scratchme1010

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Posts by scratchme1010

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  5

  Leaving My Religion

  by compound complex in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a cool sense of tranquility calms my troubled spirit.. i emerge slowly from deeply entrenched nightmares and proceed into gentle reverie, into quiet wakefulness.

  youthful ideals, embodied in vaporous form on the street below, are a black reminiscence.

  they are certain to return as a want, an untold want, having neither name nor substance but providing a niggling dig that skewers my soul.

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  scratchme1010

  Very nice.
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  9

  What exactly is an Apostafest?

  by Whynot in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i read a few threads on apostafests but i don't really understand what they are or what happens.

  are they family friendly?

  is it a party or support group meet-up?.

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  scratchme1010

  Are they family friendly? Is it a party or support group meet-up?
  

  for some reason this post made me smile. Apostates are not an organization, and they don't have a given set of rules that they follow in their gatherings. If you ask me, and apostafest is a social get together organized by former JWs. That's as far as I dare going. I don't think that there are two apostafestes that are identical. At least thet two I've been to are completely different in terms of the event, the people, and the level of family friendliness.
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  17

  Witness No More - any thoughts?

  by dozy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those who don't know , there is an ex-jw "activist" in the north of england called mark who demonstrates outside kingdom halls , focusing on the child abuse issue and similar topics.

  he regularly updates his visits on his youtube channel , which has gained something of a cult following .

  occasionally ( albeit less frequently , as he is now well known ) he gets into the kh & shouts and disrupts the meeting.

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  scratchme1010

  Do people have any opinions on the efficacy of this kind of activism and what increasingly is the monetisation of ex-JW activities , which seem to have created something of an industry all of its own .
  

  As far as I know, there isn't much research or studies about if/what activism strategies work or doesn't work efficiently. As the long-term, experienced activist that I am, however, I can speak based on my own experience and the ones that I have followed.

  First, there are many people who are more into disorderly conduct and attention seeking than activism. Sometimes activism gets a bad rap because of the many so-called activists that are full of nonsense and all they want is attention or create chaos.

  To me, my personal rule of activism is very simple: what do I want to accomplish with it? Activism is about bringing positive change, for the benefit of some kind of oppressed class. By "benefit" I can mean awareness, education, actions, reform, or any kind of change.

  Activism is not just showing up somewhere and creating some kind of chaos or looking for negative ways of getting attention. There is planning, logistics, and most importantly, strategy as to what is the right way, the right message, and the right people to bother.

  When it comes to the level of aggressiveness, it is something that should not be taken lightly. When it comes to a collective, I also look at the real, personal reasons for others to get involved. Many times I find a rather large number of people who just want to march, yell and get attention, and sometimes can't even articulate what they are fighting for.

  When it comes to consistency and sustainability, that's where you really see the efficacy and level of commitment of the activist(s). Real activism is not about just the "demonstration". There is a lot of follow up, dialog to start, negotiating to do, campaigns to start, that is, if there is real commitment to change, which is what real activism is about.

  So, to answer your inquiry, in my educated opinion, what needs to be followed is how was that planned, where do the activist(s) come from in terms of why are they doing that, how did they decided that what they are doing is the best strategy, but most importantly is what happens after. What do they aim to do? What do they want the JWs or the WT to do or know? Even if it's just making the point that the WT is covering up for sexual abuse of children, and they want people to know, that's a great thing. But then what?

  The answers to those questions can give you a clue of the kind of real or fake activism that it can be, as well as how effective it is/can be (or even if being effective is what those people are really aiming for).
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  8

  GDPR Day

  by Phoebe in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  so, it's may 25th - gdpr day.

  has anyone had a last minute visit from the elders?.

  i've been out shopping and i have come home to find a note pushed through the door saying two elders and one elder's wife had called by.. why would two elders + wife come to see me?

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  scratchme1010

  Why would two elders + wife come to see me?
  

  That's their idea of them making you feel at ease.
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  24

  How to stop school violence

  by Jayk in

  1. social
  2. humour

  ban school:).

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  scratchme1010

  What a distasteful subject for a joke.
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  7

  School Shooting in Indiana Middle School 5/25/18

  by humbled in

  1. social
  2. current

  they are still burying the children in santa fe, texas.

  and it happened again today in indiana.

  no one killed but some injured.

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  scratchme1010

  My most sincere condolences to the victims's loved ones.
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  24

  EXJW Tattoo

  by blownaway in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  if anyone has any ideas or pictures of a tattoo that would sum up being an ex jw please share.

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  scratchme1010

  Nothing. Just move on.
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  10

  The glass prison

  by Normalfulla in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  cognitive dissonance.

  a term i came to learn about after waking up as i'm sure many of us here did.

  i was thinking of how this condition is similar to the proverbial glass prison, how jw are unknowingly confined by the walls of their belief while observing life around them but are truly captives to a concept as ray put it.. .

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  scratchme1010

  "There's no walls here see I'm free!" So says the captive from inside their glass prison
  

  A sad reality of way too many people.
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  9

  meet ups or support ?

  by lonliwon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my wife and i have been long time lurkers here and are now members .

  we were wondering if anyone is aware of any groups or individuals that meet periodically within ( or a short drive from ) connecticut ?

  we aren't looking to bash the past ... just to connect with others who understand and move on .

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  scratchme1010

  I was going to mention NYC too. There are always one or two popping up every now and then.
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  4

  The Brain May Be Able To Repair Itself With Help

  by Brokeback Watchtower in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i think we are going to see some very good advancements in the medical field in dealing with brain trauma.

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  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d6oq0zggmw.

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  scratchme1010

  Thanks. Now that I work in the medical industry, I have come to appreciate these advancements. The amount of research and work behind understanding neuroscience is incredible.