teejay

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Posts by teejay

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  78

  intolerance

  by teejay in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  generally speaking, are ex-jws as intolerant as jws?

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  teejay

  I'm with StinkyPantz. This thread got way personal, way fast. -- Bisous

  Well, I'm not disturbed by it at all, Bisous (odd name, btw).
  
  Really, the personal stuff lent itself well to the discussion, I thought, for obvious reasons. If you knew the somewhat circuitous history these two fine ladies and I share, their seemingly off-topic posts might make more sense to you. As it is, their posts only demonstrate the truth of my little epiphany ? that a person's level of intolerance is directly linked to their NEGATIVE emotions. Watching someone's apparently unpleasant reaction to, say, the arrival of a loyal JW (or a poster from another board ), tells you a lot about the person reacting.
  
  Perhaps more than they realize.
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  78

  intolerance

  by teejay in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  generally speaking, are ex-jws as intolerant as jws?

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  teejay

  I have an idea, let's try posting about the thread topic and NOT the person who started the thread. -- StinkyPantz

  Actually, B, albeit tediously, xw and bc *are* contributing to the discussion... in their own way and with their own inimical style. It's really somewhat fascinating... watching them, xw especially, but I digress...
  
  With CZAR's comments in mind, what the dynamic duo are demonstrating is the idea that our tolerance level toward a person or thing is inextricably linked to our emotions ? how we feel about something. Or, in the case of those two, someONE.
  
  I used to wonder why or how an ex-JWs could so severely attack loyal JWs who came here. JWs who came here never bothered *me* one bit. Or why the folks 'over there' reacted so intolerantly toward me when they discovered my intentions of coming back here. "Shouldn't both groups be more understanding?" I thought.
  
  It's clear now?it should have been clear along, I guess?that when JWs (or Christians) post here, they evoke within some JWDers bad emotions that are left over from their JW experience. They aren't really attacking the person so much as they are attacking their former experience (or, specifically, responding to the feelings that experience engenders). As in the case of the two ladies, instead of a religion it's *me* that rekindles those strong negative feelings. With the folks on the other board ? their experience with JWD (or Simon).
  
  We have achieved a breakthrough! The strength of the emotion reflects in inverse proportion the level of intolerance. The stronger the negative emotion, the weaker the ability to tolerate. As my long-time friend Dr. Spock of Star Trek fame would say with a curious nod: "Interesting."

  ---

  Teej, don't drag dirty laundry from there over here. Each board serves a distinct purpose and this ain't the place for it. Over here, "don't go there".

  Am I the only one who sees the irony in this? No. I didn't think so.
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  78

  intolerance

  by teejay in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  generally speaking, are ex-jws as intolerant as jws?

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  teejay

  ... the cynicism and the hurt from dubland is real. -- Czar

  That's something I hadn't thought about, Czar.
  
  Many ex-JWs still carry a lot of negative emotions from their life as a Dub. For them, differentiating between JWs and the JW religion can be hard. Depending on the length of time they've been gone from the Organization, it might be a little too much to expect them to show recently freed ex-JWs a great deal of tolerance. A person's own emotions and past experience often determine their level of tolerance, as xenawarrior's and bikerchic's own posts in this thread clearly demonstrate.
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  61

  Who Is The Greatest Sports Hero of All Time???

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my answer: muhammed ali.

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  teejay

  Dang, Double Edge!! Mr. Thorpe did all that?
  
  I may have to reconsider....
  
  
• 
  78

  intolerance

  by teejay in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  generally speaking, are ex-jws as intolerant as jws?

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  teejay

  The reader is lead to believe that it was those "other people" who were "not particularly fond of JWD or, more to the point, it's ownership". You neglect to mention that you were one of the most vocal of that membership in that regard and for a very long time you were publically and scathingly trashing JWD's ownership, several of it's mods and some of it's membership... I don't believe it is unusual for people to be intolerant of that kind of behavior whether they've ever been a JW or not. -- xenawarrior

  Yeah what xenawarrior said! Then there are those who have selective memory...... Teejay you wanna play by your own set of rules, then call foul -- bikerchic

  Hmmm. xenawarrior and bickerchic speaking with one mind. Wow. Don't believe I've ever seen *that* before!! That said, while I accept your position that y'all feel it's sometimes acceptable to be intolerant, it appears that you two ladies (entirely, woefully, pitifully) missed the essential point of what we're talking about. Allow me to break it down for you.
  
  While it's true that I was once one of Simon's (not JWD's) greatest detractors, that is really beside the point of this discussion. The point of this discussion is to illustrate that, by and large, a group that I once found camaraderie with have taken upon themselves to denounce me for exercising a freedom to post at a place they once posted but now despise. Can you not see how that is analogous to ex-JWs denouncing people (loyal JWs) who in many ways resemble the person they themselves once were?
  
  I could be wrong (and I doubt xenawarrior will ever be able to fully understand), but weren't you bikerchic once like me ? a loyal JW? How hypocritical, not to mention judgmental and intolerant, it would be if you or I now ridiculed a loyal JW who happened upon JWD. Don't you think so?
  
  While we might despise the particulars of what they believe, wouldn't/shouldn't we at least understand their mindset... even empathize with them, understanding perhaps better than most why the JW believes, speaks, and acts as they do?
  
  That's what we're speaking of here. Not so much what or where something is said, but an understanding and, more importantly, an ACCEPTANCE of why it's said.
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  7

  Never mind WMD ... Halliburton can't find their own stuff !

  by Simon in

  1. social
  2. current

  .

  i can't believe that the us people put up with this pantomime!.

  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6590045/.

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  teejay

  I can't believe that the US people put up with this pantomime!

  I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm open to suggestions as to what you think we can do about it.
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  61

  Who Is The Greatest Sports Hero of All Time???

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my answer: muhammed ali.

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  teejay

  Why *was* he your pick?
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  61

  Who Is The Greatest Sports Hero of All Time???

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my answer: muhammed ali.

  1. 
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  teejay

  Hate to be the one to say this, but a working definition of "greatest pro athlete" is in order.
  
  Yes... Lance Armstrong is arguably the greatest biker who ever lived. Babe Ruth or Ted Williams are arguably the greatest baseball players (although most sports/baseball people today will disagree with you and provide stats to back up their claim). Football? Take your pick from half a dozen. Tennis? Same with football ? more than one lay claim to greatest ever. Ditto basketball and hockey.
  
  Within their particular sport, these people excelled above all others. But did they excel BEYOND THEIR SPORT? I say no. Like no other, Muhammed Ali did. He took on the greatest entity ever known to humanity ? the government of the United States ? and won. He lifted an entire sub-culture of people all over the world, becoming a giant for social change and cultural/racial pride. No other athlete of the modern era accomplished what Ali did inside and outside of his sport. Not even close.
• 
  61

  Who Is The Greatest Sports Hero of All Time???

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my answer: muhammed ali.

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  teejay

  Ali. Hands down.
• 
  78

  intolerance

  by teejay in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  generally speaking, are ex-jws as intolerant as jws?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  teejay

  The reason I ask, for one, is that I post on another board whose membership is, shall I say, not particularly fond of JWD or, more to the point, it's ownership. After a period of exile, I stated my intention of returning here. The membership, even some who mostly lurked, came out of the woodwork to let their ire for me become fully known. Why should it matter to anyone where I post?
  
  Also here on JWD... there have been times when loyal JWs arrived and have not been treated kindly. Christians who show up don't appear to be held in high regard, either. Seems to me that, more than anyone, ex-JWs should understand and empathize with JWs. And if someone wants to believe, what difference does that make to the non-believer? Who is the Christian harming?
  
  Why can't people just live and let live? As someone said recently,

  It's amazing to me how you can leave a cult of judgemental people, be shunned and looked down upon and not learn a lesson from it.

  That's something I will never, ever, EVER figure out.