La Capra

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Posts by La Capra

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  15

  The many ways Jehovah's Witnesses harm children

  by under_believer in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  was talking with my therapist this morning and i made the comment "i guess i don't mind if she is a witness as long as it doesn't harm the kids.

  " this got me thinking about all the ways that being raised as witnesses harms or can harm children.

  1) teaches children to have an air of superiority regarding other human beings.

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  La Capra

  Children are taught to be "conditionally honest." If someone is not entitled to honest information, or if it could hurt them, they are taught (by example and instruction) to lie. Shoshana
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  19

  For you "sisters" who married in the "Truth"...

  by Frequent_Fader_Miles in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  just a poll question.

  at the first convention/ assembly following your wedding ... did you parade around the convention site gloating in other sisters' faces, showing off your new husband?

  i've never done it, but i can't help but suspect that others do.

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  La Capra

  The last convention I attended was when I was 19. I suspect I already knew I was through. I do not recall the "flaunting" of new marriages, but it may not have been on my radar yet. What I was annoyed by, though, was not being able to tell by looking, who the more intellectual types were. I could tell the moneyed single guys by the fit and style of their suits and the quality of their haircuts (and glasses if they wore them), but it still didn't tell me if they were clever, professional or articulate. Out in the "real world" appearance tells you so much more than at a JW gathering. Not everything, but yes, more. Shoshana
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  6

  Jury Duty

  by betterdaze in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  just received a notice for jury duty, and am curious about the watchtower stance.

  do jws wriggle out of their civic duty under the "judge not" principle at luke 6:37?

  or jesus' kingdom being no part of the world?

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  La Capra

  But Blondie,

  Wouldn't you say that everytime the WTBTS tells the rank and file that something is a conscience matter, it really means that everyone else's conscience will be bothered if you do it? Any statement from the society regarding topics of civic responsibility are always worded so as not to forbid the particular activity, yet phrased in just such a way that the members know it's a no-no.

  I think jury duty is one of them. My mom sure created all sorts of drama and turmoil for herself trying to get out of jury duty when I was a kid. She got a lot of armaggedon points from her cohorts for being so persecuted about the matter. (Too bad they expire every three years, eh ma?)

  Shoshana
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  6

  Local JW teen spotlighted in the paper

  by La Capra in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?aid=/20070306/news04/703060412/-1/special&themes=lifestyle

  someone is going to have to clean up my link, because i'm on my mac at work.

  (and give me some paragraphs, too, please).

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  La Capra

  http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070306/NEWS04/703060412/-1/SPECIAL&THEMES=LIFESTYLE Someone is going to have to clean up my link, because I'm on my mac at work. (And give me some paragraphs, too, please). The editor's e-mail is [email protected] There are a few child molestation law suits pending in our region ("The Wine Country"), in Petaluma, CA and Napa, CA. This newsaper has carried the stories. Also in nearby Sacramento another case is going through its motions and hearings. If you are familiar with the facts of these cases, some letters to the editor could "witness to the witnesses" about the problem, paricularly since this boy (a child) is being touted for his religious involvement. Our local Catholic Diocese is currently under public fire for delaying a report, allowing a child molesting priest to escape out of the country. This is a hot topic around here. Thanks, Shoshana (who appreciates the irony of a "teen" being celebrated for his activity in a religion that hides and protects molesters)
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  19

  Green light on higher education since 1995

  by Fatfreek in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  ---if you believe what oroborus21 (aka -eduardo leaton jr., esq.

  ) claimed on an earlier thread in a different section.

  that statement actually was off topic and that thread is so long i didn't have the patience to wade through and challenge him on it.

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  La Capra

  The article is the black and white "legal" document that can be held up in court in a custody battle. It documents an "official WTBTS" position, while the reality of the matter was, is, and will alwyas be that those who pursue real higher education will become social outcasts in the congregation (unless they belong to an "in" family that has multiple layers of elders, pioneers, and active bethelites). Hard to establish that as fact in court. Shoshana
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  40

  Would you submit to a "voluntary" search?...

  by Justice-One in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  example....a cop pulls you over for a broken taillight or some other very minor infraction.

  he says he is just going to give you a warning, then says something like...."hey, you don't have any rockets or explosives in your trunk do you?

  " you of course say no, then he says "mind if i look?

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  La Capra

  When the cops start asking questions that have nothing to do with the initial purpose of the traffic stop, and if they saw nothing that would give rise to a reasonable suspicion that criminal activity was afoot, they have unlawfully strayed from the purpose of the stop. This is called unduly prolonging the detention (a traffic stop is indeed a detention). Once they do this, consent is vitiated and the search is unlawful. When I clerked for the public defender, I got contraband suppressed all the time when a traffic stop turned into something else. But still, my job is easier if you just say no. (But be prepared to have the crap beaten out of you....) They can't make you wait for the k-9 unless they have that reasonable suspicion (articulable fact, not a hunch). Shoshana
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  53

  Where did the universe come from?

  by Blueblades in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if it was always here, how did it get here?

  let's leave god out of the equation for now.. blueblades.

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  La Capra

  Don't question from where the univers came, you should wonder from where the source of the universe came (and from where the source of the source of the universe came)...
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  27

  Is it wrong to be proud of achievements?

  by free2beme in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i don't want to have this come across as bragging, but i have to explain this to ask this question.

  okay, where i work is a call center and i do sales, along with customer service.

  for the last five years, out of 2500 representatives online nationally, i have been number one in sales for all months and years.

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  La Capra

  Start by moving the trophies, one a week until there are only two or three. Then, when a new one arrives, movee out the oldest one still on the desk. Ever consider letting management give one of your trips to the second place finisher? Bet it be just enough of a gesture to garner some support form your peers. Quit talking about the pay cut already, too. Simply say that you don't have the guts to be a manager. They are telling you what you should (and shouldn't) do, politics-wise. If a sales person out-earns managers, then the managers complain. They will side with each other. The head doofus wants happy managers. Your head doofus currently has unhappy managers. Got it?
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  7

  Help -Legal rights of Witnesses?

  by sammielee24 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the very name - jehovahs witness - would imply that when a person is one of that religion, it is his belief that in order to be part of the religion he must give witness.. why is it then that a person who was baptized as a jw, but then da'd or df'd by the organization is not allowed to practice his faith?

  to witness?

  people are cast out and told that the privilege of witnessing is no longer theirs, but given the 'freedom to worship' in the usa, is this not against the right of all people to practice freedom of their religion if they so choose?

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  La Capra

  Those civil rights are protected only when the GOVERNMENT tries to impede them. Private citizens, religions, individuals, etc. can infringe away. The courts will step in only when the government is acting (or a case can be made that private action was for the government-like company towns keeping the JWs from going door -to-door.). There is quite a bit of expansion into the private sector here, but mainly through education (private schools) and through private employers (but the courts make it government action through the Interstate Commerce Clause).

  The WBTS can infringe away, since it is not acting as an agent for the government. The only thing the constitution prohibits an individual from doing is owning a slave. Everything else in the constitution is prohibitions on what the GOVERNMENT can do.

  Hope this clears up why people can't sue WBTS for infringing on free exercise of religion.

  Shoshana
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  55

  A Jehovah's witness - Pioneer

  by Fly in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  it was a waste wasting 15 years of my life on this false religion.

  i've cried when i find out that this religion is bull shit and are false prophets.

  i'm a pioneer still and supposed to meet up in service with this brotha tomorr but i'm not going.

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  La Capra

  Fly,

  I left when I was 19, not much younger than you. In the 19 years since I did that, I built a fabulous life for myself. I went to college right away (before burdening myself with a "comfortable" lifestyle). I developed my career as a high school teacher, and then eventually went to law school. Now I'm a lawyer. I built relationships with people who are my family, now, and I am closer to them than I was my own JW family members. Now that you really know that in 20 years, you, this world, your family and everything else will essentially still be here, "in this system," there is no reason not to plan for it.

  Keeping busy with work and school will help you to keep your mind off of everything you think you are leaving. You will make new friends and, if necessary, make your own family. Now that you know they aren't right, it is so hard to pretend.

  And get help-stay here, talk to a counselor, and know that they can't be right. It really is impossible for them to be right.

  Love to friend,

  Shoshana