Posts by joey jojo

125

Mandated Shunning is a Crime

by Lee Marsh in

mandated shunning is on the rise around the world with devastating effects on millions of people.

shunning that is mandated by organized groups to its members is a form of both physical and psychological violence against those people being shunned and cut off from their family and life-long relationships.

mandated shunning means that the shunning is ordered from the top down.

joey jojo

LoveUniHateExams
Nevertheless, even if governments try to legislate only mandatory shunning, it is still going to be difficult to put it in law and choose the right wording.

From what Ive read, if a religious group shuns an individual, because it is their belief, it is somewhat protected by law. As JW org is an American religion, JW;s have often hid behind the first amendment in the U.S. The question is, do the rights of the group override the rights of the individual being shunned?

My opinion is that organised shunning should be illegal. In a group setting, if someone f%ks up really badly and hurts people (pedophilia, murder, assault etc), it is absolutely the right of anyone affected to treat that person however they want to. In fact , no one has to like or dislike anyone for whatever reason.

But to tell a whole group how they should feel and act toward someone is cruel to the individual and actually disrespects the intelligence and rights of the group too. But thats what you would expect from the borg.

33

JW Elder Sentenced for CSA

by EasyPrompt in

https://www.westernmassnews.com/2023/09/01/jehovah-witness-elder-sentenced-jail-child-sexual-abuse-case/?outputtype=amp.

.

joey jojo

joe134cd
Sorry I don’t live in the USA, but just looked up what level 3 means. It’s the worst of the worst. I can’t understand what they were thinking when they appointed him.

Up until this court case, this guy was probably classed as a shining example of transforming from a lion into a lamb.

60

Sign of the Last Days

by Fisherman in

in the sermon on the mount, jesus foretold that earthquakes “in one place after another” would be part of the sign of the last days clímaxing in the great tribulation.. what could jesus possibly have meant?

using a phone app nowadays, there are earthquakes detected in one place after another but is this what jesus meant and did they have so many earthquakes throughout the centuries affter his prophecy or are these modern day detected earthquakes unique to this epoch?

how can we be sure unequivocally that modern day earthquakes are part of the sign fulfilling bible prophecy?.

joey jojo

About 20000 earthquakes are recorded per year, worldwide.

There is no evidence that number has changed for centuries. Or millennia.

Anyone living in the middle east in 33ad would have no clue about major earthquakes happening in other parts of the world.

The only notable earthquake I could find in the first century was pompeii in 62ad. Maybe there was more seismic activity than usual around that time for the area?

21

Aftermath of being Reinstated

by TxNVSue2023 in

i'm in the process of being reinstated ( my df'ing story is on here).

because i've never been in this position before, i don't know how i will be treated once i'm reinstated.

i moved to a new city/state and i don't know a single person here or in my new congregation i am attending.

joey jojo

NotFormer
Is that kind of record keeping legal under the various data protection acts?

Good question. JW's will hide behind clergy privilege but there has been a move in the last few years in particular to address privacy concerns in situations like this.

Some examples are the GDPR in Europe, US Data Privacy Protection laws and the Privacy Act in Australia. These try to address privacy concerns around the collection, maintenance and sharing of data.

I would guess that the organisation will have to be extremely careful because their records contain what is considered 'sensitive information' about their members like health details, sexual orientation, mental health, criminal history etc. In short, its a powder keg of info that may blow up on them one day if that data is stolen or leaked to the public.

Organisations are learning quickly that any unnecessary personal information being kept on record can bite them badly if they have a data breach. Im under the impression that most of the sensitive data from elders committees is written down and not stored digitally, which reduces the chances of a major breach. But still, is there a need to keep so much information, can they really justify it?

Jw's routinely flaunt religious discrimination laws by shunning members and ex -members based on ther beliefs, so its no surprise if they are flaunting the various privacy laws around the world.

49

a pet peeve of mine

by enoughisenough in

jw
friends

putting this under "friends" because i couldn't figure out where to put it.

it is very often on here and in ex jw videos, ect that people like to undermine some of those who once we would have called friends.

there seems to be a view that window washers, plumbers, cleaners, construction workers are somehow less intelligent than those who may be college educated.

joey jojo

Good topic enoughisenough.

My take is it doesnt matter if you are an elder with a phd, or a high school drop out. Either way, you arent required to think too much in order to carry out your duties an a company man in the org, in fact thinking too much is discouraged.

As far as humilty or empathy go, it depends on the individual- is an every day man like a tradesman or labourer likely to be more understanding than a university educated professional? Your profession alone doesnt make you more intelligent, or guarantee you are going to succeed in life.

smiddy3
NOT ONE To BE PICKY , enoughisenough ,however I fail to see why plumbers and construction workers are included in your list ? As being less educated ?
Just saying LOL

Im getting some quotes for a renovation right now. The builders are asking $800.00AUD ($512.00 USD) per day each - not including any materials. Im sure a lot of uni graduates wish they were making that much.

28

Do we blame the Governing Body too much?

by no-zombie in

i'd like to start this post with a part from the movie 'v for vendetta'.

here in a dystopian state, the main character named v, explains why things have gone so bad ....

those who do not want us to speak.

joey jojo

Magnum
I now blame those who remain and support the GB. They are lacking something... Honesty? Discernment? Common sense? Well-rounded intelligence*? A combnation of such things? I don't know, but, something's wrong. They won't reason.

The Zizek trilemma:

One cannot but recall here a witty formula of life under a hard Communist regime: Of the three features—personal honesty, sincere support of the regime and intelligence—it was possible to combine only two, never all three. If one were honest and supportive, one was not very bright; if one were bright and supportive, one was not honest; if one were honest and bright, one was not supportive.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trilemma#:~:text=communism%20over%20democracy).-,The%20%C5%BDi%C5%BEek%20trilemma,also%20being%20honest%20and%20intelligent.

In other words, if you have average intelligence, in order to remain loyal, you have to be dishonest.

This helps explain why most JW's wont debate. When they drill down, their final response will always be, 'leave it Jehovah', or something similar. There is nothing solid.

28

Do we blame the Governing Body too much?

by no-zombie in

i'd like to start this post with a part from the movie 'v for vendetta'.

here in a dystopian state, the main character named v, explains why things have gone so bad ....

those who do not want us to speak.

joey jojo

Lee Marsh
There are couple or a few huge factors going on here.
The GB assumes total control over all JWs. JWs don't vote them into office. They take it and keep it.
It even tries to have control over those who have left.
The use the God-card and the death card to maximize effect. Fear of both is pretty powerful stuff. For people who do believe in a higher power of some sort, the need to believe in a God that protects them is an ace-up-the-sleeve for many people

The org acts like a totalitarian government. They maintain complete control over its members lives, censor anyone that doubts, even encouraging its members to turn in anyone they suspect may have doubts. If a member turns in another, they may feel some discomfort in doing so but overall they feel they have done the right thing. With that in mind, the members are complicit.

In any totalitarian regime, there are plenty of people that flourish within it and enjoy the prestige, status or power it gives them. While there are not experiencing any personal difficulties, why change anything?

Those of us that are out can see it for what it is, but as all of us know, losing friends/ family isnt easy, parrticularly if you are born into it. The fear of losing your social structure now and your eternal life later are 2 strong motivators to smile and pretend everything is ok for a lot of JW's.

83

Do You Think Trump Is Done?

by minimus in

jw
friends

certain forces appear to be trying to make sure donald trump never runs for president again.

some republicans are clearly abandoning trump and of course the democratic press has been saying trump is done!

is trump’s goose cooked?

joey jojo

It was always going to end like this. The only ones who didnt realise that are Trump supporters.

65

WT and Higher ED

by enoughisenough in

watched this video and was wondering if any of you recall seeing this video besides on this presenter's youtube platform.

anyway, watch it !

it is disgusting but enlightening.

joey jojo

ExBethelitenowPIMA
It’s very hypocritical though,
I know of Elders who went to Uni and now their sons are too.

I agree. If the WT is willing to deter young ones from a decent education, any elders who have kids going to uni should resign.

48

No more public WT & Awake?

by mikeflood in

have you guys noticed, this year 2023 no more public edition magazines...i wonder how they are gonna spin that fact.

joey jojo

It reminds me of this:

https://giphy.com/gifs/the-simpsons-bart-simpson-at-least-you-tried-26ybwvTX4DTkwst6U