Are JW's embarrassed about being JW's? (page 2)

garybuss

In the 1950's being a Witness was not something a lot were proud of.

I know one *anointed* JW woman who is not proud to be a Witness now and she will not sit for the national anthem. If she is at a function that opens with the national anthem she will go to the bathroom and wait till the game starts go to her seat.

Most Witnesses I knew hid either the fact they were Witnesses or they hid their identity. Sometime try to get a Witness's name and address and phone number when they are at your door. :-) GaryB

Mary

When people knew, I would get called names like "Joho" and such

Oh yes that brings back bad memories........I used to get called "Joho", "Jehovah Nitwit" "What did Jehobah witness?"......other crap like that. I was VERY embarassed that I was a Witness as I got left out of everything that was fun in school. The whole standing-out-side-for-opening-exercises (which included O Canada, God Save the Queen, the Lord's Prayer and Bible reading) was awful and I hated it with a passion. Kids can be very cruel and the torment I went through in school most definitely contributed to my depression and low self esteem that I suffer from to this very day.

blondie

I avoid it. I figure no one volunteers their religious affiliation at work except some obnoxious "born-agains" (excuse me if you are a nice one). Religious discussions on work time are discouraged as is display of religious books or items. I look forward to the time when I get a new job where no JWs work.

Blondie

Elsewhere

Sometime try to get a Witness's name and address and phone number when they are at your door. :-)

lol... reminds me of a comedian who said that he tells JWs that he is busy and asks for their address so he can show up unannounced at a later time and date of his choosing.

blondie

Elsewhere, I saw the comedian. It is weird, isn't it? JWs show up announced at someone's house, asks their name. If they show "interest," the JW will write down their name and address to come back, usually unannounced again. Some think nothing of asking for phone numbers from householders. I have seen reg pioneers start their time at 8:30 by calling an RV as they leave the KH.

But if the household asks for their full name, address and phone number....oooh suddenly the HH morphs into a serial killer.

Blondie

Hunyadi

I usually just told people I was a Christian. When I was in high school, I was walking home with a school mate and we started talking about the Bible. Yay! Right up my alley! When I told him I was a JW, he looked at me incredulously and said, "YOU are a Jehovah's Witness???"

"Yes, why do you ask like that?, I replied.

He said with sincerity, " I thought Jehovah's Witnesses had shaved heads and wore those orange sheets and begged for money at the airports . . . "

I rarely told anyone I was a JW unless I was out in field serice or unless I simply had to.

H

run dont walk

I always was, probaly still am, never mention to anyone that i was,

The best advice i received was from a friend of mine who said,

"there's nothing you can do about it, but learn from it, life goes on"

minimus

Minimus is cool.....yes, this isn't crossed out because it should be highlighted!

franklin J

As a child I was devastated being the "different one" or "odd ball". ( who knows, maybe I would have been odd anyway without the JW beliefs? HAH!)

Being the one who did not salute the flag; and had to leave the classroom for Xmas parties and birthday parties marked me as different; and did leave a "hurt" and "rejection" that I can still feel to this day. Does it affect who I am today? Possibly. But the perspective I choose to take is that it contributed to molding in me from a very young age, the ability to deal with peer pressure and think differntly. The reality is it is part of my history; however distant, and is part of who I am.

I can , now as an adult with small children of my own, clearly see my children having very positive social relationships; being integrated into a society of their peers; of which as a child I could only "look from the outside" with my nose pressed up to the glass and wish I belonged. I was taught as I got older that I was being "groomed" for far better things. And that began the long history of JW brainwashing; superiority of beliefs; lifestyle , etc. You all know the drill....

Agnes

I can understand a child being embarrassed, because kids just want to fit in and not be made fun of by other children, kids can be so cruel to someone who seems different.

I have a hard time understanding why an adult would make such an important choice and then be embarrassed about it. Know some folks that are J.W.?s and they seem embarrassed when someone finds out about it. Don?t understand why it matters to them since they aren?t allowed to associate with ?evil worldly types? anyway. I wouldn?t stop talking to someone because they were of a different faith, but sometimes it seem fruitless to waste too much time on someone that has such boundaries. Having learned so much about all of their rules, makes it hard to communicate in a normal fashion, sure that the next thing you say is going to surely offend them. I guess the bottom line is that I?m offended by their low opinion of us ?worldly types? and so I distance myself.
Agnes

Are JW's embarrassed about being JW's?

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