While growing up, my family was always looked down upon. My dad wasn't a JW, he was as 'worldly' as they came, we were poor, my mother had 7 children, no one in my JW family had any JW responsibilities or titles, etc. But things changed as we got older, we all started working, getting baptized and married, got position and titles in the BORG. So things were looking up, but I always felt they never forgot where we came from.
Interestingly, I think that's why my Mother was so hurt when I left the BORG - She no longer had someone to be proud of, an example of someone to prove the folks who looked down on us wrong - No more 'look at my son, he conducts the WT lesson,' etc. My advancement was a reflection on her.
After I got married and moved to another hall things were 'peachy' - at least for me. But my wife hated the fakeness, she saw it immediately, but I was too busy reaching out to see it. I saw it after I 'stepped aside' as a Sheepdog, folks treated me differently over night.
Anyway, these are some to the replies that touched me or brought back memories from the previous post -
"I remember going out for service and I was that last person chosen."
"Nobody wanted to go with us. Nobody even wanted to give us Not Homes to do by ourselves."
"When I asked her who would be coming by to pick me up (with my son), she said: "Oh, I thought you had a car we could use. Well forget it then," and hung up in my ear."
"but when my 6-year-old was in a wheelchair due to post-viral arthritis and I wheeled him into the KH and NO ONE came up to ask what happened, I decided this was the meanest place I'd ever been and if these were the people I'd have to spend forever with, then I'd pass."
"I found that the women were judged mainly on what their husband was in the congregation."
Peace ansd Security - LL