Posts by joeblow

34

What difference does it make if we are born in?

by wanderlustguy in

jw
friends

born in, what difference does it make?.

i was thinking about this one a lot over the last few weeks.

what difference does it make whether you were born into a cult or were brought in as a teen or adult?

joeblow

Wow.... that nailed it perfectly. That is exactly my experience. it gave me shivers to read... I was thinking.. have you been watching me? :-)

@StAnn: You're also so right on the marriage thing. Being in a relationship now as an adult... a non-JW relationship is so hard. We're almost hard wired into this bizarre way of thinking about marriage, relationships and what is "right"... but I believe that half the battle is knowing. If you are aware of where you came from... you can take steps to fix things.

12

JW invisibility = shame?

by gubberningbody in

jw
friends

it strikes me that jw's don't believe any of this stuff the wtbs is putting out anymore.

i never see them anywhere..

joeblow

I see the same in the city I live in. They've never been around at my door... ever, in all the years I've lived here... and I've never seen them in the neighborhood. I do see them in the city center once in a while doing the holding up the magazines thing.

One day I had some time on my hands. I was wandering around in the city center doing some shopping, when I spotted a couple of older JWs doing "street corner". They were just standing there in a busy pedestrian area, holding up the Watchtower and Awake... in several languages. I sat down nearby and just watched to see if they did anything other than stand there. Nothing. They stood there are were completely ignored by everyone passing by. No one stopped to talk to them. They made zero attempts to talk to anyone. They stood there idly chatting with each other, putting in their time, and doing their duty.

25

I know nothing about soccer

by MsDucky in

jw
friends

what countries have the best teams?.

joeblow

Might depend on the feed you're watching the game on... the Italians are masters of stomping other player's feet, jamming elbows in their face etc. :-) The last WC game (last WC in Germany) they played against the Netherlands was a real masterpiece of dirty playing. Poke around in YouTube and you'll find loads of examples of how they play.

Oh, for anyone looking for a way to watch the games, try http://www.myp2p.eu You can usually find a feed for any game there, and there is usually streams that will work in Linux and OSX as well as Windows.

25

I know nothing about soccer

by MsDucky in

jw
friends

what countries have the best teams?.

joeblow

Well... for anyone watching the Italy/Paraguay game... you can see what I mean. The Italians are faking the whole time, and playing VERY dirty (it's like they are playing a combination of karate and boxing instead of football)... and they get away with it... except... Paraguay scored on them when the goalkeeper let his guard down... so now the dirty game really begins.

25

I know nothing about soccer

by MsDucky in

jw
friends

what countries have the best teams?.

joeblow

Soccer/football basically comes down to a bunch of fully grown men run around a field pretending to trip on blades of grass and break their leg in an attempt to get free kicks or penalty shots on the other team's goal. I've learned from watching a few games that the horrible fake injuries sustained from grass-blade tripping can be instantly cured by pouring bottled water on the grievously wounded body part.

I've also learned that the Italian teams are the most likely to use poor sportsmanship and devious cheating in an attempt to win. They take every chance they can to kick, gouge, trip and otherwise physically injure (for real) or maim the players of the other team. They can be counted on to play a very dirty game every time they head out on the football pitch.

3

Why does everyone want to 'quietly' leave? Annual departure day?

by EndofMysteries in

it seems there are sooo many who sense something is wrong, or not right.

everyone who just 'fades' or is dfed or no longer a jw, it's all assumed for immoral reasons or they just want to lead a 'worldly' lifestyle.

some do, don't believe in god and that's their choice.

joeblow

For many it's family. Breaking away in a big fanfair will only serve to tear apart what will remain of a fragile family relationship. People want to be able to talk to their parents and siblings. The GB instructs JWs to shun Df'ed people even if they are immediate family members... so if you quietly fade, you have a better chance of keeping your family somewhat together instead of shredding it to little bits.

If it was just me, I would have made a point about my exit.... but it's not just me.

17

This site needs some improvements.....(suggestions)

by XPeterX in

no chatroom.

no profile settings option.

you can't see members who are currently online.

joeblow

I find the choice of forum software here somewhat... old and archaic. I administer several servers and forums in my line of work, and... none are as cumbersome and difficult to use as this one... not complaining... just an observation based on years of experience with these kinds of things.

Also, I've noticed several broken parts of this forum. the PM section for example (I am amazed that people have to post a forum message to let someone know they have a PM)... notification of replies on threads you are participating in is missing (I can't find it if it's there)... you cannot enter any info in your profile (well, I cannot anyway.. maybe others can?)....

Try clicking on About Us / Contact Us / Terms of Use / Help. the only one that works is TOU... the rest end in a processing error.

Basically, although the forum is working in its current state, it could really benefit from an update/repair, or even a migration to a more current forum engine such as phpBB or something similar.

56

When is the Big GENERATIONS WT Study in congregations?

by daringhart13 in

does anyone know?

?.

joeblow

"What generation change?"

Exactly!!! No one has noticed. Only those who are looking in from outside are aware there's a change. I was "in" during the 1995 change... I honestly didn't know there was one then. In my mind 1914 was still the same thing with the same teaching as it was all through the 1980's. I also wasn't aware of a 2008 change - but to be fair, I haven't been paying any attention since 2002. The only reason I'm even aware there was a doctrinal change is because I've been reading here, and then did my own research to verify.

I really am convinced that the latest change in the generation thing will be completely 100% missed by the vast majority. They won't even notice. The WT study will come and go, and the only ones who will sit up and say "Hey WTF!" are those already on their way out.

45

My Memories of Bethel in the Franz Era - part one

by Dogpatch in

jw
friends

food was passed from one side and if you were #10 you may not get too much to eat!

when i finally did, she was not at all interested.

but i was lucky it didnt work out, for she never would have left the watchtower.

joeblow

Wow.... loved the story so far... and seriously looking forward to the next part!

147

Did You Personally Know Any JWs That Were Sexually Molested By Other JWs?

by minimus in

i knew of a handful (which is too many) that were molested by a jehovah's witness.

it was not typical in my experience.

what about you???.

joeblow

I can add to this.. with a me too. I was abused by a male friend of the family (he was a JW) from when I was 6 years old to 9. I never told anyone - not even my parents. When I was 9 years old, I had finally built up the courage to confront my abuser on my own and told him to back off. Eventually he was disfellowshipped for his "lifestyle" - unrelated to the things that happened with me. I have no idea what happened to him after that. While the abuse was going on, I withdrew into a shell... comforted myself with eating - with the obvious results of weight gain.

It took me 23 years after it was over for me to be able to talk about it to anyone - when I met my current partner, I told her, and it was what broke me through some of the silence. I'll probably never tell my parents. I'm still struggling with issues related to that time in my life... but I'm getting better.