Posts by StarTrekAngel

40

Politically Correct Wasteland

by freemindfade in

this was a comment i made from another post, but i would like to hear some people discuss this.

i know the social justice warriors will scream i'm some sort of trump supporter for what i say even though i don't agree with his ideas and no i am not voting for him... i accept this is a go to for them.. i think we have fallen into a pc vacuum.. criticizing someones religion = racism!.

telling someone to not be so sensitive = misogyny!.

StarTrekAngel

Exactly as talesin puts it.

40

Politically Correct Wasteland

by freemindfade in

this was a comment i made from another post, but i would like to hear some people discuss this.

i know the social justice warriors will scream i'm some sort of trump supporter for what i say even though i don't agree with his ideas and no i am not voting for him... i accept this is a go to for them.. i think we have fallen into a pc vacuum.. criticizing someones religion = racism!.

telling someone to not be so sensitive = misogyny!.

StarTrekAngel

I think what needs to be kept in mind that PC has a time and a place and as long as you know your audience you should be able to put words that fit the audience. Transmits your message with firmness without offending anyone who joins.

Basically, this time and age and the topics discussed in open forums like these, require not so much the writer to be careful (respect is never out of the question) but the reader to be even more careful. Had certain conversations happened behind closed doors or in close groups, no one would have feel ofended. In other words, people have not really changed and become more sensitive. We have become more open about our thoughts and belief.

The issue arises when someone enters discussion that is, by nature, controversial to their own beliefs and the feel that just because it is open, they can go in and trash the discussion. They feel they can go in there and demand sensibility towards themselves or attempt to tell others they are idiots because they don't share the same view. The solution in my view is simple. Stay out of topics you don't agree with and ask that people stay out of yours if they don't agree with you.

11

Instructions for Circuit Accounting (S-331)

by wifibandit in

instructions for circuit accounting (s-331) 6/13.

7. normal operating expenditures: normal operating expenditures include per capita contributions for use of an assembly hall, payments for other meeting facilities, and reimbursement of the special assembly day guest speaker or trav-eling overseer for travel costs or other incidental expenses incurred in connection with a circuit assembly, an assigned district convention, or a special assembly day or while teaching the pio-neer service school or moving to a new assign-ment.

such expenditures do not require a res-olution.

StarTrekAngel

So we pay for the expenses of the visitor... is there a way to tell, with evidence, if this visitors are assigned by the WT or is the circuit seeking their visit? Basically, is the visitor or the organization deciding wether they need to send someone or is the circuit "ordering" a visitor when they decide they can afford one?

I am asking because I was shocked when I learned the Lett was coming to our last assembly and I thought, are we that important down here? Turns out that now I ask the question, did we order him down here and payed to have him present? Kind of like you can pay an ex president to give a talk at your corporation.

10

Update on fade. Elders finally are interested on my "welfare"

by StarTrekAngel in

so since the last time i posted regarding my fade, you all learned that i was having some health issues.

that came along just right to quit going to meeting without raising much suspicion.

somehow everyone at the hall seemed ready to tell my wife they missed me but attended the memorial and no one bothered to take the initiative to back those words with actions.. i guess that having seen me at the memorial they at least felt bad because last night i got a call from one of the elders telling me they want to come today and visit with me.

StarTrekAngel

Turns out I will not be able to meet with them today, even if I wanted to. Some other things have come up and I am going to have to postpone.

Just texted him to cancel

22

Gut Feelings - The Second Brain

by Xanthippe in

jw
friends

i came across a link on the bbc site this morning to an article in scientific american on gut health claiming that one reason we need to keep our guts healthy with probiotics, a good diet and reducing antibiotics is because there are neurons in our gut that are part of the process to create dopamine and serotonin for the brain.

yes happy hormones and neurotransmitters!

amazing article.. 'the enteric nervous system is often referred to as our body’s second brain.

StarTrekAngel

I learned about the enteric nervous system about two years ago while looking for some information on fitness and natural foods. I have since learn to appreciate its function. It makes sense, the mouth is the most prominent way in which we voluntarily allow "foreign" organisms to enter our bodies. It makes sense they they would go thru a series of "sensors" to identify the item and allow the body to deal with it properly.

I was diagnosed with lactose intolerance a long time ago. It was not until I took the idea of the enteric nervous system into account that I realized the benefits a healthy gut can bring. I learned too that there is a lot of other things we may be allergic too but the symptoms are not what common wisdom would dictate. Sometimes a bad night of sleep can be the consequence of ingesting food we are sensitive to but that regular allergy testing may not indicate.

10

Update on fade. Elders finally are interested on my "welfare"

by StarTrekAngel in

so since the last time i posted regarding my fade, you all learned that i was having some health issues.

that came along just right to quit going to meeting without raising much suspicion.

somehow everyone at the hall seemed ready to tell my wife they missed me but attended the memorial and no one bothered to take the initiative to back those words with actions.. i guess that having seen me at the memorial they at least felt bad because last night i got a call from one of the elders telling me they want to come today and visit with me.

StarTrekAngel

So since the last time I posted regarding my fade, you all learned that I was having some health issues. That came along just right to quit going to meeting without raising much suspicion. Somehow everyone at the hall seemed ready to tell my wife they missed me but attended the memorial and no one bothered to take the initiative to back those words with actions.

I guess that having seen me at the memorial they at least felt bad because last night I got a call from one of the elders telling me they want to come today and visit with me. Despite me not given them any reasons they shot a warning, I guess to put me at ease, saying that there is nothing to worry about and they just want to say hi and see how I am doing...

Many times we have heard that we should not fear the elders and that being visited by them should not be taken as a sign of something wrong. Why the need for the warning?

Anyway, the elder in question is a very kind, humble and seemingly honest person. He has had two minor strokes in the recent past and sometimes I wonder (he says it has been stress related) if he is not half awake already but I have no other evidence to go by. I don't know is who else is coming along with him. I told him I would confirm if I am available or not so I still have that option available to me if I don't feel in the mood to meet with them.

8

I am a bit screwed ... need some advice - non-JW issue

by StarTrekAngel in

so i am having a bit of an issue at work and has been bothering me for a while.

first, you may need to know a bit about the organizational structure that i am dealing with.

there is our coo (chief op officer).

StarTrekAngel

Thanks everyone for the input. My manager just announced his resignation, which changes the dynamics of these and mostly for the worst.

Had thought about what Simon said but I was trying to play nice. Lately I've been finding myself asking the same question over and over again. The question is WWFUD.... What would Frank Underwood Do?

Thanks

8

I am a bit screwed ... need some advice - non-JW issue

by StarTrekAngel in

so i am having a bit of an issue at work and has been bothering me for a while.

first, you may need to know a bit about the organizational structure that i am dealing with.

there is our coo (chief op officer).

StarTrekAngel

So I am having a bit of an issue at work and has been bothering me for a while. First, you may need to know a bit about the organizational structure that I am dealing with

There is our COO (Chief OP Officer). Guy really likes my group and worked really closed with us in the past, when we used to report directly to him. Our project manager was also part of that team reporting directly to him as well. I now have a manager who also worked in that team and was very close to the COO as well. My manager now has a CTO on top of him (Chief Tech officer). CTO does not really like my manager and what is worst, hates that he even has to handle our group. He doesn't like the new tech we handle (ethernet based). He is old and already retired and his mindset got stuck in the glory days of analog telephony.

The project manager was fired a couple of years ago when he was reporting directly to the CTO. Our COO re hired him after some major projects, which he had experience with, came along. Problem is one of my techs who reports to me has become real good buddies with the project manager. To the point that he has, intentionally or not, began to leak information regarding what we do and the state of the group. Some of it is understandable but I am starting to get hints that no only he is leaking more than I feel comfortable with, but also Project manager seems to be taking advantage of this and has began digging for more info with this tech of mine. Project manager is looking for an actual group to manage because he is a manager of himself. I am not the only one in the company that gets the hint that he is looking to hijack something or somebody to put under him

All is good and fine to this point because I could easily go to HR or the tech directly and remind him that we have some policies against confidential information. Two problems with this approach...

1) The policy is rather vague and the grammar puts more importance on sharing with clients and outsiders. We used to be a much smaller corporation where internal sharing was rather encouraged.

2) The project manager, while not my boss, has gathered some power around him since he is supposed to keep us all of us in tune and also hangs out with the chiefs quite a bit, including the HR manager.

My fear is that if I go to HR, the HR manager is going to try and salvage the situation rather than taking action and in doing so he will probably spill the beans. I have no problem with getting under the PM's skin but I think is going to be seen as an attack by the chiefs that so far appreciate our collaboration and really believe in sharing info. If I go to my manager, he has no choice but to go to the CTO, who would take this chance to push his agenda further because we know he never wanted my group to exist. If I go directly to the COO, things may be a bit smoother but I hardly think that he will talk to the PM without putting me up for animosity. To make matters worst, I caught this techs of mine playing games at work before and his performance is less than desirable. We had a conversation about terminating his employment but no one wants to get HR to commit. Guess why? The PM is his playing partner and it was said that while it certainly is wrong and can not be tolerated, we could not fire this guy without firing the other because it would expose the company to a lawsuit. Nothing was done about it.

Any thoughts or other experiences like this?

15

Is it true: the memorial will stop after the last anointed have passed away?

by FinchAndWeston in

i heard that the memorial will stop after the last anointed have passed away ... is this information true/false?

just curious.

it's secondhand.

StarTrekAngel

I heard the same things at our memorial. Thought it was just a bad speech. Bad speech because we all 'know' what the bible says. When Jesus comes and all of the anointed are selected, no one would part take anymore. Two things stroke me though...

1- The bible says we would no longer do this once Jesus is back but is actually referring to, in the views of JW, to partaking. That doesn't automatically mean that a memorial or remembrance has to cease. We could basically say that this annual ritual, again based on the views and belief of JW, that this memorial started the night of passover in Egypt and has been celebrated since, even when the perfect sacrificial lamb has already been offered.

2- The tone of the speech made me feel they were referring to more current times and not so much to the new system.. Almost like if they were preparing the R&F for a culmination. IF we couple this with the latest trend of questioning the mental health of the anointed, it would not be difficult to imagine the end of this ceremony. Remember, in 2014 they posed the question out there as to wether that could be our last memorial. At the moment we all thought they were banking on the fear factor of the 100 years of the kingdom but, while the later could be true, it is interesting how this pairs up with the talk given this week.

While I can't say with certainty, it makes sense to think that they would want to end it if they can pull it off. For once, is a celebration that probably brings them little revenue. As far as I recall they have never used the memorial to beg for money. In many cases they rent places to do it so it actually costs money. On top of that, this is the last remnant of power for the anointed. If you were to stop the memorial, being anointed would not amount to more than another title without significance. The anointed are losing ground while growing in number. Most JWs with "two fingers of forehead" (in Spanish used as a measure of bare minimum intelligence) realizes that, wether is by culmination or elimination, the anointed have to all go (edit: not all go but at least reduce numbers, not grow) before the GT comes around. With the number of partakers growing, they are undermining the idea of 'the end is near'. What better way give themselves another bit of credibility, cut cost and finally remove the power the anointed, if they ever had any, still hold?

4

Attended memorial last night

by StarTrekAngel in

so since i have not been to any meetings in like 2 months because of health issues, i had to decide what to do about the memorial.

my health has improved quite a bit and i feel much better than i did 2 months ago.

i could still have used the "not feeling well" card and stay home.

StarTrekAngel

So since I have not been to any meetings in like 2 months because of health issues, I had to decide what to do about the memorial. My health has improved quite a bit and I feel much better than I did 2 months ago. I could still have used the "not feeling well" card and stay home. But since only my wife knows about my disagreements with this cult, and to avoid upsetting the balance, I decided to go.

A few weeks back, we had a brief discussion and I referred to her that it had not gone unnoticed that no one had bothered to come see me. She had mentioned that one of the elders wanted to and communicated so to her but he never did. She said everyone kept on asking about me. I said I was referring to an actual visit, not a scripted proxy greeting. Since that discussion, she made it a point to relate to me every greeting that they are sending to me thru her. Every time she came back from a meeting she would say... so and so says hi!. so and so asked about you.

So I also figure, when I attend the memorial, lets see how many of them actually come to me. Well, there is also this brothers, whom I use to play soccer with for like 3 years. Every Sunday, the whole congo would get together after the meeting to play soccer and this guy was there. Later on he married and moved out of state. He is a real dedicated and spiritual brother and every now and then he comes back to the congo to visit his parents. So he was one of the many who send his regards thru my wife, as he happened to be in town for the week. I figure that we don't really see each other anymore so he actually meant it.

Moving on to last night, we walked into the hall and there was a line of brothers and sisters (at least 12 of them) on each side of the door, greeting everyone who came in. It almost seemed fabricated (would not shock me if it was).

Total tally for the night? Those at the door were the only ones who bothered shacking my hand or my wife's hand for any matter. I don't believe this has anything to do with our spiritual situation, they simply did not care to see me there. And the brother that used to play soccer with me? We sat in the row right in front of him. When we were done, not even eye contact.

Again, at no point did I sense this was shunning. It was more like I never left. I say so because that is about how it felt before. So much for the loving brotherhood that it is so interested in me and my welfare. Its all words...