Pete Zahut

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Posts by Pete Zahut

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  18

  Apostate carts

  by Normalfulla in

  1. social
  2. humour

  so i've recently been travelling about usa and mexico and of course seen the carts parked at tourist spots all over and i had a funny thought ...if somehow we could get a bunch of identical carts together and print up a placard with a few key facts about the real truth with jwfacts logo and just park them right in the same areas ,dress up in our old meeting clothes and stand about with a coffee and look on our phones i wonder what response we would get from anyone ?

  or park them outside assembly's and just stand.off at a distance ...basically the same thing they do to all society !.

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  Pete Zahut

  One could quietly stand by a Literature Cart with a sign like this:

  
  
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  37

  "Hard work never killed anyone," or "I have to give up knitting."

  by compound complex in

  1. social
  2. humour

  greetings, my aging friends:.

  it's not really a funny subject, our getting old and our bodies falling apart.

  sure, as the saying goes, hard work won't kill you, but it can wear out your body.

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  Pete Zahut

  Hard work never killed anyone but nobody's ever died from taking it easy either.
  

  I didn't have time to read any of the previous posts but here's what I know.

  #1 Get medical advice and possibly physical therapy
  

  • Inflammation is not our friend.
  • White blood cells attack inflammation and inflamed joints can become permanently damaged by this.
  • Ibuprofen, acetaminophen, aspirin relieve pain and reduce inflammation
  • Ice reduces inflammation.
  • A combination of ice, and anti inflammatories (used as directed) is very effective in reducing the pain, inflammation and the healing time.
  • Not using the painful joint can sometimes make it worse.
    
  • Don't stop using the inflamed sore joint but use it moderately but only after doing very light stretches (as directed)
    
  • Always do stretches and warm ups even if you're not currently having any joint problems and ice joints when they've been stressed even if they don't currently hurt.
    
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  13

  I have a big nose...

  by The Rebel in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  surprisingly whilst hating being born with this over large nose, women have fallen in love with my nose.

  so with regards to look and charm, what i hated about my physical attributes, many women have found attractive.

  anyway i just wanted to say what we find unattractive about ourselfs, doesn't necessarily mean others do.

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  Pete Zahut

  Anyway i just wanted to say what we find unattractive about ourselfs, doesn't necessarily mean others do. In fact it could be our main asset.
  

  I have dimples in my cheeks and on my chin. Your post reminded me of how my older brother used to tease me merciless about them and convinced me they were something to be embarrassed about. When I was a kid, I thought when someone pointed them out, they were pretending to be nice but were really, making fun of me. When I got older I found out that a lot of girls actually liked them but the idea that they were ugly was firmly implanted in my mind by then.

  Fast forward, I married a girl with a Marie Osmond smile and dimpled cheeks, both of our sons have them, our married son's wife has them and now our adorable little granddaughter has one on each cheek and one on her chin. My brother posted our family photo on his facebook page and made a big deal about all of us being dimpled and admitted that he had always been jealous of mine. It even turns out that people are now going to plastic surgeons to have them installed. Who knew people would pay to have the thing I hated most about myself as a kid ??
  
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  57

  Your opinion is watchtower extremist?

  by poopie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  court gave 4 reasons you agree disagree.

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  Pete Zahut

  Your opinion is Watchtower extremist?
  

  A person who breaks into the homes of others and steals their valuables is a criminal.

  A person who alters the books to syphon money from the corporation they work for is a criminal but his crime is considered a white collar crime.

  Both crimes are punishable by law however if given the choice, most people would prefer to be the victim of a white collar crime than the victim of a crime where physical violence could be involved. Both are crimes none the less and given their choice one would ideally avoid both scenarios.

  JW's are mild mannered in appearance and lifestyle and it's difficult to view them as radical however the often undetectable and far reaching effects of some of their belief based actions are much like the crimes of a white collar criminal. They occur once trust has been granted and they take place over an extended period of time. If one had to choose, they might choose to be the victim of the radical beliefs of a Jehovah's Witness rather than the victim of some radical middle eastern group but with both scenarios, there's suffering involved and there should be measures taken to make it difficult if not impossible for them to happen.
  
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  19

  Why Were the Anabaptists Not Chosen by Jesus in 1919?

  by berrygerry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  wt acknowledges their lack of neutrality during ww1, and previously stated that this was followed by a period of refining.

  however, they were still the one group that far-and-away were the only ones that were practicing first-century christianity the most closely, as well as being the only group trying to do so.. interesting read about the hutterites ( http://www.ubcpress.ca/books/pdf/chapters/courtsandcolonies/chapterone.pdf ).

  , especially this quote about ww1:.

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  Pete Zahut

  Nobody was chosen because nothing significant actually happened in 1919. That date, and the idea of being "chosen" was a JW thing.
  
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  184

  Outcome - Banned in Russia - Final

  by OrphanCrow in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just watched the live feed from the russian court room and followed the updates on the russian exjw forum.. just waiting for confirmation from other sources...but, it looks like the final (and expected) result is:.

  banned.

  which means that the wts property in russia now belongs to the russian state..

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  Pete Zahut

  Random thoughts on this:

  Extremist Group: As X-JW's we are somewhat accustomed to the idea of shunning, not taking blood and speaking against the worldly governments. As distasteful as those things have become to us, we still may not see JW's as an "extremist group" However I can only imagine how bizarre these practices must seem to outsiders and on some level, I can understand why the Russian Government upheld it's decision.

  Letter Writing: Does this verdict mean that Jehovah wasn't able to thwart the Russian government or didn't pay any attention to the millions of prayers and letters beseeching him for help?

  JW spin: I'm guessing the spin on this will be one of "This aint' over till it's over...Jehovah has a plan and will enact it in due time." Many will see the ruling as part of the fulfillment of Bible prophesy about governments turning on religions. The Witnesses would have been giddy with delight if the ruling had been reversed but now they can feel martyred and excited about the end being all the more at hand. Either way, they'll spin this as a reason to rejoice. To me, the lack of impact the letters and prayers had on this issue, only demonstrates that the Governing Body isn't being directed by "Jehovah" or anyone else. If Jehovah has another plan, or if this is part of Bible prophecy, then why did the GB direct 8 million people to pray and write letters in the first place?
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  6

  Watchtower Society Fails In Unconditional Love

  by pale.emperor in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  was watching an episode of the young pope yesterday (really enjoyed the series), at at the end there it dealt with the theme of "unconditional love".

  it made me think of the love i have for people i know.. i looked up the wikipedia intro of unconditional love and it reads:.

  unconditional love is known as affection without any limitations or love without conditions.

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  Pete Zahut

  Is there really such a thing as unconditional Love? Don't we all place unspoken conditions on our friends and family?

  I love my older Brother but if he hurt one of my kids or was generally causing trouble in my life, I'd stop associating with him under the condition that once he changed his ways, he'd be welcome again.

  I understand the JW shunning concept to a point but what I disagree with is the enforcement that takes place in the private lives of individuals at the hand of those representing the Watchtower Society. It's one thing for a congregation to say to an individual, " You've been living a lifestyle that isn't in accord with our beliefs so we're going to stop using you in the meetings and calling on you to comment ". It's another thing to publically make an announcement about that individual and expect everyone he knows and his entire family to cut him out of their lives and punish them as well if they don't choose to.

  If my friends at work found out I was embezzling from the company, I'd likely be fired and they'd not want anything more to do with me. It would be a different case if the company not only fired me but disciplined any of the other employees who still talked to me if they chose to. This likely would be illegal and a person could do something about it. Within the JW congregation, they infringe on the individuals personal rights outside their doors and there's very little or anything a person can do to stop it.
  
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  115

  Could a petition to make shunning illegal work?

  by aboveusonlysky in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we're currently watching leah remini's series about scientology and the main thing she seems to focus on is the shunning policies of the scientology organization which let's face it are very similar to jw procedure.. i was wondering with all that's in the media recently about bullying could a petition be put together to get the goverment to consider making religiously mandated shunning illegal?

  has such a thing been tried before?.

  https://petition.parliament.uk/help says the following - .

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  Pete Zahut

  I think it would be more effective to somehow bring the shunning practices to public light so as to embarrass the organization or at least a lot of it's members, into taking a second look at the practice.

  A documentary style video played on national television that comprised of interviews that tell the background story of the people who are being shunned and the oft times heartbreaking effect it's had on their lives. There are likely millions of former JW's who have been shunned and they all have a story to tell. JW's might become thought of not only those annoying people who knock on your door but the ones that shun their families and friends who speak out or leave.

  It would be really effective if a former JW celebrity were able to conduct the interviews and use his or her celebrity to get it aired.
  
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  43

  How long has it been since you have seen your family?

  by Christian Gutierrez in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  howdy guys!

  so how long has it been since you have seen your jw family or friends?

  or do you even care to have them in your life anymore?

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  Pete Zahut

  My wife and I were able to fade and our family still talks to us but it's a touch and go situation. We have to tiptoe our way around, making sure not to offend their JW sensibilities or the pretense that they have JW sensibilities. They are a loving wonderful family but out of loyalty to the organization, have pulled the plug on many former JW family members for decades. A few have gone to their graves without ever speaking again to people they still really loved and cared about.

  My wife has family members in Bethel that we get together with when they visit and they seem to understand our circumstances and our beef with the organization and the doctrinal changes of late. They've indicated that there are those in Bethel with the same concerns.

  We have family members in their 20's 30's 40's and 50's who've been excluded by the JW family since they were teenagers because they were baptized young but left the organization formally via DA letters rather than fading. Between these family members there are 6 children who have never met their Regular Pioneer grandparents, or their many Cousins , Aunts and Uncles. Including the JW children , there are 20 some cousins who've never met each other even though they live within a 15 minute drive from one another.

  One Elder JW Uncle and his wife have 6 kids and 5 grandchildren. Two of the kids are serving where the need is great but 3 of the kids and 4 of the grandchildren are "out" . They tell people they only have 3 kids and 2 grandchildren. At one family occasion a bunch of the relatives were sitting around and a older Non JW Aunt asked the JW grandparents what the name of their new grandson. It was revealed in the conversation that they didn't know any of their non JW grandchildren's names . This older aunty proceeded to scold them in front of the whole family. It was an awkward but awesome moment.

  As far as JW friends go, as soon as we stopped going to meeting, they disappeared ...our phone stopped ringing. We seen them around once in awhile and they are as nice as ever but there's an invisible but detectable wall. Most seem surprised that we haven't grown horns and our lives haven't become a train wreck. Others have seen us in a store and quickly changed aisles to avoid having to talk. It was laughable.

  As far as I can see, as long as you play the game, JW's are able to rationalize their way around the shunning policy and be ok about it, but if they were asked point blank, they'd agree that anyone who leaves the organization, whether formally or by fading, should not be associated with.
  
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  20

  BUSTED by a GYPSY

  by TerryWalstrom in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  busted by a gypsy__________________how do i know they are gypsy?i had some run-ins in l.a. many years back.

  had they worn a banner it wouldn't have been more obvious.the patriarch wore a special hat with a silver spangled band.i've seen the old gypsy with his cane and his scowl.

  he walks like a king or a panther at prowl.

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  Pete Zahut

  Good grief....it was a table in a coffee shop. I have never seen a table reserved for handicapped only restrooms stalls and parking spaces but never a table. The man was apparently able bodied enough to make the extra effort to walk up to your table and instead of kindly calling the mistake to your attention he chose to bang on it with his cane. You made a mistake but handicapped or not, he was being a jerk. What if he was sitting at that table and someone more disabled than he, such as a quadriplegic in a wheel chair, came into the shop? Would he have gotten up and walked on his two legs over to another table? I'm guessing not.

  We need to be considerate of others and to comply with the ADA laws but people are going to make mistakes and blunders. I'm always puzzled by people who get all moralistic about things like this. It seems to me most of them aren't all that concerned about disabled people, it's more about them getting to feel extra virtuous for a few moments or appearing noble to others by making sure everyone knows they are on the "good" "or popular side of an issue.

  Anyway, this whole topic reminds me of that Seinfeld episode where George parked in a Handicapped parking space in the Mall.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXVjAeIrkfQ