I agree. It seems to me that here in the U.S., rather than being interested in what progress is being made, reporters are more interested in finding someone to blame and point a finger at and in badgering the President or others into saying something that they can sensationalize.
Pete Zahut
JoinedPosts by Pete Zahut
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32
Differences between UK and US Corona Virus TV Updates
by ThomasCovenant ini'm in the uk, and most days over the last 2 weeks i've watched the 5pm uk government update on the corona virus situation which includes questions from the media.
generally speaking i've found the whole update, including the questions and answers, to be respectful, informative and non combative, with, to the best of my recollection, very little mention of politics and blame.
certainly no political point scoring.
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STIR CRAZY please help me covid-19 with religious family
by Wagurl inhi need some help with the teachings regarding the 4type horsemen and the virus.
i'm 17 going to be 18 in six months.
i am a running start student and trying to find the best way to move out after i graduate next year to continue.
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Pete Zahut
It's very hard to know where you stand when you've grown up as a JW because on one hand you can see the holes in their beliefs and on the other, there's a nagging "what if they're right" feeling in the pit of your stomach whenever something noteworthy (negative) is going on in the world.
There are two things coming into play here "Confirmation Bias" and "Frequency Illusion/Baader-Meinhoff phenomenon" :
Confirmation bias:The tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of ones existing beliefs/theories. (beliefs you learned from JW's)
Example: In 1957 when the first satellite was launched into space, JW's said it confirmed the Bible's end time prediction that there'd be fearful signs from the heavens in the last days. Every year before and since then, there have been world events that could be interpreted as the end and every JW has shaken in his/her boots when they've occurred.
Frequency Illusion/Baader-Meinhoff phenomenon: A cognitive bias which describes our tendency to see new information, names, ideas or patterns 'everywhere' after they're brought to our attention.
Rather than seeing earthquakes, hurricanes, diseases, food shortages as isolated incidents, for the past 100+ years, JW's have been on the lookout for signs and have shoehorned every unfavorable global occurrence into being signs of the time of the end. They even view normalcy or favorable occurrences (peace and security) as a sign of the end. If mankind accomplishes something good, they say it's because Satan is trying to mislead them into thinking they don't need God.
My advice:
Do your best to abide by the rules of the house and be as pleasant as possible. Your family undoubtedly loves you and has your best interest at heart.
Say one more prayer and tell God that you are willing to do whatever it is he wants you to do but ask him to make it clear to you that he exists and what it is he want from you. Then leave it in his hands.
Go about your life being the most decent upright noblest, healthiest and prettiest person you can be. Don't make the mistake of thinking that if you're not a JW, that the rules no longer apply and you now have license to be immoral, dishonest and do as you please. Take care of your health, improve yourself, learn new things, do good for others, be honest and do the right thing no matter what. Stay fresh and young for as long as you can. Your life doesn't have to become a train wreck if you choose not to be a JW and it doesn't have to be miserable if you stay. Many JW's find a way to make things work for them. It's only a religion and you can choose how seriously you take it.
There is no emergency here. Take a wait and see attitude. If there is a God and he does in fact have good things in store for mankind, there's no reason an honest upright and decent person like the one you're striving to be, shouldn't be a part of it too. Just don't let this situation make you sneaky and dishonest or bitter. You'll end up not liking yourself and your opinion of you is the most important opinion of all.
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Need help - How do you determine whether to show a JW the truth or not?
by AlainAlam inhow do you determine whether to show a jw the truth or not?.
now some of you still believe in the bible.
to you the answer would be obvious - we preach to anyone as much as possible.
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Pete Zahut
On some level, people want to be lied to...they want to hear what they want to hear and they are quite prepared to punish anyone who (for whatever reason) bursts their happy little bubble.
So....
If someone asks you directly for your advice or input...give it but give it sparingly. Answer only the questions they ask you and nothing more.
If your motive is to prove a point, vindicate yourself personally or to get retribution for the wrongs you suffered....keep your mouth shut. A mind changed by force is a mind unchanged.
If someone is in imminent danger....say something otherwise, it's not your job to save or enlighten the world. That's an old JW notion.
When the student is ready....the teacher will come.
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My Girlfriendās Beautiful Scottish Terrier Died Yesterday š„
by minimus inmia was almost 8 and she was the sweetest dog who was my girlfriendās constant companion.
she had a wonderful disposition and was just a source of joy to everyone who would meet her.. she was brought to the vet on thursday and seemed to have digestive issues.
the vet gave her medicine and said it would make her sleepy.
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Pete Zahut
Yes...loosing our furry tail waggin' friends is definitely rough. It's enough to make you swear off having another pet. Time will be a friend to you in all of this however. Hang in there for now.
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Unbelievable!
by The Fall Guy inyou gotta listen to the first 60 seconds of the special talk drivel.. you'll immediately see why i've put this under jokes & humour.
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https://www.jw.org/en/library/videos/#en/mediaitems/vodspecialtalk2020/pub-sp-tk20r_1_video.
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Pete Zahut
I couldn't stand the affected look of deep concern on his face and the condescending tone of his voice for more than 30 seconds. Even in that short length of time it was glaringly obvious that everything he was saying about non JW leaders could have easily been applied to JW leaders.
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Do you have any evidence that the GB had bad intent?
by AlainAlam indo you have any evidence that the gb had bad intent?
as opposed to blind faith/cognitive dissonance and honest mistakes.. i'm inclined to think they have the best of intentions and are just wrong (primarily because the bible is wrong), but i'm willing to consider the evidence otherwise..
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Pete Zahut
I think they may have started out with good intentions (like the rest of us) but as we've seen by the way they weaseled out of their failed 1914 prophecy by replacing it with their ridiculous "overlapping generations" explanation. Rather than owning their mistakes, they are masters at tweaking reality so that it fits their own narrative.
Millions of us former JW's have had to face the music and rethink our whole lives once we realized that we were part of a hoax and were participating in a group delusion.
These folks, are willing to do whatever it takes to keep the show on the road and their imaginations know no bounds when it comes to rationalizing their beliefs and justifying their actions.
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Covid-19 (Coronavirus) - Status Update Thread
by Simon inthis topic is to focus on status updates & advice (no opinion or politics please).. status.
latest status is that it's serious, probably isn't going to be contained and most large companies are making contingency plans, cancelling large events etc... which i don't think would happen if it was just people being alarmist.
the incubation period means it may have already spread further and infected many more people than are currently known, so expect jumps in the numbers over the coming days and weeks.. tracking.
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Pete Zahut
Social structure is starting to break down. Disregard of traffic laws, burglaries are going up. When the rent really comes due there will be mobs incited by handlers in the background. Police impersonators are out. So much for the gun scenario.
See the "Fear Zone" in the blue chart above.
There is a need to stop spreading fear and evaluate information before passing it on to others.
I live just outside a large west coast city and apart from the usual knuckle heads, generally people are behaving remarkably well.
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Covid-19 (Coronavirus) - Status Update Thread
by Simon inthis topic is to focus on status updates & advice (no opinion or politics please).. status.
latest status is that it's serious, probably isn't going to be contained and most large companies are making contingency plans, cancelling large events etc... which i don't think would happen if it was just people being alarmist.
the incubation period means it may have already spread further and infected many more people than are currently known, so expect jumps in the numbers over the coming days and weeks.. tracking.
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Frederick Franz enjoyed wining and dining in Japan
by yoko N ina japanese sister living in kansai was asked by japan's branch office to take f. franz and his cronies to wining and dining.. her daughter left borg and are now publishing her experiences.. .
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Pete Zahut
The first photos look like they were taken as he passed the "sound booth" on the way up to the podium at an assembly.
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So what are you doing...
by JeffT in...while under house arrest sheltering in place?.
i'm editing a (non jw related) novel i hope to self publish soon.
i may be making an announcement about that in the near future.
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Pete Zahut
I've been finishing up a couple of paintings I started a while back. The first one is my own composition and the second one I copied looking at the label of a wine bottle I had.