La Capra

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Posts by La Capra

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  19

  A little story of JW-childhood-horror, and am I evil?

  by Hellrider in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  this all happened when i was a kid, and i think i must have been around 8 years old.

  we were at a meeting, and my dad (ms) had held a speech.

  this didn`t happen very often, actually, this one time is the only one i can remember.

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  La Capra

  If it helps any, I do the same thing to myself. I re-live incidents and episodes in my childhood (and, unfortunately, my adulthood too), in which I didn't conduct myself in the way, in retrospect, I wish I had. I never called it being evil. I call it being "horrid." Whatever descriptor you put to it, it is the same thing. As children, we were raised with the ever-present conditioning that we were damaged, sinful, evil, horrid (insert your favorite self-loathing term here, it works) human beings,...on the one hand. Then, on the other hand, we were conditioned to believe that we belonged to the only true religion. We were right, everyone else is wrong. Such a bizarre juxtoposition of contradictory positions...

  Embarrassment, or shame, is not an unusual reaction in response to an outsider (walking into a kingdom hall, in a completely unorthodox context-as a rescue worker....) encroaching on our own private universe. The reaction of shame is to be expected when confronted with anyone who does not live in the same, conflicted, closed universe that we did. JWs are the masters of compartmentalization. When their JW lives interface with their "outside the kingdom hall" lives, watch out. Weird things happen.

  To combat my feelings of truly being horrid, I have learned to review all the evidence in my life to the contrary. What takes practice is starting the review of unhorridness before I get too far into dwelling on the horridness. (That really is the trick.)

  Take care with your heart, dude. Shoshana
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  19

  Attending the Funeral / Memorialof Your JW Parent

  by roybatty in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm just wondering if any df'd or da'd here have gone to the kingdom hall to attend a memorial or funeral service for a jw parent or on the other hand decided not to attened.

  do you regret going / not going?

  how were you treated?.

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  La Capra

  
  I won't go to my mom's memorial, if it's a JW memorial service. I could just see it, me in a T-shirt printed with, "Millions Now Living, Will Never Die...My Ass." Then on the back..."What a Bunch of F***ing Liars. All of You."

  But, thankfully I wouldn't go, so I could save $39 to have just such a t-shirt made. I'll do other things to memorialize my mother.

  Shoshana

  Edited to add: Of course I'd be sitting in the front row, flanked by the biggest, buffest bailiffs from the court house, in case their goons tried to escort me out, or worse, cover my shirt with one of their polyester sports coats... See why it's better I just don't go...
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  13

  WTS Circle of Reasoning...

  by Confession in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  take a look at this, and tell me if it flows properly.

  could this be simpler?

  is it missing something.

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  La Capra

  I have a small suggestion. Eliminate pronouns, so it is really clear to whom (WTBTS) "they" refers. It doesn't affect the content, or the meaning, but it does make it clearer and therefore more powerful.

  There are several of these you could build. One about the generation of 1914, too, I'd imagine...(millions now living will never die...)

  (my only flowchart brilliance is one for factoring quadratics for my algebra students...I love flowcharts.)

  Shoshana
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  6

  Told Mom it would be immoral to go tonight

  by La Capra in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  yeah, i did.. i called her this afternoon, after i got home from work (to check on my dad, and, well, you know...).

  it turns out she picked up the nasty flu: fever, chills, scratchy throat, snot everywhere, sensitive eyes, she sounds like grover.. i gave her all the advice she usually gives me, including her favorite (and one that often kept me home from meetings in my youth), "stay out of the night air for a few weeks...".

  to which she responded, "but i have to go out tonight.

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  La Capra

  Yeah, Mulan-I thought of that. But it would mean talking to an elder (there's a reason I left).

  And besides, they wouldn't tell her not to go anyway. She's probably resposnsible for delivering three or four of the frail feebles herself. They wouldn't want to lose those numbers from their tally. (I know that sounds bad, but it's true. If anyone needs somebody to go 25 miles out of everybody's way, it's my mom they call).

  Shoshana (the apostate daughter of a doormat)
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  6

  Told Mom it would be immoral to go tonight

  by La Capra in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  yeah, i did.. i called her this afternoon, after i got home from work (to check on my dad, and, well, you know...).

  it turns out she picked up the nasty flu: fever, chills, scratchy throat, snot everywhere, sensitive eyes, she sounds like grover.. i gave her all the advice she usually gives me, including her favorite (and one that often kept me home from meetings in my youth), "stay out of the night air for a few weeks...".

  to which she responded, "but i have to go out tonight.

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  La Capra

  Yeah, I did.

  I called her this afternoon, after I got home from work (to check on my Dad, and, well, you know...). It turns out she picked up the nasty flu: Fever, chills, scratchy throat, snot everywhere, sensitive eyes, she sounds like Grover.

  I gave her all the advice she usually gives me, including her favorite (and one that often kept me home from meetings in my youth), "Stay out of the night air for a few weeks..."

  To which she responded, "but I have to go out tonight." (And then I remembered...well, I already knew, she knew I knew...It's a game we play.)

  And I said she could kill someone. "Mom, every frail, feeble old person is going to be there, you could give them the flu and they could die from it. Thousands of elderly people die from the flu every year. You cannot go." Then I reminded her of the story of someone we know who went to visit his elderly father while he had the flu. Infected his dad and it killed the dad...

  "But it's the memorial..." She says, with this air of awe (and shock, at the notion that she could miss it...and that missing it would be the right thing to do).

  "But you know you have a fever and are infectious. If you go, it would be immoral and unethical..."

  Then I got my dad on the phone again and suggested to him that he have a chat with her too. He agreed about the whole thing and said he would talk with her.

  Ah, man, if this apostate daughter could keep her mom from going to just one memorial....

  Hag semeach. (I'm off sedering myself...)

  Shoshana
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  29

  your best prank

  by KW13 in

  1. social
  2. humour

  whats your best prank you've pulled?

  i can think of loads but the best one that i got to actually see without causing wwiii was when two friends were staying over.

  one of them said get him something to eat...so me and his brother went and got an oxo cube and unwrapped it.

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  La Capra

  When I was in jr high, our next door neighbors tore down a fence between our houses and were in the process of rebuilding it. While it was down, we could see each others yards. Under their covered patio, sitting on a shelf, was an empty fish bowl. So one night, I snuck over, filled the bowl with water and put in a bright orange gold fish. The next morning, I sat in my house and watched through the window.

  The mom came out first, and started to get things organized for the day's work on the fence. And when she noticed the fish, it was the only true triple take I have ever seen. I nearly died, I was laughing so hard. Then she went and got her husband. She first accused him of doing it, then she accused the kids of doing. They fought and accused each other all day, while they worked on the fence.

  Sometimes I wonder if they sit around at holidays and tell the funny story of the day a fish appeared in the bowl, reaccuse each other and have a good laugh.

  Shoshana
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  55

  Lola and her big mouth, stupid, stupid and sooooo stupid

  by lola28 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i posted a little about this last night but i figured i would post the rest for you guys, this is the conversation that i had last night with the sister that studied with me.

  she called me and wanted to know if i had plans for the memorial, i told her that i would not be going this year and the following is the conversation we had:.

  jw: oh no, you can't miss the memorial, if you can't make it to the one in your hall why don't you cme to ours?.

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  La Capra

  Deny everything and invoke the two witness rule...Say nothing. Smile sweetly, and don't make excuses or explanations....It's all vicious false testimony. Whatever it was you said. Are you ever gonna tell us?

  Shoshana (of the I hate it when I trip myself up too, class)
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  44

  What Google Says You Need [Fluff]

  by misspeaches in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this is funny: go to the google search engine and type in your name + 'needs' after it, e.g.

  "john needs".

  write down the description of the first (or best!

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  La Capra

  Mine said I needed a pool boy.

  Amen to that.
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  45

  Witnesses NEW attitude toward Marijuana!!!

  by gumby in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  most of us remember the society's viewpoint of using marijuana.

  countless of articles condemed the drug saying it was mind altering and allowed a place for the demons.. articles were abundant concerning the greek word "pharmakia"..or druggery and included marijuana as being a part of that.

  but alas!

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  La Capra

  Hey forum assistants lots of somebody's personal info is in OpenFireGlass's post....

  I'm just saying....

  Shoshana
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  48

  Letter to Ritchie's Mom

  by jgnat in

  1. social
  2. family

  a young man is on the verge of saying goodbye to his mother.

  he's forced in to this position due by a rigid organization that punishes strength, intelligence, and individuality.

  i dedicate this thread to all good thoughts about richie rich.

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  La Capra

  Dear Mom,

  My situation nearly 20 years ago is similar to RIchie's now. I disassociated myself when I was 19 years old, in 1988. My father is not a Jehovah's Witness, but my mother was, and still is. While I realize that my mother was deeply hurt for a several years after my disassociation, she never shunned me.

  I continued to live at home for several more years while I finished college. And when I moved out to go to graduate school and begin my career, she welcomed my visits, shared meals with me in her home, my home, and restaurants. To this day, when we get on the phone we can talk for hours. We talk about everything except religion. We talk family, we talk politics, we talk clothes, food, health, television, movies, and sometimes we even talk about legitimate family business.

  You see, my mother believes that maintaining familial relationships is family business. My mother believes that sharing meals together is family business. My mother believes that my visits to her, and her visits to me are family business. Maintaining close, loving support for one's family is family business. No one outside your family has any right, or business to judge your continued relationship with your only son. And you would not only be a disgrace to motherhood, but a disgrace to the true meaning of Christian love by excluding Richie from your life, when he leaves your religion.

  If you experience ramifications from the congregation for continuing your relationship with your only child, don't hesitate to invoke the explanation I am sure my mother has resorted to in desperate times: "His father is the head of the house, and he insists I continue to be a mother to our son. Richie's father knows that Richie will always be there for me, and insists that I be there for him." Trust me, Mom, you will be losing far more than a son by cutting Richie out of your life. You will drive an unnecessary wedge into your marriage. It will serve to cast a divide between father and son, and ultimately grandfather and grandchildren should you decide to cut off Richie.

  Don't do it. It isn't necessary. You have an ideal situation. You can blame your unbelieving mate for your continued relationship with your son when the friends in the congregation try to manipulate you, and you can know in your heart that you are conducting the true essence of family business. Love and a common purpose of living happy, productive, intermingled lives.

  And besides, I bet Richie intends to take care of you when the time comes, like I intend to take care of my mom. Who else do you have who will?

  It's ok, Mom. My mom has survived 18 years of my disassociation, and will survive it until she dies of old age. You will survive too.

  Shoshana