Blog in Essence mag on JWs door to door

isaacaustin

Obviously they need to know the org for what it is! Here is the link...come on people LET'S EDUCATE! Some JWs have commented on it.

http://blogs.essence.com/bohemianrhapsody/2009/11/knock-knock-whos-there.html

Knock, Knock! Who's There?

By Joy Bryant on November 9, 2009 6:18 PM | 256 Comments As I was getting myself together to take my dog on his morning walk, there was a knock at the door. I hesitated for a moment before I went to answer it, thinking that it was just a neighbor that I could blow off. But then I thought that since I was leaving soon, they'd see me anyway. Might as well open the door. There stood two little old ladies that I didn't recognize from the neighborhood.

"Good morning. We'd like to give you a copy of Watchtower."

Damn! They got me.
The last time I was paid a visit by Jehovah Witnesses, I was still living in the Bronx.
Besides Prince and the Jacksons, I didn't even know they were still around, let alone still going door to door.

"Huh, thank you."

The old lady that handed me my copy, pointed down at the little wooden Confucius statue outside our front door.
"I thought an Asian was going to answer the door with that thing there," she said.
Sorry to disappoint ya, grandma.

She then went into something about the new issue. Something about family, blah, blah, blah and God blah, blah, blah. I instantly tuned her out, wishing I hadn't opened the door. I really didn't want to be bothered, but since she seemed like a nice enough old lady, what's the 3-5 minutes out of my day. So while my face feigned interest, my mind went off on a tangent:

What would she say if I told her I was an atheist. Doesn't matter if I am or not, it would definitely make for an interesting exchange... That "Asian" comment was kind of funny... What would Confucius say... I hope she doesn't ask me for money... I should have eaten something...

"Do you have a bible," the other woman asked.

"Huh, yeah, of course" I replied, not sure if I really had one.

I was waiting for them to drop the money request on me at any minute.
But they never did.
They simply wished me a good day and kept it moving through the neighborhood.
Just two little old ladies coming to spread the word of their God.
Can't be mad at that.

I chuckled at how years ago I might have shoo'd them away from the door. (ok, maybe not shoo exactly, I probably would have just hid until they left.)
It made me think about how I had to go door to door for Obama during the campaign. I'm not gonna lie: I hated it! Might have been alright if we were in an Obama-friendly part of town (but that would be preaching to the choir, right?) Of course we were in a Republican neighborhood, and since I'm not a very confrontational person, the idea of trying to persuade an obvious McCain supporter that Obama's the man just wasn't my idea of a good time. Thank god there weren't many people home that day.

I'm such a lousy citizen...

And that's just it. At least those two ladies believe in something/someone so strongly that they are willing to go up to a total stranger's house, without knowing what their belief or mood is, and spread what they believe to be the Good Word. No fear at all. They couldn't care less. Man, that ballsy! Lousy citizens they are not.

Thanks for the lesson, grannies-for-Jehovah.
I now have a better understanding, appreciation, and respect for 'door-knocking-in-the-name-of-God/cause/politician/whatever'.

And if someone comes a-knockin again, I'll still just be pretending to listen to what they have to say, but my heart will be in the right place.

UPDATE:
I flipped through the Family/God blah, blah, blah reading material the grannies-for-Jehovah gave me. Here's what it said are the secrets to Family Success:

The Right Priorities
Commitment
Teamwork
Respect
Reasonableness
Forgiveness
A Firm Foundation

Just thought I'd share...

OnTheWayOut

Another great example that people don't understand JW's at all.

The author assumes the people at her door believe in something so strong that they go up to strangers' homes with no fear at all to share that belief. We know they do it for the title of "pioneer" or at least "regular publisher" and to earn everlasting life. They do it for fear of destruction and tell themselves it's for love of neighbor. They have lots of fear.

The mag. tells the secret of family success, but come to the Kingdom Hall and you will find out the real secrets eventually.

isaacaustin

it looks ike a majority of the comments are by JWs...

purplesofa

"I thought an Asian was going to answer the door with that thing there," she said.

What a very ignorant and prejudiced thing to say.

ziddina

Geez, almost all of the comments are self-righteous, congratulatory blather by thoroughly brainwashed JWs...

I think I'm gonna

Just out of curiosity, what do you think would be the most thought-provoking comment one could post there? Something about the blood issue - especially hilighting that Awake magazine with the photos of all the children who died due to the JW's frikkin' ping-pong blood transfusion views???

Zid

yknot

I submitted the following comment......(subject to Joy's approval before being posted)

I am glad to see you were kind to these poor entrapped souls.
Unfortunately what the nice little G-Mas didn't tell you is that unless they do 'field service' they will be viewed as 'weak'in their congregation and overlooked/ignored socially & their salvation viewed in jeopardy. They didn't tell you their Organization extolled them to forsake college educations and sometimes even marriage and children all to 'preach from door to door' because the 'end was nigh' (some 130+ years now). They didn't tell you how different their gospel is compared to the Apostle's. They didn't mention the severity of shunning within the Witness community for those who question interpretations and refuse to accept party-line answers, make mistakes and aren't deemed repentant enough or simply choose to attend a different church. They didn't tell you about the pedophile coverups (threatening victims) and million dollar payouts, or the Organizational medical bans that in the past and present cause deaths. They didn't tell you they don't sell their books because the Watchtower didn't want to pay taxes after Jimmy Swagart lost his case in California. They in fact didn't tell you very much and sadly it is because they are often just as much in the dark as you are about their Organization.
BTW.... I go in field service too, not because I really believe but because it is something I was trained to do since birth. It isn't that hard when you have spent a lifetime developing your sales schtick. We even have a practice session and a sales meeting (Theocratic Ministry School and Service Meeting) once a week to help us improve our door to door selling skills.
To discern more about the lives trapped within the WTS please consider http://www.jehovahswitnessrecovery.com/ and http://www.jehovahs-witness.net for dialogue and commentary.
For commentary regarding the Black community and Jehovah's Witnesses please consider Jerry Bergman, Ph. D's paper found on http://www.seanet.com/~raines/discrimination.html

isaacaustin

thank you

ziddina

Oh, YKnot, my hat's off to you! You HAMMERED home the relevant points - but in a nice way... I became a bit suspicious that "Joy" is a closet JW; certainly a real atheist would have said SOMEthing in response to the delusional beliefs of grandmas who think some 'sky-guy' was going to help them/kill everyone at Armageddon/control their lives into minutia...

Zid

purplesofa

Nice comment y-knot

I think Joy is enjoying all the nice comments on how wonderful she is.

Hopefully, she will post your comment.

purps

Opus92

I couldn't resist posting a comment, though I doubt it will ever show up on the blog.

I'm glad you were kind to the women who met you at the door. I went in field service as a child only to have countless doors slammed in my face. Disagreeing with or being disinterested in what someone has to say doesn't mean you get to be rude -- and I'm glad you know that.

Still, don't let those nice ladies fool you. They probably don't even know the painful history of the group they represent, as the organization discourages private research of this kind. Jehovah's Witnesses are a high-control group that will have believing friends and family into shunning you if you don't follow the church elders' leads. They have also been known to ignore reported child molesters in their congregations, close facilities rather than provide pensions/benefits for their workers, change their doctrines again and again, and hold their members to different standards in spite of the costs.

I am glad you took the time to be polite and listen. I only hope that you and others like you learn the whole truth of Jehovah's Witnesses and the organization behind them.

I did notice how many Witnesses posted responses to that blog entry. Does the F&DS approve of R&F using the internet only when it makes the WTBTS look good?

Blog in Essence mag on JWs door to door

Knock, Knock! Who's There?

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