Posts by Jazzbo

119

How many of you followed the WTS direction on education years ago and have been screwed by it?

by Julia Orwell in

jw
friends

i'm really interested in this question because i've heard for years that if you forgo further education and go pioneering, when you have a family down the track you will get a good job because jehovah will provide for you because you pioneered.

as long as i was a kool-aid drinker, even then, i thought, "how does pioneering pay your bills?

surely education should come first.

Jazzbo

It kinda piszez me off to read people acting like giving up a college education was nothing for them and they have been so successful. The old "I'm so talented I didn't go to college and still make $100,000's a year, plus bonuses, plus retirement, plus investments, health insurance etc., crap touches me and it turns to gold. " If that's your attitude, perhaps you need to be on a convention encouraging the youth to not seek further education. Perhaps you should teach you own children that they won't need an education, just look at yourself. I'll bet you won't, and your making plans to send your kids now to a University near you.

JakeM2012 I guess that is directed at me. The truth is that I sent all my kids to college and two of them got Masters degrees. They're doing well. If you want to wallow in your situation then that is certainly your privilege but I suspect your embrace of victimhood is as much responsible for your situation as the fact that the Organization made it difficult for you to pursue a college aducation. The sad truth is that I've run into way too many Witnesses and ex Witnesses that pretend they could have been brain surgeons if only the evil Organization had not interfered with their educational plans when the truth is that they struggle to stand behind a counter at a convenience store. I do not apologize for being successful, if you don't like it that's just too bad. Enjoy your wallow.

119

How many of you followed the WTS direction on education years ago and have been screwed by it?

by Julia Orwell in

jw
friends

i'm really interested in this question because i've heard for years that if you forgo further education and go pioneering, when you have a family down the track you will get a good job because jehovah will provide for you because you pioneered.

as long as i was a kool-aid drinker, even then, i thought, "how does pioneering pay your bills?

surely education should come first.

Jazzbo

I'm a little torn on this. I was a quite bright young man and had the opportunity to attend a number of universities, accepted at MIT, University of Chicago, etc. Didn't go even though I'd taken the SAT, etc. and had applied to a number of places and made preparations to go. Did the pioneer thing instead for a number of years and supported myself with pretty hard manual labor though I never lost my interest in things academic. Finally got married and after a while decided that things just were not working out. I've always believed life is what you make of it and so I decided to make something of myself. Got a job with a large company, boot strapped myself up the ladder in spite of the fact that I didn't have a degree, became well known in my field as an expert in a number of areas.

The truth is that I've been very successful. I'm a published author, I work with people who have advanced degrees and some of the report to me. I've made quite a lot of money and my salary is six figures plus bonuses plus stock plus stock options. I will retire in a very good financial situation. So as far as success is typically judged I guess you could say I've achieved it.

What I truly regret is missing the opportunity to learn more and to work in fields that would have been more intersting to me. I also wish that it hadn't been quite so difficult for me to climb the ladder because not having a degree made it a lot harder, induced a lot more uncertainty and in some ways limited my opportunities.

Truth be that had I achieved a degree in the field that I wanted I would probably be less well off financially but it might have been more fun. Another truth is that not everyone can follow the path I have followed and that path is more difficult now that it was when I started. You have to have the right company and the right circumstances and have the mental horsepower to pull it off. I still believe that if you really want it you can achieve at least financial goals, you just have to be ready to do what is necessary to acheive those goals and maybe do things other people don't want to do or go places other people don't want to go.

It still really annoys me that the bunch in New York were able to interfere in my life the way they did.

92

Your earliest doubt?

by Apognophos in

this might be an unfair question for those who have been out of the organization for decades, but i'm wondering if any of you remember your earliest doubt -- maybe something odd that occurred to you as a kid (if you were a jw then).

please try to limit to two doubts at the most :-).

i think my first "doubt" was simply realizing that at the time of the flood, every animal that wasn't in the ark died (well, besides the fish, supposedly).

Jazzbo

When they said pant suits were forbidden but boob jobs weren't.

88

Minimus' Post Gave Me Courage To Finally Post My Questions, New Here

by toweragent in

i have been "lurking" for about four years now.. it was an incredibly weird experience just to look at a site like jwn or freeminds.

he came off very loving.. so, i decided that i would talk to one of my elders about the things i read.

if any of you have time to read this, thank you.

Jazzbo

John 13:35 is such a great scripture.

You might ask your wife, "If you polled 10,000 people what's the first thing they would say to describe Jehovah's Witnesses?"

"What percentage would actually say that those people (JWs) really love one another?"

I bet it would be less than 1%, if any actually said that.

90

to date JWism has defined my life and i hate that TRUTH

by oompa in

jw
friends

and i am finding the adjustment to the real world far more difficult than i ever imagined...i f...it has been about five years since i totally woke up to the fraudulant nwt and then all my other doubts i had carried for years were proved true as well.

but almost all of my few friends are exjw or slack jw's and i feel so isolated...my sons friends are mostly exjw too but not their gf's and they have way more normal friends .

how have you done at replacing lifelong friends and family?

Jazzbo

Find yourself some worthwhile group doing something your are interested in and volunteer. Lots of people looking for volunteers. Become a Master Gardener, you'll meet people at the classes and then you are obligated to something like 50 hours doing things for the community. Onced that's done then become a Master Naturilist. Attend CERT classes and then you'll have more opportunities to volunteer than you know what to do with. There are a thousand things to do that really need to be done. Volunteer at the Zoo if there's one close by, pick up trash on the beach, etc. etc. You need to stop focusing on yourself and try to see how you can assisst the community. Too many ex Witnesses end up wallowing in their misery and enjoying every minute of it. DO NOT define yourself as an ex Witness, worst thing you can do.

24

AGEING CONGREGTIONS

by sieborg in

jw
friends

hi everyone on this forum,this is my first post but i have been lurking around here for about a year.

i was at the hall this morning and as i was looking round i noticed that, if 20 years down the line i was stood a the back looking around, more than half of those at the hall i attend would be dead due to old age.

if anyone still goes to a k/h ,are the ones in your k/h ageing.

Jazzbo

The last few congregations I visited seemed to be composed of mostly people over 50. I'd say something approcahing 80% Very few young families, if any. For a long time the Organization has depended on organic growth so I'd say this is going to become a real problem for them.

43

Politics ... remember what I said?

by Simon in

we are not going to have a political propaganda copy-and-paste-fest on this site.. we're also not going to have inflamatory insults posted targeting either side.. please take the hint ....

Jazzbo

"as long as there is a black guy sitting in power"

Oh yeah, nothing political bout that.

87

Is this HARD evidence that the INTERNET is hurting the Watch Tower Society?

by cedars in

these are the countries with 80 to 89.99% internet penetration:.

these are the countries with 70 to 79.99% internet penetration:.

these are the countries with 60 to 69.99% internet penetration:.

Jazzbo

Congratulations, this is nice work. With reference to the thread title, as many have already pointed out, this is not "hard" evidence but it is very interesting.

8

What was the worst KH architecture/design you ever saw?

by BoleynGirl in

the first hall i attended as a study was built in the 1960s.

it was basically an orange brick box with aluminium framed windows.

there was no air-conditioning and it heated up like an oven in summer.

Jazzbo

I remember a rented KH that was in a pretty grim stone building off an alley. You had to wear an overcoat in the winter to keep from freezing. The carpet was about 1mm thick and the wals were a ghastly pea green. I'll say one thing, it was so cold in there that no one ever dozed off.

115

Memorial - How many on here went and how many didn't?

by IMHO in

jw
friends

feel free to add why/why not?.

Jazzbo

I had occasion to listen in on a telephone connection because I was caring for an aged parent. I must say that like the last two time I attended the talk was pretty mediocre. I used to give the Memorial talk and I spent considerable effort to make the talk special and the occassion solemn. Now it seems like the guys are reading a laundry list. Don't know if it's because the speakers are not very good, are just lazy, or if it's because the Organization seems to have sucked the life out of most meetings.