That brings up a related question: why didn't they settle this thing quietly long ago? Offer $5M or $10M and shhhhhh. So, miscalculation?
Posts by Sulla
-
97I think the Society might drop its appeal over the Conti case
by cedars ini've been giving some thought to the recent development in which the judge has ruled that the society is barred from completing any property transactions until the appeal is over, which could take up to two years or even more.. i've submitted an article to randy at freeminds in which i basically argue that it is no longer in the society's interests to appeal this case.
if i correctly understand the restrictions placed on the society by the judge, then the governing body has far more to lose by appealing than they could conceivably gain.. think about it.... by appealing, they buy themselves time in which to formulate a long-term strategy for dealing with the fallout of this case, but will be barred from liquidating $1 billion in property assets at a time of global economic uncertainty when their donations are dwindling.
there is also no guarantee that their appeal will be upheld.by dropping their appeal, they take a hit and pay $23.8 million but retain the freedom to see through their real estate projects; retain their financial flexibility to respond to dwindling donations, and get to pretend to their followers (as with the un scandal) that it never happened.of course, i am only saying that dropping the appeal would be the only intelligent option for the society, assuming they are aware of how legally precarious their child abuse policies are.
-
-
-
26
A Real and Authentic Letter from a Jehovah's Witness Mother to Her Son
by God_Delusion ini found this letter on dave reekie's blog and asked him if i could write a piece about it.
i am glad that he accepted.. it's so rare to find a real, authentic handwritten letter from a jehovah's witness parent to their disfellowshipped child, so we hope you can read it and show it to any apologists that claim the watchtower society doesn't condone shunning.. you can read the article here.. .
warm regards,.
-
-
Sulla
I really hate saying anything that seems like defending the Wt. But.
People are not really "fed" this information, misleading as it is. It is offered as a proposal and they accept it. There are genine costs, once you're in, no doubt. But I wonder if it really rises to the level of real manipulation.
And by "functioning," I mean she pays her rent and stays out of jail. It is, I confess, a low bar.
-
26
A Real and Authentic Letter from a Jehovah's Witness Mother to Her Son
by God_Delusion ini found this letter on dave reekie's blog and asked him if i could write a piece about it.
i am glad that he accepted.. it's so rare to find a real, authentic handwritten letter from a jehovah's witness parent to their disfellowshipped child, so we hope you can read it and show it to any apologists that claim the watchtower society doesn't condone shunning.. you can read the article here.. .
warm regards,.
-
-
Sulla
But, GL Tirebiter, couldn't we also read this to mean exactly what it says? I mean, the woman is an adult who, I presume, is a functioning member of society. The Wt has certainly suggested these attitudes, but this woman insists she is making her own decision. We both agree this is a bad thing she has done: how would you allocate blame?
In my book, I have her 95% responsible and the Wt 5% responsible. What's your take?
-
46
The UN Debacle, Disfellowshipping Policies, Child Abuse Cases---Will ANYTHING Ever Sway A JW From "The Truth"?
by minimus ini wonder..
-
-
Sulla
We seem to be split right down the middle on this question...
-
26
A Real and Authentic Letter from a Jehovah's Witness Mother to Her Son
by God_Delusion ini found this letter on dave reekie's blog and asked him if i could write a piece about it.
i am glad that he accepted.. it's so rare to find a real, authentic handwritten letter from a jehovah's witness parent to their disfellowshipped child, so we hope you can read it and show it to any apologists that claim the watchtower society doesn't condone shunning.. you can read the article here.. .
warm regards,.
-
-
Sulla
Sad. But volitional, right? She repeatedly asserts she is making her own decision, that it is painful, that it is the least bad one available to her.
Which is to say: she doesn't seem brainwashed to me. What do we make of that?
-
20
Do You Make Fun Of "Jehovah" or Jehovah's Witnesses?
by minimus ini have a friend that calls witness, jovies in a very deriding way.
"i saw the jovies in the street....haha".
personally, i don't think it's very nice or even mature.... but what do i know?.
-
-
Sulla
Most of us have family who are still in. No, not tolerated. I can do it, though.
-
9
Got a phone call from the elders today
by finally awake injust ron got a phone call from the an elder today...they want to "meet" with us.
lol like that's gonna happen, right?
anyway, at least they had the good sense to have brother hasn't pissed us off yet call instead of brother thinks we shouldn't feed our kids or brother beat our kid.
-
-
Sulla
You'll get tried in absentia and df-ed. You probably know that already.
-
99
Thought Reform and the Psychology of the 'Safeguard Your Heart!' 2012 Convention
by breakfast of champions into make attendance at my second district convention "mentally out" both a little more bearable and meaningful, i decided to take some notes of key points as if i were an outsider studying the thought reform methods of jehovah's witnesses.
at first, i was only going to share these notes with my therapist, but inspired by the "parsing the watchtower double-speak" thread, i figured i would share my amateur analysis with everyone.
here are some of the highlights:.
-
-
Sulla
Agree with everyone that this was a great analysis. It is interesting that my thinking used to be that I could never remember what the conventions were about. Turns out, they were always about the same thing and I just never noticed. They are serious about "inculcating," which is a word we used to use without necessarily looking up. Basically: pound the message in.
-
46
The UN Debacle, Disfellowshipping Policies, Child Abuse Cases---Will ANYTHING Ever Sway A JW From "The Truth"?
by minimus ini wonder..
-
-
Sulla
Quendi, my view on whether the JWs are a cult is something of a minority viewpoint. Lots of friends who are XJWs disagree with me on this point, and I can see both sides. For me, a cult involves a charismatic leader and a certain degree of impairment among the followers.
The leaders of the JWs have a lot of control, but their control is not based on their personal charisma. When it comes to impairment, it's a closer call. But for me, it seems more likely that the JWs offer the sorts of benefits to people that those people feel are worth the price of admission. Shunning is very characteristic of cults, I grant you, but it is practiced across millions of people. Can you brainwash millions? I don't know.
I think my real reason is that I don't want to underestimate the degree of volition that is involved. For example, my real break began when my daughter was born: I knew immediately that I would never obey the blood policy. But if that was a choice, so was the opposite choice: my parents sincerely would prefer to see me dead rather than alive with a transfusion. That's a fully-informed choice, it seems to me. It's hard to understand, but that doen't necessarily mean it isn't free. The ancient Spartan women would prefer to see their sons dead and alive and having failed in battle: return with your shield or on it, they said. There are plenty of cultural, religious, social reasons why they thought this way, but I don't think that makes it an un-free choice.
I agree that it often takes courage and humility to leave the JWs. Sometimes, depending on the case, it takes rage and self-will. I have long thought that the central driving factor of the JW outlook is absurd pride -- in all the world, only their interpretive key unlocks the secret code of scripture, which makes them better people. I suggest that some leave the JWs because their pride is so large, even the JWs can't contain it. Having more than one path out -- humility vs. pride -- is suggestive to my thinking.
-
-
-
Sulla
how in hell does anyone say that without cracking himself up?