Posts by laverite

16

JWs and Field Service Attire

by laverite in

jw
friends

this morning the jws are working my neighborhood.

i have a birds eye view from my upstairs office.

on my side of the street is three men with a baby in a stroller.

By Way of Announcement, Darlene Jefferson Has Been Disfellowshiped

by Cold Steel in

i was watching a jw video where the announcement was made of a young lady's being disfellowshiped, and it happened in a regular kh sunday meeting.

this struck me as being a bit...cold.

is this when the shunning begins?

Pale, you have a healthy attitude and outlook on the entire situation. This will serve you and your daughter very well in future. I am so glad that you will be able to provide a good example for her outside of the religion. There's a lot of irony, for sure. Interesting and so typical they wouldn't let you go out on your own terms, but seemed to want to have ultimate control. They almost seem to need that, perhaps as a way to deal with the cognitive dissonance that they surely must experience from time to time.

Cold Steel - they don't announce what people did/didn't do during DFs or Public reproof. I think regardless of whether it's a DF or PR, people who don't know will wonder. There's usually at least a few and often more than a few who do know. Ultimately, most will know. And, this kind of thing takes on a life of its own -- often growing way out of proportion. You could have a sister being disfellowshipped for having an affair with a co-worker, and over a couple of weeks, this turns into having had sex with an entire football team in their locker room, multiple times whilst being filmed... The stories take on a life of their own.

21

By Way of Announcement, Darlene Jefferson Has Been Disfellowshiped

by Cold Steel in

i was watching a jw video where the announcement was made of a young lady's being disfellowshiped, and it happened in a regular kh sunday meeting.

this struck me as being a bit...cold.

is this when the shunning begins?

laverite

Pale,

You wrote: 'Funny you should mention shunning, only a few hours ago i was getting on a bus with my little girl and an elder and his wife were getting off. I smiled and said "hello" like any normal human being would, to which the elder replied "hello <daughters name>" and walked right past me.'

I know it's not funny. BUT...I couldn't help but laugh reading that. That kind of reaction is so ridiculously immature. I laugh but I also cringe a little too. And I'm sorry you had to go through that.

If you were in a shop or around people in close proximity, you could always say out loud (just loud enough for others to hear) 'Are you really going to shun me in public because of the petty Jehovah's Witness rules? Why must Jehovah's Witnesses such a cruel people? Do you know what shunning has done to its victims? Do you not care?'

9

September 17th 19...

by LogansRun in

jw
friends

one decision one day one event , today is the anniversary of the plunge that ruined my life .i was young and now i'm old and feel screwed over - ok my personal pity party is over if you made it this far thank you for just being out there.. now my fading update, no meetings for 3 weeks they don't know yet i'm not coming back but thanks to this site and many helpful youtube stories i have some tools to know how to play this game.

because this is a fade i have not been able to tell my story but it really is unique ,i can say at this time there is no wife or kids involved but i do have siblings in this and my oldest brother is a super strict witness to the point of being a bully but thankfully most of my extended family are not j-dubs and that's what's going to help me get through this along with all of you .

have a great day folks !.

laverite

I agree with pale.emperor. If/when you're ready, we'd love to hear your story. Pale, I think that when the stress of life as a witness -- never being good enough, never doing enough, needing to always reach out more -- is lifted, that one can't help but be better at dealing with life's other stressors. It's easier to be kind, funny, more relaxed when that weight is lifted. How many times did you feel dread at the thought of getting ready for the meeting or field service, while also saying at the same time how wonderful and what a privilege it was to be a witness. That kind of cognitive dissonance isn't pleasing to experience. All those conflicts, all those stressors and pressures -- gone. I don't take any of it for granted. I feel so very profoundly fortunate to have gotten out.

16

JWs and Field Service Attire

by laverite in

jw
friends

this morning the jws are working my neighborhood.

i have a birds eye view from my upstairs office.

on my side of the street is three men with a baby in a stroller.

laverite

Thanks, Berrygerry. I think the entire combination is what struck me -- The khaki trousers, combined with a colorful diaper bag, the blue stroller, the lack of book bags, and the orange over the shoulder bag the brother had just seemed so very casual. BUT, there were ties! Had the ties not been there, they would have looked like they were ready for a day at Disneyland.

21

By Way of Announcement, Darlene Jefferson Has Been Disfellowshiped

by Cold Steel in

i was watching a jw video where the announcement was made of a young lady's being disfellowshiped, and it happened in a regular kh sunday meeting.

this struck me as being a bit...cold.

is this when the shunning begins?

laverite

Did they really say she had been disfellowshipped? I thought they simply say 'So and so is no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses'.

9

September 17th 19...

by LogansRun in

jw
friends

one decision one day one event , today is the anniversary of the plunge that ruined my life .i was young and now i'm old and feel screwed over - ok my personal pity party is over if you made it this far thank you for just being out there.. now my fading update, no meetings for 3 weeks they don't know yet i'm not coming back but thanks to this site and many helpful youtube stories i have some tools to know how to play this game.

because this is a fade i have not been able to tell my story but it really is unique ,i can say at this time there is no wife or kids involved but i do have siblings in this and my oldest brother is a super strict witness to the point of being a bully but thankfully most of my extended family are not j-dubs and that's what's going to help me get through this along with all of you .

have a great day folks !.

laverite

LogansRun,

Please rant. Please share what you are comfortable sharing. Your story could be a comfort to others, and just by you posting, you could be helping someone else, even if they never reach out to you.

Without the tools you mentioned, fading can be very difficult. Some are caught like a deer in headlights when elders approach or someone calls by their house unexpectedly. It's easy to get sucked back in. I hope the tools you've gathered during your preparation for your exit will help you stay the course. It's worth it.

Life after Watchtower is so very much more fulfilling and meaningful in almost every way imaginable. I would guess that most of us who have managed to escape don't ever really taken our freedoms for granted. I guess I should just speak for myself: I certainly don't take my freedom of thought and freedom from Watchtower for granted.

43

May 22 1969 Awake!

by zeb in

jw
friends

"if you are a young person you need to face the fact you will never grow old in this system of things.. why not?

because all the evidence in fulfilment of bible prophecy indicates that this corrupt system is due to end in a few years...as a young person you will never fulfil any career that this system offers".

may 22 awake!

laverite

Wow, 47 years ago. No wonder so many JWs have spent their lives in dead end jobs. Teenagers reading that then would have faced pressure from their families, congregations, etc. to not pursue a career, but to find something to get by until Armageddon. So very sad. Those people are now retirement age. Some have little in the way of financial security for their old age. So very sad.

The guys in Brooklyn should be held responsible for selling such BS. Too many people fell for it. It didn't just impact the ones who bought the Kool-aid hook line and sinker, but also their families. So many family relationships lost. So many lives dedicated to a man-made organization that hasn't a clue as to the actual truth; instead, they've fabricated their own Truth™.

When I was a young person, I had a secret dream: All through high school I dreamed of going to college. I got out on my own at 18, as terrifying as that was. And it really was terrifying. But, it was the best thing I ever did. I went to a great university and supported myself all the way through. Then on to grad school. I haven't taken my education or profession for granted. I wanted my education so very badly. Growing up, this just wasn't on offer. There was, in fact, some pressure to quit high school at 16, get my GED and pioneer. I held those pressures at bay by aux pioneering in summers, during holidays, etc. But once I turned 18, I was able to make my escape.

I may have been forced to be in the bOrg for 18 years, but they didn't get one extra day out of me once I could escape. So very glad for that. But reading the OP above is a reminder of what I escaped. I remember this was the mantra pretty much at most if not all meetings, chats during field service, assemblies, etc. We heard it over and over and over again. I can picture how my life would be now if I hadn't made it out. What a sad and depressing thought.

16