Posts by Journeyman

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

Journeyman

And I thought that he was focusing on convention videos??? Why is he doing all these little caller videos and interviews?? Pretty sure he still hasn't talked about the new documentary or anything else relevant.

I don't watch his material any more, but I know if I did I'd be increasingly irritated by his obsession with all these so-called "sushi" clips and voicemail responses.

I know it's relatively quiet in JW-land right now since the last major story around the departure of Anthony Morris, but there are still some bigger stories which he has either not covered at all or has been very late to address. His reaction to events in the JW world lately has been very lacklustre, and that's in part because he's lost the contacts he used to have and also, as others have noted, he's clearly lost interest and is just going through the motions now despite his claims that this is his livelihood and he is committed to his "work".

55

"Independent" Scotland joke!

by BoogerMan in

humza yousaf, scotland's first minister, said: "scotland, i'm afraid, is suffering because we are not independent.

" https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-66012834.

try telling that to scotland's tourists and many island communities: the ferry services are dying month by month, and the two new overdue & over-budget ferries justify a serious legal/criminal enquiry.. any bunch of incompetents who can't provide a small country with a ferry service and a legally binding contract to build 2 new boats - having controlled scotland since 2007 - has no credibility in claiming they could run a country!.

Journeyman

I know how one has to be careful of slippery slope arguments, but i'm gonna make one

That's my concern about the obsession with devolution too.

Here in the UK, for example, we've already had hints in that direction with some in Cornwall, London and even Yorkshire suggesting that their respective regions could or should become 'independent' of the UK in some form or other. I think it's madness.

Cornish nationalism (Mebyon Kernow) does at least have some basis in ancient cultural and territorial differences, but in general I still think these secessionist movements are unhelpful at best.

103

I'm now turned off by this site

by purrpurr in

jw
friends

in one form or another i've been a member of this site for almost 10 years.

in the past this was a great place for debate, news and support for ex jws.

i logged on several times a day and posted several times a week.

Journeyman

I remember reading all those discussions very well.

Ugh. Sounds like a nightmare. Glad I wasn't around here back then.

The worst we seem to get at the moment are some COVID-conspiracy obsessives (who drop the subject into any thread whatever the original topic) and the occasional flare-up of Trump/Republican vs Biden/Democrat bickering, and those are bad enough. Sadly, I suppose as we get closer to the 2024 US election, the opportunities for lengthy boring on about those issues will increase.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

Journeyman

Where I do agree with him is that aggressive activism (crashing Halls during meetings, for example) is counterproductive and supports the persecution narrative. But that's hardly an opinion exclusive to him. Likewise with opposing the kind of extreme clampdowns on JWs (or any other religious organisations) that countries like Russia apply.

He tries to create a narrative that only he has the most sensible or reasonable view in the room, when in fact plenty of others are against the more militant forms of action against groups like Watch Tower. He was hardly bringing a new or radical approach.

14

Facts or Biasedness?

by Ardian in

the watchtower and awake have been listed as the most popular magazines.the figures are astonishing.

i am not sure whether it is based on reality or not.. source: https://tingtopten.com/2020/01/top-10-most-popular-magazines-in-the-world/.

i have seen the link on many social media networks.

Journeyman

That list seems to conflate "popular" with "most circulated". As some people in the comments on that page have pointed out, the two things are not comparable, and also the WT and Awake are distributed without charge, while the others are actually paid for.

There are three possible measures:

Most widely circulated magazine
Most widely read magazine
Most popular magazine

Of those, I would imagine that WT and Awake might top the first list, but it's unlikely they top the other two.

How do you define a "popular" magazine, if not by sales? Because the reader has not had to part with any of their own money to get it, a free newspaper or magazine may be widely distributed, but may just end up in the bin after a cursory glance. In the UK, we have a free newspaper called Metro which is distributed at bus and railway stations. It's common to see copies all over the seats and floors of trains and buses throughout the day, after commuters just pick one up in the morning, skim it on the way to work, then dump it when they reach their destination. Can it be said that it is "popular"? Perhaps. Or perhaps it's just convenient because it's free and widely distributed.

55

"Independent" Scotland joke!

by BoogerMan in

humza yousaf, scotland's first minister, said: "scotland, i'm afraid, is suffering because we are not independent.

" https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-66012834.

try telling that to scotland's tourists and many island communities: the ferry services are dying month by month, and the two new overdue & over-budget ferries justify a serious legal/criminal enquiry.. any bunch of incompetents who can't provide a small country with a ferry service and a legally binding contract to build 2 new boats - having controlled scotland since 2007 - has no credibility in claiming they could run a country!.

Journeyman

I see the SNP's wunderkind Mhairi Black is abandoning the sinking ship too now.

She claims it's because of the "toxic environment" of politics at Westminster, but it's just as likely that after the departure of the old guard of the SNP (Sturgeon, Blackford, etc) she sees the writing on the wall and doesn't want to stick around to face the music from the electorate.

To be honest, if I were in her shoes I wouldn't want to stay with Yousaf in charge. I find him a pretty uninspiring party leader (along with all the rest too, these days!)

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/jul/04/mhairi-black-snp-mp-to-step-down-next-general-election

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

Journeyman

Are the end of month numbers we see every month just a report of the number of contributors he has at that point in time? Or can we see the additions and subtractions?

AFAIK, there is no way for someone who is not the account holder to see any breakdown of patrons, but I'm not familiar with how the site works as I've never been a member. Someone else may know better.

His low point so far was 387 patrons, a number he fell to twice within four months (Jan-Apr this year).

I think we can assume that the vast majority of his increase since then is from new patrons, although it's impossible to know how many of those are people who had previously been following him on YouTube but had not signed up, versus those who are totally new to his channel. At the current number (today down to 503) that means 116 of his patrons are newer signups (since April this year).

Those 116 at least are probably quite volatile as they may feel at any time they are no longer willing or able to give money to support what he is doing. Even those who have been following him for some time but paying nothing may decide to withdraw financial support if they feel it's not worth it or they can no longer afford to do so. Several who began paying him after his begging video said their financial situation was difficult but they were persuaded by his pleadings to contribute.

14

Observation

by pontoon in

haven't been to a meeting in 13 years.

family that lives 1300 miles away doesn't know.

just visited them and here is what i observed.

Journeyman

I agree with the OP.

A lot of the chatter, if it is about anything to do with the religion rather than the people, is about the 'original songs' (ugh), what a good meeting or Watchtower article the last one was (usually said immediately after the meeting, regardless of what the content was) or how encouraging the last JW broadcast was. It's quite telling how often someone says how great a meeting or talk was but then admits they can't remember the detail, or if pressed, is unable to give a specific example of something "upbuilding" from it.

Fortunately, even discussions of the broadcasts seems to be dying out. It was a real nightmare when they first introduced the JW ~~televangelist~~ Broadcasting channel because every month with each new episode, most of the congregation would go crazy with asking each other "have you seen the latest broadcast? So encouraging. What was your favourite part? What did you think of..." and wanting to share their thoughts on whatever was said. I haven't heard anything like that since the return to face-to-face meetings after the COVID lockdown.

The other main topic is along the lines of "the end can't be far off now because things are so bad/everyone is struggling so much/the news is so horrible" etc.

In contrast to what smiddy said (and what I remember), very little time now is spent talking about actual scriptures in depth, or details of the lives of Bible characters like Paul, Jesus or whoever.

6

NOBODY can get Holy Spirit - except via the G.B.....

by BoogerMan in

...according to bro.

tony evans, district overseer, @ the voyager school assembly, peterborough, uk 10-2-13:.

"jehovah does not give holy spirit, apart from the scriptures.

Journeyman

I live within easy walking distance of the Voyager. (Bloody stupid name).

Sounds like it was going to be shot into space (and probably a lot of locals thought it should be!)

I hate poncey names like that but sadly it seems they're getting more common for what are basically bog standard primary and comprehensive schools (oh sorry, they're mostly called 'academies' now aren't they ).

93

Regional Convention Attendance

by XBEHERE in

jw
friends

elder friend of mine texted me asking what my rc attendance was 2 weeks ago (family and i streamed it since wife is not well).

he told me that his rc in the jersey city assembly hall last weekend was low.

co told them that around 2600 were the total from 16+ congs that were assigned.

Journeyman

Not long ago, WTC "reassigned" some seasoned Convention Dept personnel.

Ah yes, I'd forgotten that. I knew some here in the UK who were heavily involved with the old Twickenham conventions for years, being in the "control room" for the duration of events, but they were all suddenly replaced one year. Likewise with the attendant security teams who used to watch the entrances for interlopers and activist 'apostates'.

Again, I think that started with the reorganisation of things after the 2014 international convention. After that, London Bethel stopped using Twickenham rugby stadium and switched to the Excel conference centre, and then a couple of years later brought in completely new convention management personnel from the new Chelmsford complex, I believe. One elder and attendant captain I know was quite upset to be suddenly dropped after many years. Understandable he felt overlooked, but rather sad that that had become a defining role in his life though. He should've known better than to expect any kind of loyalty from the WT hierarchy!