Posts by JWinSF

44

I Interviewed J. R. Brown

by mikepence in

jw
friends

see http://blogs.salon.com/0001138/ for a sneak preview.edited by - mikepence on 7 august 2002 16:2:52.

For PR purposes he may be a "gentleman". However, back in the early 80s when I was an Elder, the Detroit area congregations were having massive "problems" with "immorality". They had a special "SWAT" team of a few select local elders and a couple of representatives from Brooklyn, JR Brown being one of them.

We were having special meetings to go over the at that time new "Elders Manual". JR Brown came across as a very arrogant man without evidence of any "human kindness". The other man from Brooklyn was quite nice --- can't remember his name, however.

Several elders and I during the break were visibly shocked at JR Brown's demeanor. Again, he's nice for PR purposes, but he's quite the opposite behind closed doors. That is, unless he's changed drastically in the last 20 years. However, "a leopard can't change its spots". I doubt that he's probably a nice guy.

25

Apostate terminology

by Mum in

jw
friends

my daughter and i, fun-loving apostates that we are, have some terms we use regarding the wt organization and other cults.

i would like my fellow posters here to tell us their terms, buzz words, etc., to add to our list: to get the ball rolling, two of our favorites are:.

cookie-cutter theology.

JWinSF

Here a few:

Kingdumb Hall

Kingdumb Hell [variation]

BORG [scary, since Star Trek's mind-controlling group actually uses the initials of the Brooklyn ORGanization - I wonder if the writer had dealings with the JWs]

Jehovah's Witlesses

BTW, did'ja ever notice that the abbreviation for Book Study is BS? How apropos.

Weakly Meetings

Sisters adhere to "the principle of hardship"

That's it for now,

John W Wirtanen

2

Bay Area CA

by FiveShadows in

jw
friends

i'm just curious...i'm trying to get information about the bay area in california ...i've been planning on moving back there since janurary and was wondering if people can tell me about the job market there...i did go online and do a little research abotu the area...but it didn't erally help me much...i was wondering if i can get first hand type experience of what it's like up there....cost of apartment etc..job income...etc... anyone living in san fran.

or oakland?

berkeley?

JWinSF

I live in San Franciso, "South Beach" [newly name area for the spot by the Bay Bridge and several blocks south. Yes, it's expensive. A one bedroom in a nice area will probably set you back about $1300 -1600 per month. In Oakland/Berkeley, you'll probably be able to drop about $200-300 off of that. Check out www.apartments.com for a quick idea.

Jobs tend to pay more here, but not directly proportional to the higher cost of living. I'm not an expert in this area, so can't really help with specifics. The dot-com bust hit the area hard, which is why the apartment rates have fallen back to the levels of 1997 --- one bedrooms were going as much as 50% higher than this just a year or two ago.

Regarding the sales tax, yes, slightly higher for SF, but .5% over other areas of the State is not in my opinion anything to be concerned about. It's whether or not you like/love the area [which I do]. There are few other places that I'd ever consider instead. NYC is a close second for me.

If you can, take a brief vacation to check things out. You'll get a better feel for whether or not it's right for you.

John W Wirtanen

18

Who says DISCO is dead?

by FreeRangeChicken in

jw
friends

who says is dead?

"whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother,.

you're stayin' alive, stayin' alive.. feel the city breakin' and everybody shakin',.

JWinSF

All I can say is "I'll Stay Alive"

John W Wirtanen

29

Name your favourite kingdom melody?

by haujobbz in

jw
friends

i used to hate the kingdom melodies, but maybe i did like one or two i think one was called "apostates on the march" @ i feel so human

JWinSF

"Losing my religion" ... OOPS, that's R.E.M.

John W Wirtanen

26

Worst watchtower you tryed to place!!

by haujobbz in

jw
friends

.

the worst magazines i tryed to place was about 13 months ago i think 1 was the watchower on witchcraft and the other was the elderly commiting suicide.i thought how the hell am i going to offer this mag on witchcraft, i think i ended giving them to the pioneers,i mean what sort of presentation could i use with this witchcraft article i suppose i could of spoke about the blair witch project and tell them how c:@p it was,i mean i loved horror films.and to make things worse the magazine about the elderly commiting suicide "oh god" that was a bad one especially when i had to offer it at an old peoples home.

so anyone on here what mags did you find terrible to place.

JWinSF

The one that really sticks in my mind was from the early 70s. There was an article about the heart and the mind. It was when The Society was hell-bent that the physical heart was the seat of emotion, not the brain. There were dramas at the District Assemblies also pushing this theme. They went through their usual tortured reasonings. For example, they took a case of a person who had a heart transplant and VOILA! his personality changed. [Whether that was true or not is subject to much conjecture --- the good old boys in the writing department often take things out of context and print them to prove their points].

For years, the brothers and sisters would still hold on to "the heart being the literal seat of emotion". Somewhere later down the road I believe Brooklyn realized the stupidity of their stance in the 70s and quietly distanced themselves from that theological stance. Maybe some old-timers even today hold on to that warped reasoning.

Anyhow, I just couldn't place the magazine based on that article which I just couldn't accept. So, I featured some other secondary article. In fact, as I recall, I didn't even show the cover of the magazine, instead I had it opened to the other article. Funny, for years I prayed to Jehovah that I could somehow accept the heart/brain teaching. It never happened. Of course as a dutiful JW, I never let on that I thought their reasoning was B.S.

John W Wirtanen

14

What is the latest on Michael Jackson?

by Athanasius in

jw
friends

with all that is happening in the watch tower these days, its surpising that michael jackson hasn't spoken out.

after all at one time he was the most famous jehovah's witness who ever lived.. .

athanasius

JWinSF

People can rant and rave all they want about him. But, I don't buy all the criticism. Yeah, he changed his looks with plastic surgery. All that tells me is that he wasn't happy with who he was. And, given the screwed up father that he had, I'm not so sure that a lot has to do with that. I view his physical changes as merely meaning that all his fame and money still didn't make him feel whole and that he felt that changing his appearance would make him feel better.

Regarding the money settlement on the accused child molestation: What self-respecting parent would accept money in exchange for not pursuing their child's molester? It seems more to me that the parents were after Michael's money [after all, he probably is a rich as God] and he didn't want to go through the torment. He still is friends with Macauley Culkin. Macauley is an adult and I don't believe that he'd stay by someone who'd either molested him or others. Another famous celbrity, Elizabeth Taylor, stands by him. And, in my book, she is one of the grandest of actresses in terms of her humanitarian efforts [AIDS] as well as a real trooper.

This guy is not going to join the bandwagon on trashing Michael.

John W Wirtanen

3

Justice Scalia calls JWs "crackpots"

by proplog2 in

jw
friends

.

http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/pdf/00-1737p.zc1

JWinSF

It doesn't surprise me. Scalia is a very conservative judge who seems to be on the side of the "religious right". As a group, they are very anti-JW [as are the JWs very anti religious right]. The funny thing is,that they are basically "cuts from the same cloth". They both think that only they have "The" answers for Society. I personally find Scalia's past rulings to be highly odiferous.

While not a JW supporter --- I disassociated and think that theologically and control-wise they are way off-base --- I do give them credit for the freedom of speech that they had won for residents of the USA in prior Supreme Court rulings. Yes, these fights were for their brand of evangelizing. But, all the same, freedom to not be coerced into doing something against one's beliefs is a precious value. It's too bad that the JWs don't "practice what they preach" regarding freedom of speech within their own Organization.

But, as far as Scalia goes, him calling the JWs crackpots IMO is the same as "the pot calling the kettle black".

John W Wirtanen

15

DO YOU FEEL GUILTY ?

by minimus in

jw
friends

one of the positive things about this board is the ability to express opinions and feelings.have you ever felt guilty for doing or saying something because of witness ignorance?

i remember many years ago disfellowshipping a terminally ill older woman because she chose to live with her disfellowshipped "apostate" daughter who was caring for her.

this still haunts me and makes me realize the unbelievable power elders can have.

JWinSF

OOPS! Sorree ... I forgot there was a Maximus on the board. Didn't intend to step on any toes. Soooooo... how'z 'bout a variation: Maximilius or Maxum?! LOL [Oh, on second thought, Maxum sounds like a condom ... strike that, reverse it.]

15

DO YOU FEEL GUILTY ?

by minimus in

jw
friends

one of the positive things about this board is the ability to express opinions and feelings.have you ever felt guilty for doing or saying something because of witness ignorance?

i remember many years ago disfellowshipping a terminally ill older woman because she chose to live with her disfellowshipped "apostate" daughter who was caring for her.

this still haunts me and makes me realize the unbelievable power elders can have.

JWinSF

Minimus, you should change your handle to Maximus. You are surely doing yourself a disfavor. Anyone who is sensitive to their past mistakes and feels for them is a big person.