Free speech is a public right, not a private one.
Private social media platforms do not have to allow anyone and everyone a stage or a microphone. Alex Jones can go to the local public square and spout his nonsense. Anyone that wants to listen, can.
Posts by jp1692
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97Alex Jones, Infowars Ban on Youtube, FB and other platforms
by pleaseresearch inwhat are you thoughts on this?.
i find this alarming because jones was very outspoken and had great guests on discussing topics most other media outlets wouldn't go near.. the fact that many have restricted him access to their medium what does this say on our freedoms of speech?.
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jp1692
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56
Sex before marriage
by Jules Saturn infor ex jws, pimos, pomos, faders, born again christians, agnostics, atheists, etc.
what is your opinion regarding sex before marriage, has your view been influenced since you left?
in western society, you’ll probably find yourself ridiculed to be an 18 year old virgin so i am curious to hear opinions from here.
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jp1692
For many people that's the only time they'll get any! ... LOL
But seriously, most people have sex more for pleasure than procreation, so as long as it's safe and consensual have at it.
Personally, I really enjoy having good sex with someone I care about and that returns the feelings.
Marriage is a completely different -- although not unrelated -- subject.
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48
Healing & Rebuilding Your Life - Feedback Wanted
by jp1692 ini have been invited to speak at an international cultic studies association workshop this fall.
i could use your help in focusing on my presentation subject.. these workshops are for former members of any cult or other high-control, authoritarian group, not just jehovah's witnesses.
last year, i spoke at one of their larger conferences in europe.
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jp1692
Hi everyone,
Thank you all for your posts!
I have been closely following all the comments and suggestions from everyone that has participated so far. I really appreciate the thoughtfulness that you have given to this subject -- it is very evident from everyone's posts.
Although we all share the JW cult experience and everything that goes with being in this religion and leaving it, we still have had fairly different paths and experiences upon leaving. As a result, the things that are most important to each of us differs between us.
Perhaps it's not too surprising that there is no one topic that is the clear front-runner. However, there are three about which there is a general consensus:
As many of you have commented, these are very related. Indeed, it's really impossible to talk about one without touching on the others -- at least insofar as they relate to each other.
For example, one obvious reason many of us felt isolated and possibly lonely when we first left the cult is because we were cut-off and shunned by our family and former friends that remained in the group. We no longer had that community. Even if we no longer believed the Governing Body is guided by God, we still all need and want (as does everyone) to feel that we belong somewhere and are cared about by others. It's a devastating loss and not one that is easily replaced.
Couple that with the JW belief that everyone that is not a member is part of "Satan's system of things," and it's more than likely that most of us had few, if any, friends outside of the religion.
These and other beliefs have a lot to do with creating those feelings of isolation and loneliness. They all must be addressed in order to overcome them, and that takes a lot of work.
I intend to come back later this coming week and respond specifically to some of the excellent, very thoughtful comments that you all have made.
In the meantime, know that I greatly appreciate everyone's contributions. It's all been -- and continues to be -- very helpful to me.
jp
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My GoFundMe Campaign
by pale.emperor inhi guys.. as some of you may be aware, i'm currently studying in uni part time training to become a therapist and councilor for ex-cult victims.
my goal is to be the vest best therapist i can be, specifically for ex-witnesses (because i can relate completely), and i plan to incorporate hypnotherapy in my therapy sessions.. i have already trained in hypnosis, however i'm not trained in hypnosis for therapy.
nor am i licensed to practice it in therapeutic work.. i'm hoping you can help me to change that.
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jp1692
PE Congrats on your plans to get into a helping profession.
If you haven’t done so already, I’d strongly encourage you to study cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as an effective intervention for helping ex-cult members.
In that vein, are you familiar with the work of Peter Kinderman? He is a professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Liverpool. I took a course of his a couple of years ago. Very helpful. Although the course I took was fairly general and did not specifically address cults -- rather it focused on common mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety and PTSD -- his course helped me consider alternative ways of treating the inevitable negative aftereffects of being in a cult.
The overall focus of Kinderman's work is mental health as opposed to mental illness. The shift in focus on health and well-being rather than illness is profound.
You might find this book of his insightful: The New Laws of Psychology. I highly recommend it.
jp
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50
How Would You Prove To A JW That They Are Wrong?
by minimus inwhat could you say to prove to a witness that they simply do not have the truth?.
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jp1692
It's easy to "prove" many of their beliefs and practices are wrong, unbiblical and even harmful.
What's impossible is to convince them of any of this.
That's not how cult indoctrination works and not how it can be undone.
And let's review: It's a cult!
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24
Forgiveness
by Freedom rocks inif someone does the same things over and over again and says sorry and then does it again and you point out that their apologies don't mean anything anymore, then they accuse you of not being forgiving enough, who is in the wrong?
(i mean as in constantly over a long period of time).
im trying to work out whether it was just part of the persons mental/ emotional manipulation tactics or whether i have the wrong view and i'm not forgiving enough.
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jp1692
Forgiveness is a choice.
It is as much—maybe even more—for you than the one seeking forgiveness.
Not everyone or everything should be forgiven.
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33
How many child molesters do you personally know of in the J.W's?
by karter inwere are they now and what position are they in.. lets do a running count.. c.o.b.e was interfering with his daughter,d.f,reinstated died in good standing.. branch oveersear multiple young children d.f,reinstated in good standing.. publisher interfeared with small child in the k.h d.f not sure were he is.. publisher sexually abused 3 relatives no action taken in good standing.. current elder raped his sister years ago little action taken was not an elder at the time.. publisher sexualy abused young girl d.f,reinstater now in good standing.. m.s multiple young girls d.f,died trying to get reinstated.. so thats 7.. karter..
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jp1692
About two years after I left the religion, I was very disturbed to learn that a MS that had been in my congregation about a decade previously had been sexually abusing a 14-year old girl in another congregation nearby.
It didn’t come out until about nine years later when the girl—now a young woman—went to the police.
The man was arrested and served a year in prison with a year of probation after that. He is still listed on websites as a registered sex offender.
It was well reported on in the local papers at the time of his arrest.
Apparently no one knew about it at the time, except of course the guilty party and his unfortunate victim.
It’s good she had the courage to later come forward and hold her abuser accountable for his crimes.
I later heard roundabout that the perp was reinstated and accepted back into the congregation.
In sharp contrast and in typical JW fashion, the young woman was kicked out and ostracized for outing her attacker and “bringing reproach on Jehovah and his organization.”
Let’s review: It’s a cult!
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28
Great news!
by Half banana init's a case of two down and one to go.
my darling daughter has announced to the extended family that she has left jehovah's witnesses!
deep joy!.
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jp1692
This is great news, thanks for sharing!
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48
Healing & Rebuilding Your Life - Feedback Wanted
by jp1692 ini have been invited to speak at an international cultic studies association workshop this fall.
i could use your help in focusing on my presentation subject.. these workshops are for former members of any cult or other high-control, authoritarian group, not just jehovah's witnesses.
last year, i spoke at one of their larger conferences in europe.
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jp1692
Again, thanks to all that have responded. It really helps when you rank the topics, particularly when you make it clear what you think is most/least important. I’m keeping score and using it to help me focus my presentation.
Your follow-up comments are also adding a lot of clarity.
TO BE CLEAR: there are obviously a lot of other topics I could discuss, many of which are important. But I have already committed to presenting on one of the six from the OP. I’m just trying to get a sense from my fellow forum members which of these you think would have been most useful to you when you left the cult and similarly for others. Sorry if that wasn’t clear.
OTWO: so are you saying that you think “Treatments & Interventions” is the most important issue for people that have left a cult? What do you think is the least important from my list and why?
Stuck, thanks for the kind words. I want to be sure I’m understanding you. Similar to what I asked OTWO above, do you think “Discovering Your Authentic Self“ is our most important issue after leaving a cult? How would you rank the others.
CoCo, I always love your non-linear approach! I look forward to your promised “more later.”
SBF, I want to explore your thoughts on the “authentic self” concept, but again, I don’t want to bias the discussion just yet with my views so I’ll circle back to this later. In the meantime I’m enjoying everyone’s contributions!
Again, many thanks to all for your feedback and suggestions. They are greatly appreciated.
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Starting a X-Cult support group. Any suggestions?
by Still Totally ADD inmrs. add and i have seen a need in our area for this.
it all started over month ago when she gave her yearly talk on what is a cult at our local uu congregation.
their was several newcomers in the audience who have recently left the high control cults.
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jp1692
I saw this thread when it was first posted and meant to comment but got sidetracked ...
There is an organization known as the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA). I have attended a couple of their conferences and workshops and will actually be presenting at one coming up in the fall. (Click here for details.)
As stated on their website: "ICSA is a global network of people concerned about psychological manipulation and abuse in cultic or high-demand groups, alternative movements, and other environments."
You might find some of their resources helpful in your endeavor to create a support group for ex-cult members.
I know that I greatly benefitted from participating at the conference and workshop I attended. One of the biggest takeaways for me was learning that -- although all cults seem superficially very different -- all cults are essentially very similar. It's all about one thing: control.