Posts by Xanthippe

8

Two for One offer. You get one for the price of two!

by Slidin Fast in

did anyone else fall for this one?

i did pre-assembly work in my home town, this was obviously voluntary unpaid work.

i continued to do part-time work helping to support my mom who has been recently abandoned by my elder dad,.

Xanthippe

You had to do two pre-assembly work hours for each pioneer hour your missed? Wow I pioneered when it was a hundred hours too and worked part-time to pay my bills, how on earth can you do more than that. I was already working 45+ hours a week in total. The monsters to make you do that!

14

Dysfunctamentalism

by Incognigo Montoya in

in reading through many posts over the last few months, i have started to form a viewpoint towards at least some of those witnesses/witness families, who are abusive and overzealous in their thinking.. arguably, many, if not all here, would say all pimi witnesses are overzealous in their thinking, but i sort of disagree with that.

without revealing too much about myself, my parents who are still in (father long time elder, mother regular pioneer), i consider stable and balanced in their views.

while i was shunned to a degree, after being disfellowshipped (they didn't go out to dinner or the movies with me or socialize with me publicly or very often privately, they didn't attend my wedding) they still spoke to me on the phone every few months, as i checked in on them and let them know i was doing alright (i moved out of state in my late teens).

Xanthippe

It's a deeper subject than it appears. My post asks the question what if that cult didn't exist? What if they hadn't scooped up my mother and love bombed her when she was vulnerable because of her dysfunctional family?

Why do cults exist and attract dysfunctional people? There's always religion where there is poverty. There was a lot of poverty in the nineteenth century. It's arguably what led up to WWl. That's when Russell got going and he used the war to fit it into his nonsense prophecies.

The whole fundamentalist cult thing, IMO, is often tied in with poverty, war and misery. That will make anyone dysfunctional.

22

Service experiences

by former2free in

jw
friends

i know what you may be thinking by the title but bear with me.

have you ever reflected on past service experiences and think wow if only i had listened to a householder?

two things come to my mind of personal experience.

Xanthippe

Yes there was a psychologist who said she had a lot of clients that were very disturbed JWs. I just remember she spoke in a very syrupy hypnotic voice and she put me right off but I wished I'd stayed and listened.

Another person said he was a philosopher and was making a lot of sense to my husband and myself but it made me feel ill listening to him. How I wished I'd listened to him.

28

"Are you the plumber?"

by Jourles in

i've been debating whether or not to post this story simply because the org knows who i am (post history from pre-'05 will tell you all you need to know), and i'm not sure if they would give my parents shit if they knew what transpired earlier this summer.

but you know what, i don't care what they do, because my mom is dying of stage iv cancer and i feel this needs to be heard by anyone struggling with the loss of contact from their relatives.. for those who are not familiar with my background, i became a small thorn in the side of the wts while i was still in.

i'm not big on being deceived, and for me, the org crossed my personal 'red line' when it came to blood and the child abuse issue.

Xanthippe

Wow Jourles, how sad she recognised other people straight away but not you. As if she had deliberately blocked you out of her mind.

Well done you for making the first move and thank you for all you did to help people leave the cult through the documents you released to the web and the help you gave to silent lambs.

It is not easy to leave and make a life for yourself when faced with shunning by family for many years, l know. Thanks for your story.

14

Dysfunctamentalism

by Incognigo Montoya in

in reading through many posts over the last few months, i have started to form a viewpoint towards at least some of those witnesses/witness families, who are abusive and overzealous in their thinking.. arguably, many, if not all here, would say all pimi witnesses are overzealous in their thinking, but i sort of disagree with that.

without revealing too much about myself, my parents who are still in (father long time elder, mother regular pioneer), i consider stable and balanced in their views.

while i was shunned to a degree, after being disfellowshipped (they didn't go out to dinner or the movies with me or socialize with me publicly or very often privately, they didn't attend my wedding) they still spoke to me on the phone every few months, as i checked in on them and let them know i was doing alright (i moved out of state in my late teens).

Xanthippe

But I can't discount how much of their bad childhood was due to a dysfunctional family dynamic, that would'vje still been bad, had their parents not been witnesses.

Yes I have said this myself on the forum. My family was dysfunctional because my mother lost her brother in WWll and never got over it. Her father never got over losing his son and became a violent alcoholic.

She married too soon to get away from her dysfunctional family and then as an unhappily married woman she was vulnerable to the JWs calling and love bombing her.

However, the point is if that cult had not existed and she hadn't been scooped up by it how would our family have continued? She went along to the KH because she was a lonely young mother who'd just moved to a new area and didn't know the people in the new Anglican Church and the JWs, she said, invited her to their church but the local vicar didn't call and invite her to his.

Now she was raised an Anglican and was very involved in the local church. So I think if that cult hadn't existed she would eventually, possibly when her baby and toddler were older, have attended the new church and I would have been brought up in mainstream Christianity and been able to choose my future belief system as I grew up.

My family would have still been dysfunctional, my parents were never happy but the difference is I wouldn't have had my life ruined by a cult. That's the difference.

21

Just a Rant .......

by LOLS in

jw
friends

hi beautiful people ..... so today is my wedding anniversary ....... .

and first of all my dear husband forgot again .... which is normal according to my dear old dad "it's a man thing " .

but to add insult to injury , i must wait till friday to be taken out for dinner , because low & behold my jdub husband can't miss one bloody jw meeting !

Xanthippe

I'm so sorry, if it's a meeting night tonight he won't miss it because it's your anniversary, that is a JW thing. I don't think it's a man thing forgetting your wedding anniversary, my husband never forgot. I think you need to be very, very upset he forgot. Have a good time treating yourself and your children today.

19

Too Many Categories That Most People Fall Into ... L G B T Q C G D ... I Get Confused

by RubaDub in

it seems like we are all getting pigeon-holed into a category that may or may not be applicable to us.

personally, i am a "d" but i am sure there are a few (though statistically insignificant) who would otherwise fall into an "o" or other category.. it just seems like society needs to label us in the l g b t q c g d communities.. rub a dub.

Xanthippe

I hope this helps

19

Too Many Categories That Most People Fall Into ... L G B T Q C G D ... I Get Confused

by RubaDub in

it seems like we are all getting pigeon-holed into a category that may or may not be applicable to us.

personally, i am a "d" but i am sure there are a few (though statistically insignificant) who would otherwise fall into an "o" or other category.. it just seems like society needs to label us in the l g b t q c g d communities.. rub a dub.

Xanthippe

I don't understand you beyond LGBTQ, can you explain or is this your usual jokiness?

15

Is there a surge in "Upwakers"?

by Phizzy in

the stupid word in the topic title is a piss-take on the bloody silly jw word "needgreaters" that i have seen them use.. but my question is genuine, i know it is a cyclical thing, we get what seems to be a lot of newbies, and then things quieten down, but not just on here, elsewhere on social media i am seeing stories of people finding the courage to leave, having woken up for a variety of reasons, but usually the child abuse scandal, and the spiteful, judgmental nature of many jw's, who, though supposedly friends, will run off to the elders to snitch on you, not talk to you.

is their a real increase in those leaving ?

i do hope so, so many more finding real freedom and happiness !.

Xanthippe

It's certainly been a busy few days on here for people waking up. Plus an account of a CO spilling the beans in the eulogy at his father's KH funeral. Speeding it up in its own time 😀

42

Hello Everyone, Another JW Has Left!

by SuperGirl in

just want to introduce myself and let you know that this site is working and is a big help to lots of jws with doubts.

i've been lurking for about a year, the first couple of times i was frightened and literally shaking visiting an apostate site but it's the only place i can come to for sanity.

the religion has become a nut house.

Xanthippe

Hi Supergirl. It's good to hear that many JWs are questioning the changes and leaving. Typical calling that long-time pioneer useless, as soon as you stop slaving away they drop you. I'm glad you're making friends and that your son and his father are out. Welcome to freedom and fun!