I guess the radio stations keep on doing what works for them. Really, if you want 24x7 Christmas music, you can have that. I'll bet I <heart> radio has a whole station devoted to that. If you have satellite radio, they do. Or you can put a mix on your phone. If you want to hear Christmas music, there's no excuse not to. Radio stations don't have to be responsible. And most stations I hear play occasional Christmas tunes. Usually if a popular artist records it. So it's not the classic versions, but still. I'm sure they did polls to find out what their audience really wants.
Every store I step into is playing Christmas music, BTW.
Haven't you noticed? People don't jam malls anymore. And it has nothing to do with a lack of Christmas spirit. 2 malls in the area have closed in the past 3 years where I live and the others aren't the mecca they once were. At my former employer (a major retail chain), we knew malls were dying in the early 2000's and started moving to a stand-alone store model.
You can find better deals and exactly what you want online without having to park 3 blocks away from a store entrance just to get in, wade through crowds, try to find what you want in picked-over and unorganized displays, then stand in checkout lines for upwards of 30-60 minutes. All the while sweating to death in that jacket you wore because it was f'ing freezing outside when you left the house and didn't think about being indoors for 4 hours just to buy 2 things. And you think to yourself, "next year, I'm just going online".
And if their lists are shorter, ask why. The bankers tanked our economy 11 years ago under Bush Jr's watch and many people are still recovering and/or are way more cautious with their money now. Why go in debt on the credit card for the next 6 months to try to please everybody when you could be looking for work next month? Not to mention the Federal employees who might have to go without pay because Trump is using them as pawns for some crazy wall. Many federal employees are probably saving their money so they can survive if there's no more money coming in at the start of the new year.
And the other poster is right. Nobody blinks an eye at whatever you say or hear. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, whatever. That's a made-up controversy. One that you probably never noticed until somebody pointed out a difference between the two sayings and told people to be outraged about it. 20 years ago if somebody wished you Happy Holidays, you probably went home and if asked about it, you could've sworn the clerk said Merry Christmas. But now you're on the lookout and if you hear Happy Holidays, you take note.
Posts by jws
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31The Holidays Are No Big Deal Anymore
by minimus inyou used to hear christmas music blaring on every radio station.
not anymore.
people used to jam the roadways and malls to do their christmas shopping and now it’s no big deal.
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jws
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31
Pray before sex just like you do for food-W62 3/15
by krismalone inthe governing body has lovingly provided instructions and reminders to couples that they should pray before having sex.
please be obedient and follow the wise counsel from the gb leaders who never stick their noses into other peoples business and are not creepy cult leaders at all....not!.
"had he not created the first human pair so that they could cohabit, planted in them an attraction for each other and then commanded them to "be fruitful and become many"?
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jws
I'm sure every horny teen is thankful for sex and you might even hear your partner talking to god during sex. And I wouldn't be surprised if those horny teens said a little prayer of thanks every time they got lucky.
him: Bless me father, for the p***y I am about to receive.her: Bless me father, for the d**k I am about to receive.
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Department Store Santa Claus - Do They Still Exist?
by RubaDub ini remember when stores would advertise that santa claus would be there from 2-4 pm on a saturday or something for several weeks before christmas.
you would see them everywhere.. do they still exist in your area?.
maybe parents finally realized that having a drunk guy with a white beard getting his jollies off with young children on his lap was not a good idea.. just my thoughts.
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jws
WtWizard, you're kidding me. You're complaining that other holidays are being merged with Christmas???? Really. You actually wrote that. And Christmas is on Dec 25th why? Refresh my memory.
Because Jesus was born on Dec 25th? Nope. Even the JWs were right on this. The celebrations go back further than before Christianity raised it's ugly head. Now you're boo-hooing that other holidays are interfering with Christmas??? Do you hear yourself? Christmas bullied it's way into other celebrations in the first place.And by saying you're dreaming of a "white" Christmas, I assume that doesn't refer to the color of snow either and is actually a racist reference after decrying hearing Spanish songs. And BTW, that song is bilingual, not just Spanish.
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25
Divorce/Terms of Agreement
by SFSDGUY ini'm a first time poster and i apologize if this topic has been discussed before.
when i met my wife she was disfellowshiped and were happy, got married, and had a kid.
after we had our daughter she got reinstated so her family and her jw "friends" could spend time with our daughter.
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jws
I wish you luck. I married a "worldly" woman so that was not an issue. Though religion was. It never came up during the divorce, but after that, I became agnostic. I didn't want my kids raised with religion.
She was about as religious as most. She "believes" but not enough to do much about it like go to church or read the bible. But ask her and she'll claim she's a believer. It came down to if she wants to take them on her weeks, go ahead.
Luckily, she's as lazy as she was during our marriage. She's not going to consistently get out of bed on a Sunday to take them to church. Hell. leaving her house is a burden. Even shopping she does online and picks up the order. So there was no chance she was going to take initiative and indoctrinate our kids.
Outside of that, my daughter had religious friends that sometimes invited her to church functions. Even on my weeks and I allowed it. If that's what they want to do, go do it. I hoped they didn't get indoctrinated, but I had to let them be with their friends and hope. I know from first hand experience of my own and seeing other JWs. Banning something usually backfires. The strictest parents often had the most rebellious children. Tell your kids NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT and that's all they want to do.
Occasionally I'd be watching atheist cartoon videos by the likes of NonStampCollector on YouTube and the kids would hear it and come watch the cartoon. So I think I was being passive about religion. I wasn't purposely drilling no-religion into them, but there were times they'd ask about it or come see what I was watching and stay.
As a result, my daughter is mad at me for not giving her the hope of a heaven (not that she's religious either, but somebody put that thought in her head). She still doesn't believe, but she's mad at me for not giving her that false hope. Knowing she's going to die someday and that's all there is has caused her fear. My son is pretty like-minded to me. He even argued with Mormons on the existence of god in a parking lot when he was in grade school.I may not have any advice on your situation unless my experience helps. And my belief that being too negative against JWs might drive them to being JWs.
My advice for others is never get involved with a JW or disfellowshipped JW. I know many disfellowshipped people who still believe the JWs. They just gave into the moment (usually sex) and got disfellowshipped. But now that the moment is gone. They're older and wiser, but they still believe the JWs are the one true religion and they need to repent and return someday.
So don't go with a JW or disfellowshipped one - UNLESS they firmly believe the JW religion is WRONG. Even my ex-wife worried I might return to the JWs. It's good she divorced because if she thinks that, she never knew me and has NO IDEA what I think of the JWs. Apostate JWs are better, IMO. Though not all apostates stay apostates.Link +3 / -0 -
34
Do You Think Prostitution Should Be Decriminalized?
by minimus inin the us there is a bill in the house of representatives to decriminalize prostitution.
what do you think about that?.
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jws
Prostitution is a matter of opinion. I know women who're on dating sites JUST to get taken out to dinner. There's probably not always sex involved, but if you're being paid with a meal for your company, that sounds like prostitution to me.
IDK. I think it's still risky. You could do mandatory health checks, but still...
In the porn industry, performers have to take regular tests to make sure they don't have things like AIDS. I think legalized prostitution would be more dangerous. At least the porn performers get tested regularly. So if you're only having sex with other performers who are also tested, there's a lower risk of contracting something.However, with prostitution, only the prostitutes are being tested. Meaning they're having sex with unknowns several times a day. And if they catch something, how soon until they can spread it and how long until their next test? And how many customers are exposed to disease before it's detected? And IMO, if you're having sex with prostitutes, you're not picky about who you have sex with, so the likelihood the customers have something is higher. So you've got prostitutes having sex with high risk people and then having sex with many other people. What could go wrong?
I think it's too dangerous. Although penalties should be reduced. If you're stupid enough to buy or sell and take that risk, that's on you. No need to further pile on by the law.
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43
Did You Know Any "Genuine"" Old School Anointed?
by Number 6 ingrowing up in scotland in the 1970s in scotland the anointed were few and far between, but we had one old dude in our cong who claimed to be one of the anointed.
in the days when it was taken seriously.. i'd be curious how you viewed them.
thing is, he wasn't an elder, or even a ministerial servant, just a plain old publisher.. but he was revered like he had a hotline to jesus.. the other week i was talking to a friend of similar age to me but who hung around the wt a lot longer than i did, and he just commented "oh him... he was a doddery old fool who used to just sit and piss himself.
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jws
I don't know if she fits the definition of "real", but there was a pioneer sister that was one of the annointed. She lived on our way to the hall and I don't know that she drove, so we often gave her a ride. She was probably in her 60's in the 80's. So I assume born in the late 1910's, early 1920's. IDK when she was baptized.
My impression of her was that she was a bit loony and pious. Think of the rich uptight people as portrayed in the 1930's and 40's. That "Well, I never" type of outrage in a pompous voice. That was ol' Caroline.
I remember wising off to her once. Our parents let my brother and I go to a rock concert with our brother-in-law (I think an elder at the time, at least MS). So Sunday morning on the way to the Kingdom Hall, my brother and I are purposely talking about it so as to trigger her. She finally says something like "*I* wouldn't let MY children go to such a thing". And I said something like, well, it's a good thing we're not your children. For which my parents scolded me, but agreed.
I remember her as not being taken real seriously by the elders when she had opinions either. Which confused me at the time. This woman is supposed to be one of the 144,000 joint rulers with Jesus in the new world. Shouldn't the elders be listening to her opinions? Why is she like a second-tier person around the hall? Elders being first tier and regular publishers being third or fourth. Somewhere MS's fit in. Pioneers and MSs seemed to kind of be about the same with pioneers probably regarded higher.But if she's annointed, shouldn't the elders be seeking her advice and wisdom? Not ruling over her?
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Upon learning of a terminal illness would you return to being a JW to appease your family?
by NVR2L8 inthis is an hypothetical question...i am doing well.
but i was thinking about how my jw family, grandchildren and all will feel when their inactive grandfather dies with no hope of being reunited in paradise.
of course there would be immediate rejoicing if i came back to the "truth" and a surge of conditional love from the "friends".
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23
Stupid armageddon false alarms
by purrpurr inwhen i was 5/6 i remember being in the car with my jw mom and a jw sister.
they noticed a yellow ish glowing cloud in the sky which really freaked them out and they both declared that it must be a sign that armageddon was here!
they then spent the whole car trip declaring that the police and army were about to come and round up all of us.
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jws
I remember talk of Reagan being involved. That he would instigate nuclear war but God had to intervene before that. So it was gonna happen soon. Also that Ronald Wilson Reagan had 6 letters in each part of his name. ie. 666. So he must be the antichrist. So it was definitely the time of the end. 30 years later, not so much.
And 1984 was supposed to be declared the year of peace by the UN and the JWs were all excited because that was supposed to be the cry of "peace, peace, when there is no peace" related to end-times.
And I remember people flocking back to Kingdom Halls after 9/11 because surely that meant the end was near. 18 years ago. Yep, any day now.
But I only come here occasionally, so I don't know about each and every thing.Link +1 / -0 -
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Department Store Santa Claus - Do They Still Exist?
by RubaDub ini remember when stores would advertise that santa claus would be there from 2-4 pm on a saturday or something for several weeks before christmas.
you would see them everywhere.. do they still exist in your area?.
maybe parents finally realized that having a drunk guy with a white beard getting his jollies off with young children on his lap was not a good idea.. just my thoughts.
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jws
I don't know about individual department stores, but the mall has one. And, working several years for a major anchor store and working with their real estate department, I know several malls have contracts in their lease for the tenants to pay for common things that would include a Santa. As it attracts people to the mall and thus customers to the tenants.
So in a way, each and every department store is paying for the mall Santa. So it's kind of a department store Santa.
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"Get Over It!"
by The Bethelite inthis is what my children tell me... get over the whole jehovah's witness thing!
yes, they tell me they have gotten over the whole thing and they tell me that and i need to also.
my exgirl friend who was raised as a jw also has said the same thing.. my children say they got over it, however they are quick to point out how messed up their lives are now because of no college education and other missed opportunities.
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jws
For me, the thought of JWs ebbs and flows. They were a cult. Growing up with them affected our lives. You can't always just "get over it". If somebody steps on my toes, I'll get over it. But that's a minor offense compared to the JWs.
Even if we're out, they are still ruining the lives of many others. How can we get over it when they still exist?
It still affects my sisters who are still in. Even after I left, when my dad was still alive, it affected our relationship and I had to walk on egg shells to keep talking to him. How could I get over it back then?
If people can get over it fine. I find myself consulted often by a friend who was NEVER a JW, but gets knocks on her door and wanted to know the best way to avoid them (I recommended she say she's disfellowshipped). But she's become interested in cults and asks questions or sends me things she's heard about JWs. Like the Melboure protests before I saw anything on this site. She's anti-cult, but her questions keep bringing things back to me. I feel like I'm helping her learn about cults, but it's still not letting me "get over it".
I think I'm better off than others. I feel as though I've completely left them behind while others in my family still had that guilt that they needed to get right with Jehovah eventually (which I helped cure them of). Their insistence on examining things to find out what's right and follow that, even if it was against what I've learned so far lead me to examine Christianity and religion in general and reject it.
But the upbringing has had effects good and bad that can't be forgotten and shaped me into the person I am today.
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