Posts by Simon

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

Simon

The EVANS GATE CULT

That was genuinely LOL material, for real.

36

Where do we go from here, the Lloyd-gate?

by raymond frantz in

the problem is where do we go from here?

lloyd is not going to go away , he has too much to loose(money) neither will his followers go as we have seen the last few days there was hardly a drop to his membership .so what's next?

we will be branded in the same colours and because of him we won't be taken seriously anymore.

Simon

But recently it's very obviously been about money and quantity rather than quality....such as those silly sushi videos. Quick 5 minute dopamine hits of "why I'm right"for exjws to make 'em feel better. Or people phoning in asking inane questions with equally inane and obvious answers.

Exactly - and this is the problem with turning the activism into a business. What happens if the WTS doesn't do anything? You still want to release content, and so you start inventing things instead of reporting things.

we will be branded with the same colours as him and we will be alot less credible with him around, I believe anyone who into YouTube activism should publicly distance themselves from him.

I disagree. I think it's clear to anyone who wants to look that we're certainly not part of whatever group he thinks he speaks for. We are well clear of him. But yes, anyone who wants to keep their credibility has to distance themselves from him, or you'll be seen to be condoning his lifestyle and behavior.

19

The Lloyd Evans Sex Scandal is our Business

by annihilator in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w82evcjfybm.

Simon

He has been using sex workers for 4 years every 3 months.

Everybody lies to some degree but manipulators trying to cover up things lie the most egregiously of all.

It's like when a government says they only broke their own lockdown restrictions on one odd occasion ... and then it comes out that it was a regular weekly occurrence.

I take the "every 2-3 months for 4 years" to be the very minimum that he's willing to admit to. Maybe it's a carefully crafted number - enough to show his "struggles, weakness, and mental anguish", but not enough to turn off the donation tap. That wasn't the video of someone being totally honest with people. It was a manipulator putting on a show to diminish the consequences of his actions as much as possible.

If anyone thinks he isn't above lying to do that then I have a bridge to sell them.

36

Where do we go from here, the Lloyd-gate?

by raymond frantz in

the problem is where do we go from here?

lloyd is not going to go away , he has too much to loose(money) neither will his followers go as we have seen the last few days there was hardly a drop to his membership .so what's next?

we will be branded in the same colours and because of him we won't be taken seriously anymore.

Simon

I think it's time for a re-evaluation for the exJW "community"

First, what does that word even mean? We're a diverse group of people with nothing at all in common other than we once belonged to a group who's membership believed they all had something in common.

But really, we don't, and never did.

People outside are the same inside, the same mix of good-eggs, rough diamonds, scallywags and toads. Use whatever euphemism for personalities as you want, all are there - good, bad, abusers, victims. People.

And of course people leave. At this point they either decide to go live their life or are still attached to the WTS.

Some decide that they are going to be the mighty one to finally topple-the-tower. But of course they won't, and never will.

Some decide that they need a constant diet of information reminding them that they are right to be on the outside (I often wonder if these people really fear they may be wrong, and long to return).

Some decide they they are over it but want to use their special knowledge and experience to help others to leave and to offer support.

All very different reasons and often personality types.

It takes a certain amount of 'drive' to make people want to do more than just move on, sometimes it can be healthy, other times not so much. I think a lot comes down to how much time you're spending and how much it takes over your life.

Personally, I think it's unhealthy to stay an activist exJW for too long. That doesn't mean everyone who does is mental, but some take it too far and it becomes your entire life. It's like any activism - when it acts as an impetus to assist others, it can be good and healthy, but when it becomes your entire life then it can be too much and unhealthy.

We've all seen cases where well known exJWs have, well, they've been notorious for being a bit unhinged. There are always those willing to applaud and support those "doing more", until the point they cross over a line and do something stupid, like pepper-spraying a couple of elderly JWs on the ministry. Then the "community" reflects and splits, because some want to go to war, total warfare, and the rest of us want to be part of the human race.

A particular risk is if we depend on the activism so much that we can't do without it. That is where Lloyd has ended up. He sees it as his job, a career. Does he really plan on doing this for the rest of his life? Who knows. He wasn't forced into it, it was his choice, but his behavior then impacts everyone else.

Well, maybe ... if you think you're part of one giant "community" they might.

Personally, I don't think there is one. There are some nice people, there are some not so nice people. I wouldn't want to be recognized as belonging to a group that contained unsavoury characters and does it make sense to identify with such a huge group with zero control of who does and doesn't belong or what they do?

I'm an exJW. It's simple an attribute that describes my past. It isn't membership of any group and I don't expected to support anyone in that group or commit to anything someone else in the group wants to do. The only "membership" I have is that I can voice support or criticism of anything someone in the group does, but then I can do that for anyone on the planet, so why do we imaging there really is any group? It's just people we've come across, due to our shared past.

My only hope is that people learn to be more critical. The same mix of people exist everywhere and that always includes bad-actors. The biggest danger is that people think they are the same, because they think they belong to some fictitious shared group, and they get suckered in and their standards eroded over time because they are addicted to being fed propaganda about the group itself being good, and the group they left being the enemy.

Time to move on people. The aim should always be to become an ex-exJW, or at least not get so involved in everything for such periods that it's effectively your life.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

Simon

A question I like to ask JWs, because I think it helps to highlight their blinkered thinking is "what would the WTS have to do for you to stop supporting and believing them?"

Maybe the Lloyd-must-be-excused-whatever crowd can answer - what would he have to do for you to stop supporting and defending him? Where exactly is your line, because it's easy for lines to move without you realizing it and you end up way over someplace extreme. Is it literally "as long as he's not been arrested as a pedo, he get's my support"? because I have to tell you - that isn't a great look, and it doesn't convince me you've put much thought into your position or have any real morals worth talking about.

Blind loyalty is never commendable, it is what most of us left. But if your sole judgement on whether you think someone has done wrong or not is "they are in my camp" then you really haven't learned anything from leaving the WTS. Back then, you thought all the JWs were like you because they too were "in your camp". Sure, we all love and hate the same things - it doesn't make people good or bad, it just makes us a member of the same group.

Learn to think for yourself. Stop being a follower, especially a blind one. If the criterial for supporting someone or something is "they are critical of the same group or people that I don't like!" then you are perfect fodder for radicalization. That can come in many forms, it can go all the way to the extreme of physical violence, but it can also be just the failure to condemn things, or excusing things that happen, within your own group only because they are within your own group. Are you so addicted to needing to hear things critical of the WTS and JWs? Do you instantly attack anyone who points out anything positive about them? If so, you may just be in a cult, and need help.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

Simon

I love how some are always so quick and so keen to evoke "JW-isms", pretending that someone being critical of something equates to "shunning" (oh noes, the humanity!)

It really diminishes the hurt that real shunning causes, and that people have to live through. But sure, you do you and think that a downvote or comment about a video is "the same".

Just because some of us prefer to condemn rather than applaud his sickening misogyny and narcissism doesn't make us the bad guys, a mob, or a witch hunt.

He's never shied away from being vocal and critical of anyone who doesn't agree with him or given him what he wants. What goes around comes around - treat others how you expect to be treated.

But don't come here trying to make out that people commenting on this are "the bad guys" and that he's any kind of victim whatsoever. That just doesn't fly.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

Simon

Hey Pete Zahut. I found it interesting that your reply to my PM (reminding you about posting off-topic comments, and attempting to make this about *me*) was "OK Lloyd" - seemed like you were trying to use it as an insult.

Doesn't quite match your grandiose public speech now does it? It's almost like you're some kind of hypocrite, dare I say it ... a complete and utter "Lloyd" (see, I can do it too, and you made it OK).

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

Simon

Edited to add: it appears I got my calculations wrong - Lloyd said 'every three months, for about four years'. But my point about health checks for him and his wife still definitely stands.

I think he said "every two or three months, for three or four years", and seemed to think that didn't meet the criteria for the label "regular". Given his propensity for lying to people, that could easily mean every month for 5+ years.

Don't make the mistake of assuming that everything, or anything, he told people in that video was the actual truth.

So, does Lloyd know he never picked up HIV or any other STDs? Has he had blood tests? I assume he had been having sex with his wife during the four years he cheated on her, so has his wife had a thorough health check up?

Yes, his wife didn't make that choice and neither did his kids, all of who could have their lives forever impacted by his behavior, more than just the immediate emotional harm.

19

The Lloyd Evans Sex Scandal is our Business

by annihilator in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w82evcjfybm.

Simon

The question is, do you, as an x-Witness, wish to blindly fit into that picture? Apparently the 100,000 subscribers to his videos do.

Remember: a good number of JWs get kicked out each year because they are just like him - immoral jerks who simply couldn't live up to basic standards of morality. The JW views on sex and marriage are hardly unique, and certainly not onerous, and easily arguably preferable to the opposite extreme.

Little wonder that he finds an audience when he provides those people with a steady diet of "Governing Body BAD, exJWs GOOD!"

So I'm not surprised he's built up a following, he's the McDonalds happy-meal of activism.

Not all exJWs are the same. Not all left because they discovered it was a lie, they may come to that conclusion afterwards and then think they have him to thank for that revelation, but the truth is they didn't leave, they were kicked out, and that grates on them.

It grates on him. All his "activism" has about trying to create a myth that he left for noble reasons, rather than the reality which is he's just a grubby, sleazy little man.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

Simon

You're normally one of the more sensible voices, but I think you've lost the plot on this

in fact you may even be profiting from all of the extra activity on your site surrounding this situation. Does anyone expect you to provide breakdown of how you use the money you earn here? Are you profiting off of the pain of XJW's? I don't thinks so but there are people who get funny once money comes into the picture.

The traffic is inconsequential, it's certainly not the type of content that's really "monetizable". Not that it's any of your business, or that you have a right to make out that I'm profiting off anyone, certainly not anyone's pain, or anything other than my own work, but the site brings in pretty much the exact same amount in ad revenue as it costs to run, and I don't charge anyone a "wage" for my "work", and never have.

Torches other peoples lives...really?? A bit dramatic don't ya' think? Sure, he disappointed people, pissed them off etc but no one except for his family, had their lives "torched". How are you and your forum helping anyone by being so foul mouthed and vicious yourself and thereby encouraging others who are being the same way?

No, it's not dramatic. It's reality. He's been like a BSE infected bull in a china-shop in the exJW community, leaving a trail of destruction and fallout in his wake. I don't know why you feel the need to rush to his defence, but I think your sympathies are woefully misplaced and inappropriate. How many people who contributed a lot of hard work behind the scenes have been put off having anything todo with the community because of him? He's a cancer to the cause and always has been, because he doesn't really believe in any "cause" - it's all about him and profiteering.

And if you think that is being foul mouthed and vicious, then honestly, I think you are a fool and a hypocrite, because what happened to erring on the side of kindness? It's just a glib tagline, nothing more, to make you feel "righteous".

I chose to try to help people by giving them a place where they have a relatively safe, anonymous, voice. That's how it's always been, that's what it says on the tin. I don't raise money off people. I don't solicit funds off people. I don't try to contact people. I try to keep a balance and over the years have put up with more shit and grief for what I do than you can possibly imagine.

No matter what other people's opinions are, I'm going to err on the side of truth and victims, and I don't care whatever dick-wad feels put out because of it.