Posts by nonjwspouse

16

Children

by Freedom rocks in

hi i haven't posted for a while but i have a question and would appreciate any advice offered.

i left the cult 2 years ago and i'm so happy now.

i struggled at first and with the help of the lovely men and women on here i got stronger and started to find myself and ive grown as a person (i'm not being told who i am or who i should be anymore).

nonjwspouse

I focused on teaching my daughter about controlling organizations from the time she was 6 ( when my husband began his re interest in the JW) I wouldn't mention JW specifically, but focus on the tactics of controlling organizations and how dangerous they are. I then used multiple types, MLM, some political groups, and also religions.

Eventually I would casually mention a thing or two about the JW. Then explaining that I worry about what would happen if her Dad became baptized. When she was a preteen I mentioned more difficult things like shunning as a fear, then quickly say there is no way of knowing if her Granny etc would actually do that, but the Watchtower teaches them they must, and they would get in trouble if they disobeyed that instruction. I would mention things like did she notice her granny never mentioned Christmas etc, and then explained why. This was over a period of many years that I would bring it up. Eventually she put the pieces together and asked if the JW were a cult. I answered that many people believe that they are. Books have been written on that.

I would not have a long conversations with her, but short ones so she didn't feel lectured to.

It worked for my daughter. At this point I believe she is inoculated. Thankfully, since she is now just turned 15, and living with her Dad since September. I insisted he move out due to physical abuse and constant verbal abuse, and he convinced her she needed to be with him, or should I say guilted her. He also has been " sharing" about his feelings, and telling her I am mentally unstable. The usual words of an abuser trying to change the perception of reality.

But that is another long story.....

9

Jehovah’s Witnesses form a barricade at Melbourne 2019 International Convention protest

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

during the pyeongchang 2018 olympic and paralympic winter games, which were held from february 9-25, 2018, and march 9-18, 2018, brothers and sisters in korea engaged in a special campaign to offer the many international visitors bible-based publications free of charge.. .

here are protesters exercising their rights to free speech at a 2019 international convention in melbourne, australia.

just like the jehovah's witnesses have rights to hold up magazines while olympic attendees walk by, protesters at the jehovah's witness convention are not given their rights to walk around with their signs and protest.

nonjwspouse

I agree with The Fall guy, the more the Watchtower shows fear and resistance, the more apparent at how much the anti cult message is getting through, and how much they fear it.

25

Involved(ish) with a JW Man.

by BNG-713 in

i know there are several posts about witnesses and non-witnesses in regards to relationships.

i couldn’t find anything specifically that spoke to me, so i would love some third-party advice and thoughts.. i have never been someone to pursue a stranger from the internet.

earlier this year, i became friends with someone on a video game.

nonjwspouse

BNG, I am so glad you nipped it in the bud. I hope you come back here and tell us how you are doing.

I agree so much with what incognito wrote. I have BTDT and it is extremely, extremely difficult. So much so it is hard to describe adequately.

71

If You Had The Choice To Live Anywhere In The World or Any State Where Would You Be?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i do like the usa but winters suck!

florida has some charm but it gets brutal with heat and humidity.

california is too looney.

nonjwspouse

Caves, I agree. We even have a number of trekke conventions in the city.

Unfortunately my husband disagreed, and money was tight enough that I reluctantly passed it up.

Balaamass2 - Chattanooga TN is within one hour 20 minutes of one international airport, and between 2 and 3 hours of three more. The cost of living here is a fraction of what you have in Calif, plus no state taxes! ( We do have a sales tax of 9.25% on most items) Cost of housing depends on the area of town. It varies widely.

You should visit. We have our own decent sized airport that people from Atlanta will drive up to use to avoid Hartsfield Int'l. (second only to O'hare as one of the busiest).

We were voted a top place to retire. (Somewhere, I forgot which publication.) In Outdoor Magazine voted as a top place for outdoor activities. I think Chattanooga won number one a couple times.

Mild winters, summers can get hot though, but nothing like the mid west. We have the four seasons. Lush greenery. Mountain's or river, or valley where you either can, or can't see a mountain. If you want more snow you can drive almost two hours and get to a ski resort.

( Can you tell I worked for a while at a company that focused on animating Downtown, and another rather large Festival company? I also worked for years for UTC gathering information through surveys about area tourists.)

Yeah, I like this area.

17

Just a moan - regarding the latest trend in ignorance of the English language!

by The Fall Guy in

jw
friends

in recent months i have noticed more and more people on the net (including here) are using this latest perversion of the english language -.

"i would of done this..........or he would of tried to change things".

it's would've - short for would have!.

nonjwspouse

Email began with people generally writing without paying much attention to how they write. Even punctuation went out the window many times. Form was ignored.

Texting is even worse. The words became shorthand, and again punctuation was slaughtered.

The young generation today grew up reading and writing electronically. The electronic communication form is now their primary form. Instead of writing long letters with style and flair, they condense and use icons.

IMO this grammar, spelling and form decline is a direct product of that, along with the lack of reading.

I see it everywhere.

I was guilty of it myself when I first began writing emails. Early on, a wise friend told me I should treat an email just like a business, or personal written letter because otherwise I will get lazy. He was so right! Even doing that I still find myself falling into the lazy mode of popular electronic communication.

Going to the point brought up by the OP, "would of" or "woulda, coulda, shoulda" - if written in a purposeful dialect style is correct in form. But so many times it is written out of ignorance. That is a very sad realization of the lack of the knowladge for proper English people have become conditioned to believing.

Living in the SE US I hear butchered English spoken constantly. Speaking it is showing a lack of understanding but sometimes acceptable due to a colorful way of speaking. I adore hearing a colorful speaker, with wonderful stories. But writing it, without a clear understanding of the audience that it is only a dialect being used for a purpose in the written piece, shows a horrific lack of education.

When I hear a Mom that home schools her kids consistently say things such as "She done it" makes me fear she is teaching the children the same grammar in her school setting.

It's sad.

10

Excerpt from an interesting book ? ?

by ZindagiNaMilegiDobaara in

jw
friends

a deeply interesting read.. i have been reading: 'soul snatchers,the mechanics of cults' and i am finding it so precise in explaining /analysing cults.

here is a few lines:.

drug addiction and cult-membership have striking similarities.

nonjwspouse

sounds like a good read

71

If You Had The Choice To Live Anywhere In The World or Any State Where Would You Be?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i do like the usa but winters suck!

florida has some charm but it gets brutal with heat and humidity.

california is too looney.

nonjwspouse

I am enjoying SE Tennessee along the river, the Cumberland plateau and Appalachian Mountains and near the edge of the Smokey Mountains.

Nantahala and Ocoee white water rivers, and the heart of the Smokeys are about 3-4 hours way.

Some stunning scenery all over the place.

Plenty of outdoor sports here. Mild winters. Reasonable cost of living. The people are very friendly.

Close to Atlanta, Nashville, Knoxville and Birmingham. A little more then 7 hours to the northern gulf beaches.

I came close to buying this house on the side of Signal Mtn and making it into a air B&B. I was selling for about $120k. I kinda wish I had. https://i.pinimg.com/236x/84/6c/ae/846caef821e8a71aa30f6aa72b6ad644--unusual-buildings-unusual-houses.jpg

2

The Family- Cedars St in DC -on netflix

by nonjwspouse in

omg i just watched some of "the family" on netflix and the similarities with the jw are strong.

i just saw the in beginning of one episode, that it began in eisenhower administration!

his mother was a bible student.

nonjwspouse

OMG I just watched some of "the family" on Netflix and the similarities with the JW are strong. I just saw the in beginning of one episode, that it began in Eisenhower administration! Of course! His mother was a Bible Student. ( JW)The ideas had to be familiar. USSR and the USA were a Holy War in his mind.

Of course there are some big differences too, but a whole lot of control and belief similarities.

I am also struck all the sudden, why did Lloyd Evans pick John Cedars as his screen name? It is probably coincidence, but does he have knowladge of this "brotherhood"? That John is one of the highest of chosen ones, and the house where the "chosen" gather in DC is called the Cedars house?

This secret organization is centered on Jesus, loyalty to the death to the chosen ones, and the belief the one in position's of power in governments are chosen to be there by God, no matter what they do.

This is so thought provoking.

12

Syrian conflict

by Holden Caufield in

i feel that assad even though he is bad is a better alternative then islamic extremist taking power.

what do you think?.

nonjwspouse

The problem is once the US gets involved, it must stay involved in order to keep a vacuume from happening that will allow the extremists to fill it and take over. It is a very dangerous position for the US troops to be in. There absolutly must be back up allies to help avoid the vacuume of power. It is not a short term answer, it has to be long term. Is that really where the US belongs right now?

I have mixed feelings about the centuries old conflicts, with very real tyrannes, and atrociaties.Yet the precarious stabilities of those same countries that are not overrun with the extremist islamists.

26

Need to vent. I am thinking of leaving my wife.

by goingthruthemotions in

i am so sick of this cult, this religion has such a grip on her.

since i left in 2014, things just are getting progressively worse.

and she it's just getting deeper and deeper.

nonjwspouse

I am one of those that Joe134cd describes.I turned up here for lifeline support.

It is a massively heartbreaking and extremely difficult experience that cannot properly be described in words.

I wish that on no one, ever.