Posts by DJS

75

Have we become what we despise so much?

by Tenacious in

the majority of members who tend to join this forum have been hurt possibly even traumatized sometimes to the point of wanting to end their lives.

upon joining the forum, new members are welcomed with open arms, welcome messages start pouring in, "likes" are freely given, a false sense of security is promoted where a member is free to speak his mind without having to worry about the wt gestapo.

again, similar to how potential converts are welcomed and "love bombed" upon entering a kh for the first time.

DJS

Sowhatnow,

I am your biggest fan. We all learn from one another; the smart ones amongst us learn quietly and silently. And from others' mistakes.

Before coming on this site, I learned valuable lessons from what had trapped me in the Dark Tower. Teaching at two colleges helped solidify that; say something biased or not supported in class and you will hear about it immediately from students and perhaps later from administration. I exhausted gallons of red ink on students' papers that were replete with opinions, certititudes and definitive statements which were unsupported by empirical data. The problem is widespread.

Very shortly after joining this wonderful site (thank you Simon), I learned another valuable lesson; don't tug on Cofty's cape.

75

Have we become what we despise so much?

by Tenacious in

the majority of members who tend to join this forum have been hurt possibly even traumatized sometimes to the point of wanting to end their lives.

upon joining the forum, new members are welcomed with open arms, welcome messages start pouring in, "likes" are freely given, a false sense of security is promoted where a member is free to speak his mind without having to worry about the wt gestapo.

again, similar to how potential converts are welcomed and "love bombed" upon entering a kh for the first time.

DJS

Tenacious,

This is an example of a specious OP; it sounds good on the surface but when analyzed it doesn't hold up. First of all, the walking wounded (and we were all like that) ARE treated with amazing kindness and deference when they arrive and for as long as they show they need such tenderness.

I have not seen anyone do otherwise. That is far different than someone who begins either preaching and proselytizing to us or who attempts to influence everyone with their hysterical, emotional, erroneous or delusional opinions over matters they typically know absolutely nothing about, other than what they have read on their biased sites or have heard from their cherished former playboy bunny (I'm not knocking that as I used to work for them, protecting people such as Ms. Mcarthy) or talking FoxNews head.

There shouldn't be ANY place for that on this site; it is what we escaped from. Everyone of us should respect debating protocols, the topic, ourselves, the other posters and foremost the lurkers amongst us to make sure we do not intentionally and narcissistically or egotistically spread our personal infection.

Respectfully present such biased views as your opinion, one open for discussion and alternate views. That is the appropriate thing to do. Otherwise, you get what you deserve.

75

Have we become what we despise so much?

by Tenacious in

the majority of members who tend to join this forum have been hurt possibly even traumatized sometimes to the point of wanting to end their lives.

upon joining the forum, new members are welcomed with open arms, welcome messages start pouring in, "likes" are freely given, a false sense of security is promoted where a member is free to speak his mind without having to worry about the wt gestapo.

again, similar to how potential converts are welcomed and "love bombed" upon entering a kh for the first time.

DJS

Ditto to SecretSlaveClass,

We were trapped in the Dark Tower in large part due to the confirmationally biased nonsense we swallowed for a long time. All of us should immediately resist such biased nonsense, regardless of the topic, when it is presented as factual evidence and as certitudes or platitudes in definitive statements.

The responsibility is on the one making the OP or the comment to understand that any topic can and should be viewed as a potential debate, wherein there are only two valid tactics: 1. Facts/evidence; and 2. An appropriate analysis/evaluation of the evidence presented.

That's it. Anything else is a debating strategy that is designed to 'win' or influence others while not being based on either facts or correct application of the facts.

There are so many on this site that are literally addicted to their certitudes, platitudes and confirmation bias that I'm surprised they had the intelligence to exit the Dark Tower. Spreading that infection on this site, whether it is about religion, the environment or anything else, should be met with immediate resistance, and we should demand actual facts and evidence from the most empirical sources possible.

And to this point, many of us are tiring of having to do the research and present the data in response to very bad confirmationally biased, emotionally driven crap from those seeking to spread their infections.

51

Your Opinion Pleeease

by thankyou in

jw girl non-jw guy.

tenuous boyfriend-girlfriend relationship.

what is more likely to strengthen a relationship?.

DJS

WireRider,

This OP should have died days ago; all you are doing is confirming to me and the rest of the lurkers that you have made a wonderful nest for me in the middle of your basal ganglia and frontal cortex.

You and thankyou are noobs; both of you arrived within a couple of weeks of each other within the last 3 months, and you both have identical profiles - non-dub males who have a thing for dub girls. You aren't thankyou's friend? Are you thankyou? His gurfriend, girlfriend? Or are you thankyou's alter ego, like Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) to Edward Norton's unnamed character in Fight Club. He hides behind skirts; Tyler fights his battles and is the man he will never be. THAT would be way freaking cool!!!

Regarding my analysis of thankyou's 'In my soul I feel a spiritual obligation. I don't need her love or her warm body. I need to help her. I have unlimited girl friends. It can't be explained with just words here.': (WTF??? I mean really. What. Tha. Fuck: Of course he doesn't NEED her love or another warm girl body; he has an unlimited supply of them already and one more would be, well, it would just be needy. And greedy. Save some warm girl bodies for the rest of us thank you thankyou. The only things missing in this comment are 'or her voluptuous breasts or pouty, cherry red lips because I have, you know, an unlimited number of warm girl bodies who love me already'.

David Koresh likely said something similar to his emasculated male followers shortly before talking them into letting him be the ONLY one to have sex with their wives and daughters.

Thankyou's comments are more suggestive of a Koresh wannabe looking to hone his recruiting skills or another garden variety internet predator than someone desperately seeking Susan. They also are high on the EWWWWW factor.

Thankyou's OP was toast after he made these comments and did not qualify them; I put into words what a lot of others were thinking. Rather than respond/clarify, thankyou resorted to the following:

Ad Hominem - "Sounds like you are lost in a very dark place." Personal attack (The most common debating tactic when one has no counter argument) - Since I didn't agree with thankyou, I'm in a "very dark place" - not just a "dark place" but a "very dark place."

Then this:

Argument from intimidation: "Kate, thank you for being "normal" and "optimistic."" Appeal to moral self-doubt and its reliance on the fear, guilt or ignorance of the victim. It is used in the form of an ultimatum demanding that the victim renounce a given idea without discussion, under threat of being considered morally unworthy. Since I didn't agree with thankyou, I'm not "normal" or "optimistic".

Then this:

Self deprecating humor: a time honored manner to exit with humor and grace while admitting no wrongdoing. Kudos to thank you. My response was 'that's funny', thus allowing him to save face. He/you should have left it alone, but apparently he/you has/have been brooding for several days and it became an obsession. You should have let this end with thankyou's self deprecating humor, because that is where it deserved to die.

See WireRider/thankyou/thankyou's gurlfriend/Tyler Durden/Edward Norton's un-named character, you can learn a lot from me. But you have to let me.

51

Your Opinion Pleeease

by thankyou in

jw girl non-jw guy.

tenuous boyfriend-girlfriend relationship.

what is more likely to strengthen a relationship?.

DJS

WireRider,

Why you chose to bring this back to life is beyond me, but it is nice to know I'm living rent free about 2 inches behind your forehead. There isn't anything in this OP I stated that wasn't 100% accurate, even though I did express it as an opinion which is what thank you was requesting. He didn't just say please, he said pleeease. I obliged.

If you can find something I said that was wrong please point it out. I gave thank you several opportunities to recant/explain. As a matter of fact, when you find something I've said that is wrong in any OP, please let me know and I will fix it. That isn't likely to happen. Ever.

BTW, are you thank you's friend?

I'm one of the few people on this site that can actually help people, but you have to let me. One last point, WireRider, I am an admitted wise ass. Do some research.

22

God Made Eve From Adam’s Penis, Not His Rib, Academic Claims

by OrphanCrow in

there are days that i drop to the ground and kiss the earth in gratitude that i was born a woman.

at least women didn't have anything to do with writing the bibble.

and women don't come up with this nonsense.

DJS

So girls were made from a penis, huh? So that's why you can't get girls to respond or get anything out of them unless you pay attention to them, kiss on them and stroke them.

I think the prof is on to something.

21

10 Years On...

by done4good in

jw
friends

just a note that 10 years ago, (christmas day, 2005), was my last time inside a kh.

a lot has taken place for the better in those 10 years:.

1. met the love of my life and happily married for 9 years, two days ago.. 2. completed a master's degree.. 3. work at senior management level in the it field.. 4. have a savings and retirement, and no debt outside of a mortgage and 1 car loan.. 5. lots of travel to several places that i never would have done as a jw.. 6. contribute to what i believe are meaningful causes.. 7. read, think, and meditate for myself.. 8. have a great extended family i inherited from my wife.. 9. lots of other great stuff, too much to list.. none of this is intended to be boastful.

DJS

Done4good/Jason,

I'm with Magnum; I selfishly want you to stick around. We need as many intelligent, educated, rational voices as possible. Otherwise the zombies will take over!!!! LOL.

You are one of the best on this site. Don't feel like you are bragging. We are all proud of you and your accomplishments. We all need to see what others have accomplished to fuel our post-dub engines that all things are possible.

I did things a bit differently than you. I left before '95 and didn't join any ex-dub site until 2 years ago.

Onward and upward!!! Happy New Year Jason.

45

The story of my exit

by mrsObfuscate in

i have been lurking here for about 6 months, and being the last day of the year, and ready to start the new one afresh, i want to share the story of our exit from the org.

i have found the personal experiences of others of immeasurable value, (and its been a while since a good exit story has been posted) that i hope this can be of benefit to at least someone.. .

my mother became a jehovahs witness when i was about 9 or 10. i remember initially hating all of the new sanctions put on our lives (no birthdays and christmas anymore) but for some reason i soon after joined her in attending the meetings and eventually got baptized at the age of 14. my staunch catholic father converted a couple of years later.

DJS

MrsObfuscate,

Your story resonates with us all. You've captured the true essence of the cult you have left behind. It is not a loving, supporting place to be; it eats its own and destroys individuals and families, caring not for the individual nor the individual family. Worship of the Dark Lords is the only thing that is honored.

Welcome to the rest of your life. The only thing I would suggest is to send your and Obfuscate's stories to the ARC. We can provide the email if you need it. Your story is poignant and powerful. Thank you.

15

Bill Cosby charged with sexual assault

by freddo in

jw
friends

news just released in the uk on the bbc news website.

DJS

NN,

I found your 'list' on Sean Hannity's website. Hannity is a renowned right wing Clinton hater. That explains your slant but it doesn't explain your lack of real research.

Of the 9, one was adjudicated (Jones) in Clinton's favor; he did pay her to drop it, but he won the case. One was recanted (Ward Gracen), who states that she did have a consensual one night relationship with Clinton. One was investigated (Willey) by an independent counsel who found no wrong doing. Four of the others were either Bill making sexual overtures that were not accepted or grabbing their butts or boobs. Or showing his willie (once).

That leaves two that have any smoke, other than Bill being a boorish womanizer and occasional grabber of butts and willie shower. Clinton had a lot of outside the marriage consensual trysts, including Monica Lewensky. Bad form indeed, but not in the same category as the Cos, who has been accused of drugging and raping 40 - 50 women.

What we can say about Bill is that the legal process was employed in several cases; when it was, there wasn't evidence that he did anything wrong other than betraying Hillary (the talk on the street is that they both like girls and Hillary has had as much freedom to play as Bill). Is he guilty of raping the other two? I do not know, but I wish they had had their day in court so we would know.

15

Bill Cosby charged with sexual assault

by freddo in

jw
friends

news just released in the uk on the bbc news website.

DJS

Rat-Again,

Long time no smell!!! Glad to have you back, you lovable, right wing fundie you!!!