.
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Ilovebirthdays
And that's exactly my problem. I'm not the only one that is complaining (I haven't even been on an ex-JW forum for months, it was the AAWA thing that even made me rembember to come here) and yet there has been nothing but radio silence from those in charge. Come up with some sort of statement to acknowledge the problem, be it "We're sorry" (and notice not "We're sorry, but here's why it's no big deal") or "Screw you and eff off". Silence indicates nothing but apathy toward the situation.
And I don't want people to count me as part of the "JWN peanut gallery", I'm hardly even a poster here. Even if I had no JW family on my FB page, this is a group I would not have wanted to be a part of, anyway. I'm with those that think the name and the in-your-face style are far to offputting for this group to be of any good, and get through to any JW wanting to leave, or leave a good impression on those that don't know anything about JWs or the problems that come with being an ex-JW. I watched the AAWA video that was on You Tube, and, aside from the name, thought the tone of the message was actually quite professional and inviting, but looking at the whole response to the idea to re-think the name, and the entire tone of everything that has come to pass after the video makes me think that the video was just a fluke.
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141
Constructive feedback for AAWA leadership (IMHO)
by besty in1 - reconsider your existence - there might be a reason why the most effective resources to date have been solo efforts.
2 - recognize that even well-intentioned organizations will firstly seek self-preservation.
3 - be aware that egos and emotional stupidity have torn apart much grander edifices than aawa.
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Ilovebirthdays
There are a ton of ex-JW groups out there, (NONE of which am I a member of) but the difference between every single solitary one out there and AAWA is that none of them added me to their group without my knowledge, and against my wishes. What could have been potentially harmful for me could have been just as potentially harmful for them, since nobody involved in the formation of the group even has a clue of who I am, and I seriously have no clue how I got added, since I only have a handful of ex-JW FB friends, and none of them were anyone involved in the setting up of the group. Anyone who wants to use FB as a platform for a "secret" group is sadly misdirected in the first place. Why bother with FB if there's going to be a website? Why bother being "secret" if there is obviously no vetting of members?
I think the big thing from me is I haven't seen a "Sorry" or a "We won't do that again" or even a recognition that something harmful has been done. The response has been "we have to look into that" or "here's what you have to do to make your Facebook settings correct, you dummy" attitude. I am quite familiar with FB privacy settings (at least until they change them again) and for some reason, when I was added, AAWA wasn't conforming to my privacy settings, and even though I hit leave group over and over, it never actually stuck until the next day.
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I have just been disinvited to my brother's wedding - Thanks AAWA!
by Sic Semper Tyrannis ini am an inactive jw.
i havent been on this forum for a few months and have been lurking in others.
i have met a few people in real life and online, both on this forum and on others.
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Ilovebirthdays
I haven't brought it up with whoever is in charge. From what I've read here, it would be an exercise in futility. And even if they do "investigate", so what? It is analagous to closing the barn doors after the horses have left.
After my initial shock and wondering what was going to happen to me, my next thought was shock at the "secrecy" of the group. Seriously, look at how long I've been a member here, and how few posts I have. Who here "knows" me? Are any of you willing to vouch for me that I am who I say I am (not that I've said a lot about that) that I am actually a dissatisfied ex-JW? And yet, I was added to a "secret" group dedicated to taking action against the WTBS in its stages of infancy? Not the best prior proper planning on anyone's part. While I think that some sort of organized movement has the ability to expose or irritatate the WTBS on a very minimal level, it needs to be a group that is willing to think first, professionally present themselves, have great organizational and planning skills, and know when to speak and how to word things. Patience is definitely a virtue that is needed here, and getting good PR requires a lot of skill and experience. Unfortunately, as I think this whole AAWA experience shows, it takes a lot more than a willingness to commit to a cause and enthusiasm to run a successful grass-roots movement.