My Bethel Experience Part 18

by new boy 31 Replies latest jw friends

  • new boy
    new boy

    This is the fun one........

    Health, Dismemberment, Death (natural and unnatural) murder and suicide.

    Well its Sunday afternoon, Portland Oregon, February 18, 2007.........Its been 34 years,.......I 'm just drunk enough, Excuse me,.....I mean "self medicated"enough (P.S. Juni sweet heart.... I love you), to start writing this chapter.........The people at Bethel were killing us spiritually!.......and sometimes they killed us physically too.....I'm not letting myself of the hook...I was there and I was as bad them..............no, I'm sorry I was worst then them......and why?.....because I knew better....Those bastards didn't know any better .......we need to send them some love........the thing they can't give us ................WE NEED TO GIVE THEM......... LOVE............. "thats all you need"

    First off....... when you go to Bethel, you sign a document stating that if you die while you are at Bethel, the society has "the right" to keep your body.........Most people, just sign it and forget about it, but don't you think that is just a little strange?..........I did. I'm sure some Lawyer had something to do with it.......but why?

    So lets talk about health first.

    When I was at Bethel for 3 years......I started to have problems with my wisdom teeth.....so I went to the Bethel Dentist.........First question he asked me, after looking at my teeth, was...."So....how long have you been here (bethel)?"......and I told him........he said "Are you planning to stay after your 4 years?"........to which I said "NO"......He said..... "your teeth are FINE!".......So 6 months after leaving "the house of God" it cost me hundreds dollars to get my wisdom teeth removed......ah the love.

    It was per OSHA.....in the early 70's. The noise it the pressroom was deafening......so some of the guys started wearing ear muffs! (that they payed for themselfs)......The tours were going through and noticed that SOME of the "brothers" were wearing the ear muffs but most "brothers" were NOT wearing any ear muffs!...........So, is there a real problem with noise in the pressroom,..... they tours asked?.........The society had a real problem........should we spend hundreds of dollars on ear muffs..........or make the "brothers" who were wearing them .......STOP wearing them?............Hummmmmm.......what to do?......Health?....or money? Good Question? Well....we got new light in the summer of 1973 on the matter.

    Every month, we would have a fire drill in the factory........we would all gather in the basement and Max Larson would give us the new information, we needed to know........He wanted to help us with the question about "ear muffs"......So he said " I have a letter here, from Doctor Dixion, and he says "that ear muffs are NOT good to use, because they could cause ear infections!"..........There, we have it, the new light about ear muffs..........So of course everyone stopped wearing them......ahh the love.

    One brother went to the good doctor because he was bleeding from his rectum......The good doc tolded him he was wiping his ass too hard after going to the can........He spent his own money and went to a "worldly Doctor" and had some test done............He really had a bleeding ulcer.

    A friend of mind we'll call him Steve D........ran his hand through a table saw in the carpenter shop....Dec 26 1972. He cut off his middle finger and destroyed 2 others..........The good brothers tolded him it would be BEST for HIM if he left Bethel........He and his family had no money, for the many operations he would need on his hand in the months to come......So he said he WANTED to stay at Bethel.......after many talks........ they finally gave in and let him stay............That was nice of them.

    On the same day, December 26th 1972. I saw the first guy in my life to commit suicide. He jumped off the roof of the Towers Hotel.......and hit a parking sign on the way down........I didn't, really see him hit........but I did see his blood and his flesh on the sidwalk for weeks afterwards.....little peices of meat, that no one cleaned up........it was some old "wordly" guy who didn't like the way his Christmas went.

    Side story on my friend Steve..........He runs his hand through a table saw, it goes almost up to his wrist........they take him to the emergency room in Brooklyn.......His Hand wrapped in a bloody towel......in all kinds of pain........so he is in this waiting room.......and this orderly is helping him into this gown...The order says we need to get a urine sample........Steve is going nuts.........This guy is grabbing steve's penis for the test...........just then another guy comes through the door and seeing what is going on....says to the orderly............."JERRY..... YOU SICK FAG............WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?.....THIS GUY IS BLEEDING TO DEATH AND YOU ARE TRYING TO GET A FREE FEEL?.......I guess you really don't need a urine test....... if your bleeding to death.

    Isn't that the sickest thing you have ever heard of?..............but I must admit it does remind me of Bethel.....your down and out, bleeding on the floor and they still want a frree feel..........That my friends is a true story...............its to sick for even me to make up!...........My poor friend Steve was getting screwed over by everyone.....

    So lets talk about death now....

    So the new guys would say they are never leaving Bethel.........I 'd say "Really? ....what if you die....You will be leaving then...... won't you?" So sure the old timers would end up in the infirmary......and die of natural causes.......some of those poor guys in their 80's or 90'.........they NEVER even had sex once!.......that my friends is sad.......I mean don't you think everone should have sex at least once in a lifetime?

    Its like the joke...........The 90 old virgin is having his birthday............So his friends get together and say "We need to get this poor guy a women before he dies!".........So they find this "knock out" 21 year old hooker.........They tell her what the situation is and that she his needs to give this guy "Super Sex" So she goes to his house..........and rings the bell.........he comes to the door......opens it and asked "what do you want?".........she says "I'm here for Super Sex"...........He says " what flavor is the soup?"

    The unnatural death was the guy that fell down the elevavater shaft in the squib building.....he just open the door and walked it.............good by.

    Dennis Carlson was cleaning his KH in midtown Manhatten on a Saturday afternoon, when this guy walked in and asked were Richard Wheelock (factory pressroom overseer) lived.........He turned around to write down the address....The guy took out a 10 inch knife and put it in Dennis's back and his heart too. ...........Thats why when I left Bethel.......I made a vow ........I would never under any circumstances clean a kingdom hall,............ it can be very hazardous to your heath!

  • truthsetsonefree
    truthsetsonefree
    the society has "the right" to keep your body

    WHAT???? God these are so sad......If people only knew. If I only that when I went on all of those tours as a kid, that this was going on behind the scenes, what a difference it may have made for me and my desire to go to Bethel.

    tsof

  • JPT
    JPT

    Your story is the best read I've had in a long time. I've been to Bethel NY and another Branch office, 2 family members did time there too in the late 70's. Neither did 4 yrs though. Yea "the love". It's just amazing how we all bought into the WT crap. I just hope I can help my wife out of this defective collective.

    JT

  • zack
    zack

    Thanks for the stories......I never went permanent, only temped the last few years. It seemed sad to me, the people there. Like Stepford people.

    I never went to Jonestown, either, but maybe that's how it was there.

    Many of my friends are Bethelites (or were). They fall into two camps (the ones that tell it like it ws---like you 90%---- and the ones who tell it like THEY want

    you to tell it. I'm soooooooooooo glad I never wasted my time on that place. What terrible treatment.

  • Dagney
    Dagney

    Thanks New Boy again for a terrific read and your personal insight.

    I didn't know about the keeping the body in death. And those medical judgements...they fueled the R & F to react similarly to their own health crisis on the outside.

    I'm so glad you made it out, and out again.

    They are nuts.

  • uninformed
    uninformed

    My son did 4 years in Bethel. While there he came down with appendicititis. Here he is in New York City where there are hospitals all over the place. Do you know what these loving brothers did? They loaded him into an amblunce and believe it or not in a blizzard took him to little hospital several hours away. By the time they finally operated on him the doctor could not believe that his appendix had not ruptured!!! He stayed like for a day, they drove him back to the city, made him walk to the infirmary and since they didn't have room for him, made him walk to his room and recover there.

    It just makes me sick when I think about how uncaring they were. And further to make his feel important they would tell him he could be replaced by a 37 cent stamp.

    I wish they would have.

    Uniformed wife------------

  • confusa
    confusa

    That really happened..the stabbing at the KH?

  • SirNose586
    SirNose586

    Those are some pretty gruesome stories there...

    Glad I never had an emergency while there.

    Edit: L337! WOOT

  • bernadette
    bernadette

    New boy - very sad - a relative of mine spent 5 years at bet hell. He developed irritable bowel syndrome and has to take medication for it - he got off lightly. Others weren't so fortunate.

  • VM44
    VM44

    Freeminds.org has made available one of Doctor Dixon's talks.

    "How We Know We Have the Truth" - Dr. Dixon from Bethel (1985, Dodger Stadium)

    Was he a competent doctor?

    And just what sort of doctor was he anyway? (Osteophathic, Chiropractic, or a regular M.D.?)

    --VM44

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