Posts by pale.emperor

Growing up my mother idolized elders and their families. Whenever I was dating the girl always happened to be an elders daughter (maybe subconsciously I thought they were better?) and my mum would be so proud telling everyone I'm dating an elders daughter. She'd invite elders and especially the CO for lunch at every opportunity. My dad was a lowly Ministerial Servant, not quite "a gift in men" just yet.

I remember whatever an elder or elders wife said, would trump anything we personally thought. One time my mum threw away some toys I had called Crash Dummies because an elders wife said she didnt like the look of them.

Growing up I never trusted elders. They were on another plain entirely. Their families were all friends and had their own parties. It was a boys club where their kids would all know eachother and other elders families around the circuit.

When I got married (to an elders daughter) it was horrible. Her dad had to know everything that we did and would interfere and treat us like kids. Of course he'd then tell the other elders, who'd tell their wives and kids etc.

So in my house we had a number one rule: Don't tell elders anything.

Unfortunately, I'd find out later that this was a rule only I kept.

Thinking back, there have been only 3 elders I thought were genuinely nice people. One of them has since turned out to be an asshole (referred to here: https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5552172348473344/bumped-into-one-my-best-friends-on-carts-this-morning), another has since died.

It seems that in 99.9999999999% of cases, the criteria to be an elder is that you must be an asshole and friends with other elders.

76

Family is now reaping what they sowed and they don't like it.

by Gemmel in

i resigned from the jw's in my 20's over 30 years ago, i was immediately shunned by my entire family and it's remained that way with a few exceptions ever since.

one of those exceptions was being contacted by a cousin a few years back and during that conversation i discovered that my mother had been and still was the prime mover in my complete and continuing shunning.

i then used what contacts i had left to confirm it.

pale.emperor

As to what they are going to do about the care needed by their mother I don't really care. They stopped being my family by their decision 30+ years ago and I stopped mourning for the family I thought I knew years ago.

These are my own thoughts exactly.

I wonder what my mother will do when her 2nd husband dies (he's on his last legs), and she hits 70+. Will she rely on my paranoid schizophrenic brother to look after her? Or my sisters who live on the other side of the country?

Me and my other brother are "dead to her" (her words) - so i wonder if she expects in a "resurrection" when she needs financial help in a few decades.

12

My Dad's Funeral

by Disassociated Lady 2 in

i had not seen my dad for 15 years because i had left the borg.

(i had been out 26 years but there was a few years when the jws permitted contact with outsiders and then changed their minds again).

they made contact with me again just before he was diagnosed with cancer.

pale.emperor

Sorry to hear about your experience. And my condolences for your father. Having to attend an occasion like a funeral with people that treat you like shit cant be easy and, as you've seen, JWs will just jump at the chance to make you feel worthless and guilty even at a funeral. It's what they do.

I don't think I will participate in any way when the inevitable happens. I'm dead to them, they're dead to me.

I wont be going to my mums funeral when she croaks it. There's very few JW family members that I would go for. One of my sisters and maybe my JW uncles but I just know I'd be glared at and on the receiving end of passive aggressive behaviour.

17

I Got Very Stange JW Doorknocker Yesterday

by pale.emperor in

i had an ex-jw uncle of mine visiting me yesterday from another part of the country.

i usually only ever see him at weddings and funerals but we keep in touch on facebook.

we were catching up in my place with his wife when about an hour into the visit there's a knock on my door, this was about 4pm.. strange... the only people who ever knock without calling me first are the postman and my ex-wife.. i open the door and it's a face i recognize from my last congregation.

pale.emperor

Sounds like he is having doubts himself, thought maybe you could enlighten him.

Normally I would, but in this case I had guests. The days of me caring about JWs are over. If they want to wake up they need to go through the process like we all did - doubt, research, take action.

17

I Got Very Stange JW Doorknocker Yesterday

by pale.emperor in

i had an ex-jw uncle of mine visiting me yesterday from another part of the country.

i usually only ever see him at weddings and funerals but we keep in touch on facebook.

we were catching up in my place with his wife when about an hour into the visit there's a knock on my door, this was about 4pm.. strange... the only people who ever knock without calling me first are the postman and my ex-wife.. i open the door and it's a face i recognize from my last congregation.

pale.emperor

I had an ex-JW uncle of mine visiting me yesterday from another part of the country. I usually only ever see him at weddings and funerals but we keep in touch on Facebook. We were catching up in my place with his wife when about an hour into the visit there's a knock on my door, this was about 4pm.

Strange... the only people who ever knock without calling me first are the postman and my ex-wife.

I open the door and it's a face I recognize from my last congregation. He's about 70yo and was one of those members that goes to the KH, sits at the back and never goes out in service. A loner.

Confused as I am I'm polite and warm to him. Then I notice that he's clearly drunk or something and he says "I know I'm not supposed to talk to you..."

I interrupted with "You can do what you want you're full grown man".

Then goes into a rambling rant about "the truth" and "the world" and "sticking to our decisions". He claimed that people in "the world" would slit your throat as soon as look at you. Also that he would never keep the kind of company that I keep.

Obviously I didn't want a visit like this but I couldn't resist the urge to debunk his views. I told him that doesn't make any sense. And he doesn't know the company I keep. He replied that he only has to look at people in the world and see what they're like. That someone last week was shot in the street.

By this point I'd remembered that this conversation is pointless and a waste of my time. So I politely told him that I have family here, that I wish him a good evening and began to close the door. He looked at me surprised and said "what family?!!" (because surely they should be shunning me).

I bid him farewell again and closed the door. From the window and seen him shrug to himself and walk away.

Very strange.

I'm tempted to write to the congregation telling them not to send any more drunk members to my home, but then I'm not actually bothered about getting him into trouble. Poor guy is probably turning to alcohol to survive being in a cult.

5

My friends son just got disfellowshipped ?

by Chook in

one of my very few jw friend rings ( he knows i’m an apostate ) and has chat about life, then he said i would be sad to here that his son has been df , my response was it’s the best news i’ve heard all day.

his family are first generation jw of about 30 years in org.

but the scales are falling as we speak, i use my most genuine persuasive arguments over months, his wife loved coconscience.

pale.emperor

...then he said I would be sad to here that his son has been DF...

ha! sad?!! when I hear of anyone who is out of the cult for any reason it really brightens my day. Hope he doesnt go back and enjoys life on his own terms.

1626

Funny ex-jw memes

by Apostate Anonymous in

backstory:.

so my born-in cousin who recently left the org is looking to start an ex-jw / group instagram based in socal.

he asked me if i had any ideas for a photo that can used for the instagram page and this is what i made for him:.

pale.emperor

15

Those awkward magazines

by Addison0998 in

i’m sure we all remember those really weird, awkward magazines we were expected to place in service.

and it was before we are had the website or the thing on the back to fall back on.

imagine being a 12 year old girl, and having to place magazines on god’s view of pornography, sex, homosexuality.

pale.emperor

The pornography one instantly sprung to mind when I read this. Just shows how out of touch with reality the Watchtower writers are. All of my girlfriends since leaving the cult either enjoy pornography too or couldn't care less if I have it.

22

New Ezekiel book topic. Bat shot crazy stuff

by nowwhat? in

"nevermind islamic terrorists.

we need to focus on an obscure religious group that no one pays any attention to!

".

pale.emperor

Where do we get a copy of this book then?