Posts by Odrade

Blondie, thanks for bringing this here. It just goes to show the WT will even brainwash the love right out of a mother's heart. I can't believe none of those good Dubs even made a comment about this one:

Thankfully, she moved up to Seattle several years ago so I don't have to see her.
Do I still love her? I try not to and try not to think about it,

AND, I'm so glad that I'm not the only one here that picked up on that one as a disgusting example of this. It's too bad this thread had to come here to this DB before anyone had the sense to see the hypocrisy. They're all so proud of themselves for their "conditions."

17

Quote from new "Great Teacher" book...

by razorMind in

jw
friends

i read with great interest the scanned pages that were shown on the other thread.

i really want to get a copy of this book for myself.

here's a direct quote from the chapter about satan and his deeeminz:

Odrade

page #? I can't find it.

61

What does your online handle mean?

by iiz2cool in

jw
friends

a few of us use our real names as our handles, but most of us use something else, such as a nickname or a variation of our real name.

iiz2cool - it was not my nickname (i really don't think i'm all that cool), but that of an old friend named mike prezelj.

i won't go into how he got the name, but it happened when we were all very high, and you had to be there to understand.

Odrade

Odrade, a "reverend mother" character from the Dune series. The ultimate science fiction story of how religion can be used to manipulate the masses. Odrade doubts, retains her sense of humor, and works to foster "creativity--" Herbert's word for independent thinking.

Odrade

23

What Was The Nicest / Worst Thing That's Happened To You as a JW?

by minimus in

jw
friends

for me, (at the time), being appointed at the age of 24 was my biggest happiness.....the worst thing was leaving my first congregation because certain people wanted me out.......were there any particular highs and lows that you will never forget about being a witness?

Odrade

nicest? well, there were several nice things. One springs to mind: The moving out party some sisters had for me when I left home for my first apartment. I got beautiful towels, kitchen stuff. Bags of food staples, cute decoratey stuff. It was so unexpected, and better than a bridal shower. I love those sisters still.

worst? when one of my best friends got drove out by all the disapproving Bastards, even though she hadn't yet done anything "wrong," she was just different. Later she was disfellowshipped. She respected the shunning, and never contacted me again. But I found her now! Yay! I just get so mad at all the years we lost.

another worst? all of the bad decisions I made in rebellion over my parents disapproval--as in, "you're not doing enough for Jehovah." Translation: you're bad. I felt like "I'm bad already and haven't even done anything wrong. Okay, I'll show you bad..." I was very lucky more of those bad decisions didn't come back to roost years later.

68

Who's To Blame For The Child Abuse Problem?

by Englishman in

just trying to get my head around this one.

with the jailing last week of a london dub paedophile, i was wondering: .

is it the religion itself that gives these perverts the feeling that they are invincible and immune from punishment when they commit these acts?

Odrade

Roarer makes an interesting point that I have NEVER thought about. In one congregation I was in, more than 70% of the congregation was related to each other by either blood or marriage. Another congregation was nearly 50% related. Add to that large families that are spread all over the circuit... adds a totally new dimension to the desire to keep offenses secret. It would go far beyond congregation image, and now it encompasses familial pride and honor.

So much has been written secularly about the dynamics in the family of a molester. The secrecy is often very easy to enforce, particularly if the victim "loves" the abuser. If it even made it to the BOE, think what happens if one of the elders is a brother, cousin or nephew to the offender. Verrry interesting.

68

Who's To Blame For The Child Abuse Problem?

by Englishman in

just trying to get my head around this one.

with the jailing last week of a london dub paedophile, i was wondering: .

is it the religion itself that gives these perverts the feeling that they are invincible and immune from punishment when they commit these acts?

Odrade

"Close knit socially" and a "closed society" are two different things, whether speaking of a family, a congregation, or a country. They may overlap, as there are close knit social clicks in the WT.....but the WT itself is a closed society - and one can't leave openly without punishment.

I think this goes to the heart of the problem, again with trying to protect that "clean image" from being sullied if outsiders knew. The really terrible thing is when a mother takes steps to protect her child and other children--maybe by warning another mother. If the elders decide to take ecclesiatical privilege, it's likely that the whistle-blower receives MORE punishment than the abuser. There are several parents on this board who are df'd or da'd because of circumstance directly created from the steps they took to protect their children from further harm. It's really surprising there's not EVEN MORE RAGE than there is about this issue.

And can I say, this thread has been a very good one. For such a hot button issue, I think we've all been remarkably calm (no flames), and articulate. I've gathered some entirely new perspectives that are very eye-opening.

Odrade

97

My wifes and I meeting with two elders. Their true colors shine through

by Winston Smith :>D in

i thought id give you an update re whats going on.

my qing the wts of recent has been very hard on my wife.

if i could, i would change my timing of doing so, but its just the way it has happened.

Odrade

How is your wife these days? It's been about 2-3 weeks since this meeting, hasn't it? I hope her counsellor is wiser than these two stooges at the KH. Are you going to counselling too? Exiting in the midst of clinical and emotional problems could be hard at best. Maybe a couple of sessions for you individually with her counsellor could help you protect her from the elders and the cult mind-control with a few less bumps in the road. Just an idea, and I'm sure you've thought of it already. I'll be thinking of you and your wife as this unfolds.

Odrade