my middle brother called me a couple of hours ago.
our youngest brother, josh, who was 38, was found by his friends in his apartment.
he hung himself.
So sorry for your loss. Some suffer so much internally that while we as loved ones can't understand why they would choose to end their lives, it's the only way for them to end their suffering.
Of course it doesn't feel any better being the ones left behind with questions of " what if's" and "why?"
I hope you talk to someone who can help you process this loss and again I'm very sorry for your loss.(((hug)))
this guy, dale standridge, was the coordinator of the body of elders in the eureka east congregation in humboltd county california.
http://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2015/11/100000-bail-for-dale-standbridge.html?m=1.
it's not getting a lot of play in the press for some reason.
Innocent or not these JWs will always have supporters offering a witness to their great character. I had to hear it when my child's molester was on trial and yes he had his own lawyer and yes he was convicted. But his side of the courtroom had plenty of support the whole time.
with all the evidence stacked against them on child abuse issues, why do you think they are still refusing to play ball with the authorities?
why not put their hands up & say "we got a problem, we need help to change our medieval policies, we need advise on how to conduct our affairs in away that is in the victims best interests".. do you think that it is blatant, selfish pride.
the risk of losing money & struggling as a consequence, or they truly believe that jehovah is protecting them & by admitting they have acted in this inconceivable way would bring reproach on his name?.
They are very proud individuals. They truly believe they know what they are doing because they have millions hanging on their every word, too bad for them the real world with their real lawyers and judges see them for who they truly are...nut jobs with power!
side by side, on the grocery store magazine display, i saw two celebrity magazines with cover stories about scientology.
i purchased both.
i find it interesting, how similar this "church" is to the organization of the watchtower.. i thought i'd share some of the interesting quotes from the articles, which are both mostly about leah remini's new book, troublemaker: surviving hollywood and scientology.
I'm reading Leah Remini's book right now and I definitely can understand her feelings as if it she were talking about JW's. Their terms may be different but the way they handle things are very similar.
At one point in her book she talks about comforting another "SP"(apostate) and how unlike most people, she understood her pain and what they had put her through. To explain it to someone outside the church would take months, and if you were to explain it to someone inside the church they probably wouldn't care, wouldn't want to hear about it, and would most likely write you up in a knowledge report for even discussing it."
That sure reminded me of what I went through.
warning!
long post ahead!.
i didn't know what to expect but i was really excited to be invited to accompany my daughter and her closest friends to a large (300+) party held at a famous hot spot.
What a fun!! Just shows we may have the whole JW baggage but that doesn't mean we can't have fun and make friends.
Thanks for sharing.
or do traces or attitudes still rear its ugly head of your past involvement with the witnesses?
well tomorrow is a big day for me.
i'm finally going to be interviewed by the police about what happened to me as a kid.. im running the whole gamut of emotions at the moment.
sad, anxious, angry, guilt, fear and many more that cannot be quantified.. i feel physically sick, cannot sleep, have lost my appetite and i am desperately trying not to self harm.. i've got my sister to thank for getting this far.
We have been through it and can tell you the build up in your head is much worse then the actual interview. Just try and remember the police are professionals and they will treat you in a very caring way. It's nothing like dealing the elders.
I think it's very brave of you to speak up and I hope you get the outcome your looking for.
growing up my parents would barricade our home off by parking vehicles bumper to bumper - you would have to crawl under the cars or over the bumpers to get to our door.
also, we would turn off all the lights and hide in the back room away from the street.. that was the norm for me.
isnt that insane?
We would turn out all lights and hide out in a back room like we were afraid or something...I laugh now!
This was the first year we put up lights and pumpkins and handed out candy. My husband and 18 year old daughter actually dressed up and everything! It was so fun seeing all the excited kids dressed up and so happy.
We are on that road to normalcy right along with you my friend.
new to the board, first time posting a topic.
i just wanted to say how refreshing and sometimes funny it has been lurking here.
so much so that i decided to sign up to this message board.
It really is exciting and fun isn't it?
We carved pumpkins and will be handing out candy for the first time this year!! By the way we went through 6 pumpkins carving them way too early. Now we know to wait to carve until few days before Holloween..ha ha.
i have (well had) an extremely small circle of jw friends.
lots of acquaintances and associates but 2 or 3 i would consider my true friends.
that list is now 0. yup, once i told them i no longer believe in the org and haven't for a long time, and their attempts to encourage me thru jw lingo and terminologies to "rely on jehovah" and not to "stray away" failed that was pretty much it.
Even though it's expected, it still hurts.
I think sometimes we think somehow it might be different with OUR friends or OUR family.
Sadly as Leah Remini said last night about breaking from Scientology that they( friends and family) most always choose the church over their relationships with those who leave.
