Posts by jp1692

38

I got to give a speech at the University of Louisville today about JWs and Propaganda

by dubstepped in

today my wife and i went to college.

although not allowed to go to college as jws we got to lead a class today and it was really special to be able to do that.

the class was an honors class on social media and psychology and i created a presentation around the propaganda and manipulation used against us as jws.

jp1692

Dubstepped,

In case you (or others reading this thread) don't know, there actually is a pretty well written series of articles on propaganda in the June 22, 2000 Awake!.

When I read them years ago, I became convinced that the WT leadership absolutely knows what they are doing when it comes to manipulation and control of their members.

Here's a screenshot of the three articles you will want to read (following the TOC):

Here also, for your reading enjoyment, are a couple of older threads on the subject:

Enjoy!

jp

38

I got to give a speech at the University of Louisville today about JWs and Propaganda

by dubstepped in

today my wife and i went to college.

although not allowed to go to college as jws we got to lead a class today and it was really special to be able to do that.

the class was an honors class on social media and psychology and i created a presentation around the propaganda and manipulation used against us as jws.

jp1692

DS: I created a presentation around the propaganda and manipulation used against us as JWs. Many of the same things are seen in social media and impacts the way we see things that are posted on sites like this.

What an excellent thing for you and your wife to be able to do. I’m sure the students benefitted greatly. Thanks for sharing!

35

This Forum. Has it changed? For the better or for the worse? Or not a at all?

by ThomasCovenant in

jw
friends

when i post i try to imagine that i am at a social gathering or sometimes in someone's house as a dinner guest.

that way it is easier to follow the community guidelines and posting rules set out on the site at the bottom of the page.

i wouldn't want to make a fool of myself in public.

jp1692

Xanthippe: The intelligent, thoughtful, compassionate people are still around and they post occasionally but they seem to have retreated in the face of all the anger around. I miss them.

My sentiments exactly!

82

Do You Think The Obama Administration Should Be Investigated For How They Treated The Trump Accusations?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i hope that the trump administration looks into obama , clinton and all the other players for trying to usurp the legitimacy of the trump presidency..

jp1692

If Trump isn’t Putin’s little bitch, why does he act like it—again and again and again?

Don’t bother with personal attacks because I really don’t care what you think of me; just answer the question.

I will only respond to serious attempts at dialogue which address the obvious issue that the current US Administration is completely corrupt and compromised. Any and all other comments will be ignored.

107

The Mueller Report....will it affect Trump negatively?

by minimus in

jw
friends

they say it will be out any day soon.

do you think the report will do major damage to trump?.

jp1692

We, the American people, paid for that report. We should and need to see the full report. That is our right.

Complete and full transparency. Nothing else is acceptable. Nothing.

107

The Mueller Report....will it affect Trump negatively?

by minimus in

jw
friends

they say it will be out any day soon.

do you think the report will do major damage to trump?.

jp1692

Attorney General William Barr wrote in the letter he submitted to Congress sharing his summary of the main conclusions from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation:

"The Special Counsel states that 'while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.'"

As any good scientist knows, absence of evidence is not the same as evidence of absence.

32

Whole Study Article on Commenting at Meetings

by JW_Rogue in

i guess less people are commenting now.

last week's whole wt study was dedicating to the issue of commenting.

people were literally making comments about how to comment, it was very meta (not that most there would get that), anyway the main reason that wt gave to explain away people's lack of commenting?

jp1692

Ugh, I’m so glad I’m not part of that mind-numbing bs anymore.

Since I quit going to meetings I’ve had enough free time to get a real education: a B.A in Music Education and a Ma.Ed. in Education Curriculum and Instruction. I am a high school teacher and have the pleasure every single day of teaching young minds to think, really think.

And they get to ask their own questions, all they want!

13

What to do when running in to a JW you know...How is this for a suggestion ?

by stuckinarut2 in

hey all,.

so i have recently seen quite a few jws that were former friends in our community.

i am always polite and say hello - although most will not acknowledge me.

jp1692

I always try to be friendly to still-in JWs when I get the chance, which isn't often.

If asked, I say my life is great never better! (If appropriate, I may mention the one exception is that lack of a meaninful relationship with family that chooses to avoid me, but hey: that's on them, not me.)

Living well is the best revenge! Plus, it makes them jealous.

18

Jehovah's Witnesses: A Coercive Organization?

by john.prestor in

so in sociology we divide organizations up into three categories or types, you got utilitarian, voluntary, and coercive.

utilitarian means people join to accomplish some purpose like selling food or making furniture, voluntary means they join up just for fun or to hang out with people like the freemasons or a lot of churches, and coercive means they don't really want to be there but they gotta because someone will punish them if they leave, so labor camps, armies, or prisons.. in a paper i wrote for a class a while back i argued that jehovah's witnesses should be seen as a coercive organization.

yeah, people join up and they do leave, nobody beats you up if you stop attending or preaching, nobody imprisons you, shoots your dog, kills your kids that kind of thing, and nobody makes you join up either.

jp1692

From one jp to another, interesting OP. Thanks!

You overlooked the highly coercive effects of shunning or even the threat of it.

As I know you well know, this keeps many a PIMO JW attending meetings just to avoid losing their families; and many of us that leave do so at the cost of broken and lost relationships.

Because of our deep need to belong, the threat or reality of losing our families is a highly coercive and manipulative tactic used by many cults and other high-control groups, JWs being just one.

No, they don't shoot your dog, but the destroy families. Something which in my opinion is far, far worse.

jp1692

25

A Question for Born-ins Who Had a Parent Leave the Cult Before They Did

by jp1692 in

question: have any of you that are now exjws had a parent leave the religion before you, and you shunned them because of that?

if so—and while you were still in the cult—what, if anything, could your parent have done to reach your heart and begin a reconciliation?

it’s been almost ten years since i left the religion and my two sons continue to shun me and rebuff all efforts i make to reconcile.

jp1692

Finkelstein,

Yes, I am aware of the changes in WT practices and the reasons behind them. But thank you for sharing for those among us that don't have your 40 years of perspective!

jp