Posts by Band on the Run

75

Why Women Love Jerks

by compound complex in

jw
friends

do nice guys lose to bad boys?.

[see advert.

i'm afraid to look ...].

The way women chase men today is shocking to me. There is no reserve. Often the boy is really being harassed and wants it to stop. I've seen girls chase even after a boy expresses his disinterest and dislike clearly. Sometimes I think the boy needs a restraining order.

My college was a hook-up place and my law school was a dating place. I don't know fully know why. When I was 18, living with a male was the ultimate, not marriage. Older women would exclaim that marriage protected women and it does. Or under today's rules. Dating was vastly underrated. It seemed to be a cultural difference. I struggle with maintaing standards when I feel worthless. Affirmations help. It should be as easy as breathing to realize when something compromises your moral integrity. It is not easy. I don't see one remedy. The more women have options independent of men I feel they will make better mates.

I still see house husbands as perverted. My cultural bias shows but it is my bias.

85

University student's JW based honors thesis research. PLEASE HELP!

by honorsthesis in

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/defectedmembers_honorsthesis.

hello community,.

my name is brett w., and i am senior undergraduate student at the university of florida.

Band on the Run

Maybe you should post at Daily Kos with your credentials. Your belief is your business. Not a Witness belief.

29

Considered rebellious because I choose to think for myself

by LovelyEunie in

jw
friends

hi all, this is my first post.

but i was one of those kids that was born into the whole jw thing, and like a good little witness kid i did everything i was supposed to do to please my parents (mainly my mom my dad's an unbeliever).

my mom was very strict with me when it came to everything they taught, no holiday parttys at school, no sports, no worldy friends, i was only supposed to associate with other jw kids (my mom is one of those extremist jws, she says she doesn't judge, but she's a perfect example of one one of those sisters with the holier than thou attitude).

Band on the Run

Reading these posts has me in tears. Please, I am so deferential and not assertive. I am no rabble rouser. If anything, I should have pursued mediation since I like pleasing people. Yet I was the scum rebel. I, too, wanted desperately to have a single friend at KH. My KH was black and I am white. In fact, I prayed for it. The isolation was unbearable. We lived in an ethnic Roman Catholic neighborhood. I paid a heavy price.

My mom abandoned JW as soon as I refused to go and told her I would get a court order if she made me. It was strange. Much of it I don't understand to this day. She was expelled from high school for the flag salute. Many of her close friends went to prison. Yet we were raised with all these bourgeois values. From the time I could understand, I wept for her loss. I loved her and her dream was to teach or design fashion. She had very low self esteem, even worse than me. Yet when she had the choice to make, I could not do things --unless no Witnesses were around. She always warned me about not investing much in Armageddon. She was traumatized when friends sold all their assets and were ruined.

I was typed as a field marshal on the Meyers-Brigg test.

I did not dance, party, etc. Few kids would play with us b/c we had no toys. Yet we got toys all year so who cares about Christmas.

I am essentially myself. Rebelious or deferential? A value judgment.

64

Jesus' Physical Resurrection = Take the Ransom Back?

by InterestedOne in

in my "study," we have encountered the matter of whether or not jesus' physical body rose from the dead.

i brought up a couple of scriptures that seem to indicate physical (john 2:18-22 and john 10:17,18).

the jw's i am "studying" with explained how, although those verses may appear to indicate physical, jesus couldn't have meant that because if he physically rose from the dead, he would have taken back the ransom.. now that i know the wt reasoning on this, can someone point me to another source, link, book, article, etc.

Band on the Run

Citing specific references, esp. out of context, does not help, IMO. Almost any statement can be construed in any way. Context gives many clues as to what a speaker meant. Studying the civilization of the time and its tensions helps, too. Sometimes, the meaning can not be inferred.

There are important, nonBiblical concerns for a physical bodily resurrection. A bodily resurrection emphasizes that we are biological creatures, grounded in our bodies. I've had horrendous problems with mine. The thought of a restored, nondefective body here on earth is important to me. Heaven is completely unknown to me. Heaven cannot mean up in the sky with angels with harps. Like God, it is hard to conceive of heaven. Jesus and a physical body are easier to appreciate. The Gnostic belief in a lesser god of creation which views creation as bad pre-existed Christianity. I was taught they believed our true home was out there someplace, a divine spark. I feel the existence of such a spark. Somehow I am more than the sum of my parts. I am alienated on this planet. Both teachings have attraction.

Since God is not human in Judaeo-Christian teachings, with the exception of Christ, maybe Jesus appeared in flesh and spirit. Just b/c I can't conceive means God can not. Relativity theory is interesting b/c what we perceive as solid are mere collections of atoms with collections of subatomic particles. Someone mentioned that Jesus could have shifted the atoms in his body to achieve different states. Indeed, maybe humans have this ability but don't know to harness it.

Why can't Magdalene embrace him b/c he is not yet risen to the Father, while Thomas could touch his very wounds. Strange. It had to strike people in the first century as strange, too. One thing we tend to not discuss are the mystery religions, such as the one where they paraded around with pigs and were reborn in an elaborate ritual. They were strong in Rome. Obviously, the writers were not concerned with doctrinal purity. I wonder why they were not. Paul is very full of doctrine. Interesting shift, doctrine, beliefs set forth to narrative of Jesus with conflicting details. Strange. If the Bible were straightforward, I would not find it so compelling.

5

Pete Seeger Aro Guthrie 1970's Live at Wolftrap PBS

by glenster in

(pete's banjo has a slogan written on it that says.

"this machine kills fascists").

precious friend, you will be there.

Band on the Run

I loved Pete Seeger. Saw Arlo and he in concert several times separately Arlo was better. So funny.

I don't agree with the specifics of Pete Seegers stand but I do see him in a valuable American tradition. I lived in NY so I was at every major antiwar demo between NY and DC. It wouldn't be a proper demo or rally without him.

I am so upset that I can't find Alice's Restaurant on radio at Thanksgiving. It does hold up. I just have the vinyl album. When it was released, I wore down the grooves. You can get anything you want, excluding Alice, at Alice's Restaurant. Oh, the motorcycle song in concert.

Great memories that I should resurrect to the present.

85

University student's JW based honors thesis research. PLEASE HELP!

by honorsthesis in

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/defectedmembers_honorsthesis.

hello community,.

my name is brett w., and i am senior undergraduate student at the university of florida.

Band on the Run

VIII. Thank you for your research. So something strange is happening. It was revealing.

85

University student's JW based honors thesis research. PLEASE HELP!

by honorsthesis in

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/defectedmembers_honorsthesis.

hello community,.

my name is brett w., and i am senior undergraduate student at the university of florida.

Band on the Run

There is no way to verify whether poster is a U. of Fla. student and whether the survey is legitimate course work. The bravado is annoying. Aside from collecting personal data, the questions are harmless. If info. were given to the Society, the assertion about not taking Witnesses seriously would tarnish poster's reputation with Witnesses.

Clearly, this triggered something in me. I guess I will set aside normal prudence to help any JW get an education. My gut feeling is that this in inauthentic. The University of Florida's website provided info. about the university that I did not know. My gut feeling is mine. Another forum I participated in had a sick person creating personalities to entrap people. The community was outstanding with one exception. I need to remind myself that the internet is mirky.

I will note that I received Honors on my thesis, graduated magna from an elite university and considered myself lucky to be accepted into any law school. Once the local schools would admit any warm body from my college. With the job market, though, I don't understand why so many still want to enter the profession. If someone else pays for the education, it is extremely useful in any position. I routinely run into college grads willing to incur massive debt at fly by night schools. The schools at the bottom often have mandatory failing percentages. Half of the student body is culled from the class after first year grades are available to place the top students in jobs. Tuition is not refunded. Ivy League and comp school grads are not able to find jobs.

I blame all those dramas on TV where the lawyer is so powerful. They never show the drama of someone hunched over books or a computer terminal for hours researching some civil procedure point that has not much to do with the substantive merits of the case. Law permeates society, though. So many people have no access to lawyers. Once this awful economy improves, I can still see good years ahead with someone with a degree from a decent school.

43

Hypocrisy 101 - Watchtower has Payed for College/College Courses for Bethelites!

by Crisis of Conscience in

no you did not read the title wrong.

i was out to eat this weekend with two bethelites.

one gave a talk in my hall and i was invited out to dinner with them by another family in my hall.. as the conversation always turns to "spiritual" things, the subject of education was brought up.

Band on the Run

I'm a lawyer. It is a disciplined system. Hard questions are asked in the Socratic method. I don't see how anyone with honed legal skills can function as a Witness. You would have to compartmentalize your life. Lawyers are an integral part of government. We could have no government as we know it without them. I mean any lawyer, not only lawyers who represent government. You are heavily regulated by the state. Yet there are JW lawyers. I assumed some nutty lawyer converted to JWs but I am wrong.

Do they pay or encourage select ones to study in other fields? I've worked on several landmark cases before the Supreme Court in the civil rights field. My mom was expelled from high school b/c of flag salute and my father was a drinking body of Hayden Covington. I was going to write my senior thesis about the landmark Witness caases and interview Covington. I thought the personal angle would come in handy. The Witness stuff upsets me. I decided to pursue a neutral topic since I needed good grades to be admitted to law school. Lawyers at this level are very bright, analytical and creative. I just can't see a Witness lawyer calling the law accurately. When I have strong interests in the outcome of a case, it is hard for me to read and analyze cases and facts in a dispassionate manner. Knowing my weaknesses is essential to preparing a good product.

There is much debate within the profession of the role of legal counsel. In house counsel work directly for a company and interact with key executives. Large corporations are required to have outside counsel, law firms who handle many clients and industries. The SEC and the ABA Model Rules of Ethics have slightly different standards of conduct for the different functions of a lawyer. When I practiced, certain clients can sink a law firm if they leave. Many times partners became too entwined with the clients' wants.

Equal protection is not a JW concept. It strikes me as fundamentally unfair that most Witnesses are consigned to menial, often part-time jobs so they can do the glamorous work of going door to door. There seems to be an elect class that can use whatever abilities God gave them. It establishes classes within the Society, which is exactly what Paul wrote about and Jesus addressed. This topic affects me greatly. I only attended college b/c my teachers were adamant that I go. My parents were out of the loop. I had to compete with kids who were prepared from before they were born. College was consistently derided. While I was at Columbia on a generous scholarship, my grandmother bragged about my cousin working as a janitor at a community college. When he was fired, it was just as well b/c he had to deal with those wacko, crazy, immoral college students. This was said to my face. The added burden I carried with me was difficult. Now I can dismiss it. It is not easily dismissed at 18 when you are the first person you know, aside from teachers, to go to college. I thought there was some magical difference between other students and myself.

The lack of education is striking when you go door to door in middle class neighborhoods. The arrogance and presumptions that a few hours of not reading the Bible entitles you to class yourself as a Bible student who can instruct others is striking. It was my further misfortune to attend a mostly black, poor KH. The geography in my neighborhood caused de facto segration. Whites lives on the hill, blacks below it. The Witnesses called my immediate neighborhood "goat hill."

Ah, what else is new? This site has proved to be valuable to me. It is merely a cult.

5

College and protests

by d in

hi i was just wondering what was it like being a college student during the 1960's-70's.how was facing the vietnam war protests?were any witness against the war.i know i have probably asked this already i just want more insight it is all really interesing.even today their are many college protests just think about england and the tution spikes .young people are angry because i think my geneeration feels cheated out of having a secure future..

Band on the Run

My favorite WHO song, their closing number in concert. WHO concerts are pure bliss. Today I can purchase WHO albums without worrying about explaining the covers to my mom. Long live Rock!

Remember Blowing in the Wind, 1,2,3,4, we don't want your f......ng war. One sight is right. One side is wrong. We are on the side of the Viet Cong. Hey, hey LBJ, how many boys did you kill today?

I was in the streets after Kent State, attended the funeral of one of the slain students. An emergency march was called for that Saturday in DC. The NYC FM radio rock station coordinated rides and passed on info to the organizers. I was going to march even if no permit was granted. The time was short they did not have a permit. An exemption was granted. People were very angry. As we marched by the White House, I decided to do the tourist thing, too, and checked it out. It was surrounded by a vast sea of buses, about five deep. There were soldiers with rifles positioned on the front lawn. It was so sad. Some ultra left wing nuts or FBI provacateurs started to upend the buses and throw stones. I never ran so fast in my entire life.

The ABA acted as observers. They were position about every eight feet and wore black armbands. Notice I reported it as Kent State, not Jackson State. More people were killed at Jackson State but everyone commented no one would remember them b/c they were black at a black college. Remember the woman bent over the bodies crying in anguish.

I became involved in the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine through the grape boycott. Columbia was my undergrad. A few blocks away the largest cathedral in the world exists. B/c it was off-campus and not on Broadway, I never paid attention. The subway went down at Columbia's stop and I had to walk downtown to the next stop. As I walked, I passed this cathedral. A placard announced that Geraldo Rivera and Cesar Chavez were preaching on Sunday. I came in from NJ to see Chavez. I fell into ectasy after my Witness experience.

I purchased a very nice Grape boycott poster. It was my pride on my wall. The graphics of a bunch of grapes were very good. After staring at it for about two and a half years, I one day noticed a skull in the grapes! I tore it off my wall and my younger brother was given a grape boycott. Everyone assumed I saw the skull in the grapes. I did not like lettuce then anyway.

Far left people would tell me it was a great thing to be beaten b/c it radicalizes you. You will no longer be a liberal.

32

Fornicate so he can remarry??

by juci32 in

hey guys!

i've been here a while, posted a few topics about me and my witness hubs.

well i finally through in the towel and filed for a divorce.

Band on the Run

I dated a Jewish man of very low character. He and his wife were NY secular Jews. They divorced. She turned religious which is great. She could not remarry in conservative or Orthodox circles b/c he would not grant her a Jewish divorce. Only men can grant a divorce. When the law evolved, Jews lived in ghettos. It worked b/c a man had no choice but to divorce a wife in order to survive. All commercial and social transactions would cease.

The New York Times recently ran a long article about the thousands of women stuck in this no-man's land. I believe it is called a get. Knowing that she wanted the Jewish divorce, he adamantly refused. He was bound in hate. They were still married in that way. He was not building a new life. She was. I watched as he refused to pay child support b/c she wore a Burberry. Rabbis telephoned to no avail.

It is very uncommon for men to act this way. The vindictiveness is clear to all. Now demonstrators from supportive Jewish groups go to the man's business or residence and picket. If the law's promulgators knew what would happen, the law would be different.

I doubt that Bethel endorses this act of fornication. Sigh. I remember this Tv show on local NY TV that had a Jw go on about the differences in Greek between adultery and fornication. If divorce means anything, it means your business is no longer his business. He knew the Witness rules going into the marriage. With the staggering divorce rate, why do people assume it will not be them? Chances are it will be you. Look at Paul McCartney. He married with no prenup and he had to know she was a prostitute in the past. Only I'd feel more sorry if there weren't enough money to go around the universe several times.

I used to say I was sorry when people divorced. A client was very upset and came into legal services to look at her divorce papers, unable to read. She clutched them to her bosom. She was so grateful. Not Cinderella, is it/