Jw Meet-ups

sandy

How many of you attend these monthly meet-ups? How were they?

I decided that I will attend one this Saturday. I am a little nervous because I am going alone.

I need to make friends and I though this would be a good place to start doing that.

Joyzabel

Go.

Now you have the wonderful advantage of not having to make friends if you don't like them, compared to HAVING to make friends with JWs only.

I have attended in the past, but since it is a 50 mile drive, I sometimes forsake the gathering. This month I won't be able to go since it conflicts with Princess' Apostafest in Edmonds, WA just north of Seattle (shameless plug).

I really do enjoy these, especially after the first couple of times when I was really nervous. I hope the Meet-ups in other cities are as nice as the one in Portland. Our Meet-up in Portland is really good because we have such nice people attending.

The venues are so-so, but it works okay since the main thing is the people. The biggest problem we (my husband and I) have encountered (besides limited parking at some venues) is that the first few times it is hard to recognize each other. The website should make Meet-up name tags and table placards available that you can print out so you know who everybody is.

The other minor problem is that tables are often situated so that if you are on one end you don't always get to know people on the other end. At one place we got a corner round-table that worked pretty good.

I hope you enjoy it. It should be fun, once you get past the inital meeting, introductions, etc.

Tammy

Lady Lee

we need 2 more people to make our meetup this month - they must confirm or it will be cancelled once again - Nosferatu - where are you!!!?

Prisca

Hi Sandy,

I went to a Meet-Up for the first time last month, and I went alone too, but I had a great time. I posted about it here: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/19/54986/1.ashx

I'm planning on going to this weekend's meetup to see everyone again!

onacruse

I started going last summer, when the first MeetUp was scheduled for the Portland, OR area. It's been great ever since, every single one of them, and all the people were great too! I've met some who post here, some who post elsewhere, and some who don't post at all.

imo it's one of critical next steps to re-constructing our social network, after, perhaps, posting here and getting some things out of our systems. Reaching out is a bit scary, sure, but the reward? Oh my.

Craig

tinkerbell82

they have monthly meetups?!?!?!? COOL! how do you know when/where they are??

hey sandy, what part of california are you from???

Swan

Spot on Craig!

imo it's one of critical next steps to re-constructing our social network,

The WTBTS has perfected their own version of the Tower of Babel to divide us and separate us.

First it was disfellowshipping; next they added disassociating. Then the rules expanded to exclude us from our own families. There are even rules that DF and DA can't talk to each other.

You can't just fade away, either. If they get wind of it they are all over you like dog doo on your shoe on a hot summer day.

Finally, they use the label "Apostate" to scare us away from each other.

All of this combines with our own fears of being judged all over again by exJWs. We imagine that they are much like the judgmental JWs we used to sit across from in JC meetings. In reality, the xJWs often drop those judgmental attitudes like a hot potato.

Keeping us separated and disorganized works to the Watchtower Company's advantage. When just a few of us get together look at the havoc we can cause for them. Defending law suits and protecting child molesters costs them money. Bad press costs them money. Questions about UN involvement, military investments, and exposure of shady dealings and environmental cleanups costs them money.

The Internet is proving to be their biggest threat. It connects us in ways they never imagined. Meet-up is just one example of a great idea for using the Internet to further our social network and our emotional healing. It does all of this, and is as simple as sitting down with a beer at a table of people just like you. I highly recommend it.

Tammy

sandy

tinkerbell82 I am in Los Angeles County. I am attending the meet-up on tomorrow at 5:00 pm.

It is in Orange County in Huntington Beach at the Happy Veggie. Let me know if you live close enough

by and would like to attend.

maxwell

I attend the one here in DC when it isn't cancelled. Unfortunately it's cancelled this weekend (we didn't have enough votes for the venue). But my experience at the ones that weren't cancelled have been similar to others here. We talked and made new friends. We've gone out on our own independent of the meetup. I had fun.

Jw Meet-ups

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