truman

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Posts by truman

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  54

  CNN Live

  by Larry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  excellent program!!!!!!!

  the young ladies and bill were great!!!!!!!!!!!!.

  peace - ll

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  truman

  It was amazing to see this piece. I am a bit of a cable news junkie, and graze among the major purveyors of this artform daily. I can't help but think back to only a little more than a year ago when I was still an unawakened witness. What would I have thought had I 'stumbled' across this news interview with Connie Chung exposing such a scandal among JWs? I surely would have felt stricken to the core to view it, and hear these very credible fellow Witnesses telling their horrendous stories. I know there are some in my local cong. who have real concern for such things. I hope they were watching.

  truman
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  36

  CHANGED---NEW POLICY/INVITATION

  by silentlambs in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  as a few may recall watchtower policy has changed when circumstances serves the interest of the governing body in getting rid of someone they want to railroad.

  an example that has been offered involves peter gregerson.

  peter was a personal friend to ray franz, in 1980 peter wrote a letter to the society, saying he wanted no further association with the organization.

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  truman

  This continual redefining, tightening and adding to the rules for disfellowshipping reminds me of the way my husband's job works. He is a locomotive engineer. The railroads have been around about 150 years, only a litle longer than the WTS, and they too have made an art of rulemaking. There is a rule to cover every eventuality and circumstance. And if something should arise which seems to fall outside the current rules, a new rule is immediately drafted. Supposedly all this is done in the name of safety, much as the WTS would say that their actions are for the spiritual safety of the org. But in reality, the effect and purpose of these endless rules is to control the employees, and facilitate the jettisoning of people who are deemed undesireable for one reason ar another, kind of like disfellowshipping. Oddly enought, like DF'ing, at times a 'fired' employee may return for further employment if certain conditions are met.

  Some posters noted that there is a wide latitude in the application of the finer points of the DF policies, and this too is like the railroad rules. They are applied unevenly many times, mostly in relation to getting the job done. However, if the company wants to get rid of you, there is invariably a rule which you have broken and so you can be blamed for whatever went wrong and fired. In fact, it is impossible to make a move, much less do the job efficiently and still follow all the rules, so you are always a potential violator. It is a climate of fear and intimidation, which is designed to reinforce the company power, and keep the underlings off balance and worried about the security of their employment status.

  Of course, at the railroad, we are only talking about a job. In the WTS, it seems to the faithful witness that his very everlasting life is at stake, probably making the whole system work even better. Although in reality, since the WTS is mostly a huge business corp/publishing company, all there is at stake IS a job, and not a very good one at that.

  truman
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  15

  Subliminal Messages In WT Pictures???

  by Sentinel in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  please don't be turned off because this is rather creepy and has "reference" only to the occult.

  because the information was found on a website that i got from a post on this forum.

  i was curious.

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  truman

  I hesitate to make any comments on this subject, lest I end up looking like a crackpot, but this is a favorite subject of mine. In the late 70's, I (a witness at the time)read 2 books on the subject of subliminal imagery in commercial applications. They were called "Media Sexploitation" and "Subliminal Seduction", both by Wilson Bryan Key. They concern highly controversial subject matter, and are utterly fascinating, at least to me. They show how regular and widespread use of subliminal messages is present in much advertising, and they give some explanation for the reason it is used. In using archetypal imagery and subliminal imbedding techniques, the purveyors of such material hope to bypass the perceptual defenses, and reach the subconscious. Somehow if this can be done, it strengthens the impact of the conscious message. It is my belief that the presence of these techniques in the WT is a deliberate use of this psychological technology, with the same aim as those who use it commercially---to influence readers on deeper levels than can be done without these tools.

  This subject was one of the very first things I encountered on the internet about JW's when I first plugged 'jehovah's witnesses' into a search engine a number of years ago. When I saw the examples and went to the actual literature in my home to confirm it, I was deeply shocked and stunned. Unfortunately, I did my best to put that feeling behind me and go on as a faithful witness for several more years, before last year, when I finally woke up from the WT dream world.

  Again, I know this is very controversial, and many view it as bunk, but it does seem to be there over a long period of time in the pages of the WT. There surely must be a better reason than bored artists or practical jokes. Well, that's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it.

  truman
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  2

  In the Year 2525

  by Nathan Natas in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  amazing jim's post on "spirit in the sky" made me recall this one, which came out just as wts "1975 fever" was starting.

  anyone remember it?.

  "in the year 2525 (exordium & terminus)" - zager and evans .

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  truman

  I certainly remember this song. It was one of my favorites. In fact, I have in my possession a vintage 45 RPM record of it. I might just have to fire up the turntable and have a listen to it.

  truman
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  15

  THINGS YOU WISHED TO DO INSTEAD OF GOING TO A MEET

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for many of us, the thought of missing a meeting to do anything else was problematic.

  should i go to that concert (to that group that only comes once every few years on a meeting night) or should i give my talk?

  should i go to both meetings this sunday or should i go on that company picnic?

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  truman

  I was a pretty regular meeting attender, but not so obsessive that I couldn't miss one for what I thought was a legitimate reason, though I resented the relentless pressure to attend. I have always been seriously annoyed by that not-so-subtle technique the witnesses have of wheedling out the info to determine whether or not one's 'excuse' for missing a meeting was acceptable. This being accomplished, as was mentioned, by asking if you were allright or saying they missed you. It is just a technique for mutual spying, oneupmanship in theocratic obedience (I was there, where were you?), and control. Very rarely was it ever a real concern for a person's health. I used to always feel compelled to give some account of why I was missing, but as I gained strength in my deprogramming, I would just say 'thank you' when they tried that. It always put an end to the line of questioning.

  I do have one good story about missing a meeting. A fellow witness and I, both Star Trek fans had non refundable tickets for a live performance of Leonard Nimoy and William shatner talking about their ST experiences. They was bought way in advance, for a Saturday night. No meetings. Well, the CO was visiting, and due to some forgettable circumstance, one of his meetings with the cong. was rescheduled at the last minute for... that very Saturday night of our event. I decided to discuss it with the CO, and 'get permission' so to speak. Pitiful isn't it! Anyway, he was very understanding, and told us to go ahead and go to it, and catch his talk next week at another nearby cong. We went. Had a great time. Never did go to the CO's talk later.

  truman
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  41

  The Privilege of Handling the Microphones

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  one of the most unbelievable privileges that a brother could have was being a microphone handler.

  elders would discuss brothers for hours and see whether or not we would allow them to mow the lawn or handle a mike.

  i always felt that these brothers were doing us a favor but if they didn't get a minimum of 10 hours in per month, they were dog crap and couldn't have any privileges.

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  truman

  Minimus,

  I wish it could be that easy. He is already a ministerial servant, on the way to eldership before too long I imagine. He is also connected to witnesses in his work and residence. He is very deeply entrenched, but is a thinker and a person of integrity, so I can only hope that eventually the abuses he will inevitably be exposed to as an elder, should he become one, will one day open his eyes.

  truman
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  41

  The Privilege of Handling the Microphones

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  one of the most unbelievable privileges that a brother could have was being a microphone handler.

  elders would discuss brothers for hours and see whether or not we would allow them to mow the lawn or handle a mike.

  i always felt that these brothers were doing us a favor but if they didn't get a minimum of 10 hours in per month, they were dog crap and couldn't have any privileges.

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  truman

  This issue was one of the final factors in the exit of my son from the WTS. While he still lived at home, and dutifully tried to be a moderately good witness, mainly to please me at the time, he was the regular operator of the sound console at the local KH. He was about 20 at the time, baptized, and regular in service, and at every meeting. But the trouble was that he did not usually get the requisite 10 hours, although nothing had been said about this being a requirement when he began doing the job. But he began to get 'talked to' about his service time.

  Well, his heart was not in it, so he never raised his hours. And, like me, I think that the very fact that he was being pushed, made him feel more resistant to giving in and doing what was demanded. And a demand it was, because he was threatened with removal if he didn't get his time up. Eventually, after a few months, he was told that he could no longer run the sound system. It was really the last blow to his desire to continue as a witness for whatever reason. Doing the sound system had made him feel at least a little connected to the cong., and useful, but when it was made clear that he was out due to service hours, it was all over.

  At the time, I was still an unAWAKEned witness, and I was distraught at the effect this action had on him. It was completely counterproductive from the perspective of keeping him a witness. I spoke to the elder who had handled the issue, and his viewpoint was that it should encourage my son to work harder if he wanted his 'privilege' back. I said, "Have we got so many young people still in the cong. that we can afford to shove them out the KH door with both hands?" Nobody cared what the effect was on him, at least not beyond lip service concern.

  Now, I see it as a different matter. He is out, and subsequently, I am out. That is a good thing. Funny how your perspective on things can change totally. Unfortunately, I still have one son in fully, but there is always hope.

  truman
• 

  MilkDrop....cool!!!

  by truman in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  it is a winamp plugin program which synchronizes amazingly varied, constantly morphing visualizations with music.

  i saw it for the first time last night, and i thought is was extremely cool.

  it is endlessly watchable.. i was with my xjw son and another xjw who is df'd, so i hope that qualifies this to be at least a little jw related.. ---- http://www.nullsoft.com/free/milkdrop/screenshots.html.

• 

  truman

  Has anyone here seen 'MilkDrop'? It is a winamp plugin program which synchronizes amazingly varied, constantly morphing visualizations with music. I saw it for the first time last night, and I thought is was extremely cool. It is endlessly watchable.

  I was with my xjw son and another xjw who is df'd, so I hope that qualifies this to be at least a little JW related.

  ---- http://www.nullsoft.com/free/milkdrop/screenshots.html

  truman

  Edited by - truman on 24 July 2002 19:15:37
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  13

  MSNBC talking about JWs right now, 3:20 PDT

  by truman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a story about a jw man sueing his dr. over blood transfsion was just announced to be on within a few minutes.

  truman

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  truman

  Dan Abrams had a discussion of the story from South Carolina, of a JW man named Charles Harvey, who had surgery in 1997 for unblocking an artery. He was under the care of Dr. Glen Strickland, who said that although Harvey had signed documents before surgery to refuse blood, Harvery had indicated to him (DR.) that he would consider it.

  After the surgery, Harvey began to hemorrage, and since he was unconscious, the doctor contacted his mother whom Harvey had listed as an emergency contact. She authorized the transfusion.

  Harvery is sueing his doctor for medical malpractice, battery, and breach of contract. One judge dismissed the charges, but apparently another court had decided to let it go forward.

  Dan Abrams thought that these cases would make doctors hesitant to treat witnesses, because they could be required to watch them die untreated. He seemed especially incensed that the man whose life was saved by the doctor's transfusion, would sue him. He asked' "Would he rather be dead?"

  truman
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  13

  MSNBC talking about JWs right now, 3:20 PDT

  by truman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a story about a jw man sueing his dr. over blood transfsion was just announced to be on within a few minutes.

  truman

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  truman

  A story about a JW man sueing his DR. over blood transfsion was just announced to be on within a few minutes

  truman