Posts by Rivergang

That the rebels at Eureka Stockade were so easily defeated was the result of indiscipline (the good old Aussie tradition of wandering "off to the pub" !) Successful armed conflict requires more than just access to weapons - any one with any military experience would be quick to point out that without discipline, "all you have is an armed mob".

This was an edge the American militia forces had at Concorde and Lexington, and noted by the British commanders in their after-battle reports (namely that the British troops displayed a noticeable lack of that same discipline). Those countries which to this day maintain effective militia forces (such as Switzerland) subject their militia members to a rigorous and continual routine of training. (Swiss friends have often described their country's routine for training of its militia - and an annual holiday camp it certainly isn't !)

117

14 kids dead and one teacher at Texas school shooting.

by jojorabbit in

another shooting, this time 14 kids dead more wounded and a teacher dead.

i am all for the second amendment and this does not change my mind.

but i do hate this kind of thing, makes my stomach turn.

Rivergang

Has Australia had a revolutionary war?

Actually, it has. The event is generally referred to as "The Eureka Rebellion" or the "Eureka Stockade".

Protesting about unfair laws and heavy-handed methods of law enforcement for rather minor infringements, a large group of miners in the Victorian gold fields declared their independence. Although rapidly defeated in a massacre carried out by forces of the Crown, the rebels made their point and achieved most of the things they sought to change.

The State Library of Victoria has a short precis of those events, which may be viewed via the following link.

https://ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/explore-history/golden-victoria/impact-society/eureka-stockade

Also, an extensive description of the "Eureka Rebellion" may be found on Wikipedia. (All-right - I know it is "only" Wikipedia! However, Wikipedia's account is historically accurate, and provides a comprehensive history of the lead-up to the rebellion, its course, and its aftermath.

While nowhere near as long and bloody as the American Revolution, those who participated in the Eureka Rebellion did indirectly benefit from it. Britain certainly learned from the loss of its 13 North American colonies, and thereafter was quick to grant democratic reforms in its other colonial territories (including what was then the Colony of Victoria).

30

Some Jw's are the worst employees

by Foolednomore in

jw
friends

i found a company and employed an elder as an underwriter and two ms as sales and marketing.

anyway, this elder will delegate his work to the ms in sales and marketing, so he can go home early.

he knew when he got started that this would be a 10 hour a day job with some saturday.

Rivergang

Shadow line,

That is to say that “All JWs are good guys / All non-JWs are bad guys”. The reality, however, is somewhat different. While they imagine themselves to have the monopoly on good people, the proportion of JWs who are good persons / good employees is about the same as the population in general (certainly in my experience, anyway!)

30

Some Jw's are the worst employees

by Foolednomore in

jw
friends

i found a company and employed an elder as an underwriter and two ms as sales and marketing.

anyway, this elder will delegate his work to the ms in sales and marketing, so he can go home early.

he knew when he got started that this would be a 10 hour a day job with some saturday.

Rivergang

Coming back to the actual topic of this thread, many of the things about being a JW I don’t at all miss! And prominent amongst these is that all to common attitude of “I can do whatever I like to you, and you have got to forgive me.”

Not hard to imagine how that would cause problems in the workplace!

30

Some Jw's are the worst employees

by Foolednomore in

jw
friends

i found a company and employed an elder as an underwriter and two ms as sales and marketing.

anyway, this elder will delegate his work to the ms in sales and marketing, so he can go home early.

he knew when he got started that this would be a 10 hour a day job with some saturday.

Rivergang

My great-grandfather always maintained that “only fools and horses work”. (Not that it ever did him a lot of good!)

30

Some Jw's are the worst employees

by Foolednomore in

jw
friends

i found a company and employed an elder as an underwriter and two ms as sales and marketing.

anyway, this elder will delegate his work to the ms in sales and marketing, so he can go home early.

he knew when he got started that this would be a 10 hour a day job with some saturday.

Rivergang

I can readily identify with what just fine says. Over the last 44 years, I have worked at all levels in the industry from labourer to senior management. Almost without exception, salaried staff (roughly middle management and above) were expected to work as many hours as required in order to get the job done. While the official working week around here is 38 hours, it would not look too good at your annual review if, each day, (as a salaried worker) you walked out the door after only 7.6 hours.

34

History repeated: pre-1975 trend of selling homes to ‘downsize’

by LongHairGal in

jw
friends

i saw this thread on reddit.

i think the reason for this is that the 1975 fiasco is never mentioned in the jw religion.

nobody mentioned it to me when i came in the years after.. the problem with this is that all the sad stories were never told (or hushed up) of people who sold off homes, etc.

Rivergang

I remember a CO at a circuit meeting in the 90's, who stated "those of you who are complaining about not having a good job and income because of wrong choices in 1975, you did it your self! Don't blame the society!", he said.

That is called "blaming the victim", and is - sad to say - something that happens a lot.

In this specific case, it is also very dishonest. You can't go praising people up for selling their homes and "pioneering" on the proceeds (as the WTS did in a 1974 Kingdom Ministry), then afterwards deny responsibility when it all turns to custard.

Yet another example of the way in which that bloody lot always wants to have it both ways!

15

THIS MAN Changed your life - Did you know that?

by Terry in

jw
friends

this man changed your life - did you know that?.

our story begins 6 years later in 1782 in pittsfield, massachusetts.

there is a family of 16 children called the miller family.

Rivergang

Further evidence of how it is entirely possible to win all your arguments - yet still be completely wrong.

Amongst other things, Miller made frequent use of the typical propagandist's trick of having on hand a stock "answer to everything". This still made him no more correct than anybody else, though!

35

What are your thoughts about Mormons?

by Iamallcool in

jw
friends

any takers?

Rivergang

In contrast with the JWs, they are a more family-friendly religion. Also, according to the late Raymond Franz, Nathan Knorr himself once volunteered that the Mormons “look after their people better” than do the JWs.