My first time being shunned in public

by xjwms 64 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Scully

  Sorry you're feeling bad about it.

  Isn't it amazing the power you have over people? You can - just by your presence - cause them to run away scared!! Start thinking about shunning in those terms... about how JWs are just cowardly little bullies in a cowardly bully organization and their only defense is to run away and not speak to you!... and you'll start to see it in a whole different light.

  The last few times it's been attempted on me, I was the one who shunned them! I have also laughed out loud and been very vocal about what was happening to onlookers. A couple of weeks ago, some JWs came in line behind me at the grocery check out after walking back and forth across the line of cashiers to make sure it was me. They started asking each other "Do you think that's Sister Scully?" "No so loud, you don't want her looking this way!" "Isn't she an Apostate™?" "I heard they put up a NO Jehovah's Witnesses sign on their door." At that point I was ready to burst out laughing. Fortunately one of my co-workers saw me and we started chatting as though the JWs behind me didn't exist. I shunned them! They had no power over me! But they were sure scared spitless of me!
• 

  yaddayadda

  Congratulations - you've just personalised discovered that most JW's are totally lacking in human kindness, compassion and love to those who do not 'toe the party line' and in fact treat worldlings better than persons like you. Thus they cannot be the one and only true religion.
• 

  PaNiCAtTaCk

  My wife and I experienced the same thing at Walmart last night with an older sister in the Hall. We are not Disfellowed and no announcement has ever been made. We stopped attending meetings after the Godly Obedience assembly 3 or 4 months ago. The funny thing is they gave a talk on how we should treat weak sheep and the brother giving the talk said twice " IF WE RUN INTO SOMEONE WHO IS INACTIVE WE DO NOT SHUN THEM! WE ENCOURAGE THEM AS JESUS SAID, REFERRING TO SEEKING OUT THE LOST SHEEP" Then he repeated the exact same thing again. Brothers DO NOT SHUN! I remember thinking that this counsel could really make it difficult for us to fade. Because, that was our plan.

  But, the society has created such a judgemental group of people that weve been shunned by at least 75 percent of the witnesses in the hall for the last 2 months and they have also quit coming by. I guess they got tired of hearing about the problems with the org's beliefs and having no answer. The funny thing is, everyone basically knows were apostate and no elders have come by or tried to meet with us. I suspect the C.O will get them over here.
• 

  under74

  So thats what it feels like.........now I know.

  
  
  Weird isn't it. I've had that happen with my own grandfather.
• 

  ithinkisee

  This is part of the beauty of the Internet that is taking some of the sting out of the WTBTS's bite. (I said "some" ... not all.)

  Pre-Internet the shunning thing was always a painful thing. For many today it STILL is ... but I see more and more people taking an opposite approach. The way people come onto JWD and other sites and say "I was shunned for the first time!" it is almost like a badge of honor - for standing up in the face of all you have known for what YOU believe in.

  I have a feeling that for some apostates, this shunning is very life affirming.

  -ithinkisee
• 

  blondie

  I second that, Bavman. Come Wednesday and have one on us, xjwms.

  I chase my shunners and make them acknowledge me.

  Actually, I DF'd my JW family and they are pissed; how dare I shun them!

  Love Blondie
• 

  luna2

  I'm glad I read this thread. I need to get my head on straight about this because I very well may get the official boot one of these days.

  I had one instance where I thought someone was shunning me, someone who often came into the store and used to seek me out. It turned out that he wasn't doing the shun-thing, but my reaction to the possibility surprised me. I felt really hurt and wanted to hide! Ugh! Now I am resolved to greet any shunning dubs and smile pleasantly, letting them do whatever they have to do to avoid talking to big, bad old apostate me. No reason I should act like I'm ashamed...let the Jdubs feel the embarrassment of not returning a polite greeting or the need to duck their heads and hide like dopes.
• 

  jschwehm

  A JW lady from my hometown area in Louisiana found some of my comments about the JWs on the internet.

  She wrote me an email and chastized me for my comments and even said that I was dumb.

  I wrote her back and said that her email was very unloving and unchristian. She apologized and then pleaded with me to come back to the JWs.

  I wrote her back a fairly long email explaining to her the reasons why I could no longer be a JW. There was lots of info in that letter and I gave her ways to document the information.

  She wrote me back and said that I was to never contact her again and that I was not to SELL her email address to my apostate disciples. (Not sure where that came from.)

  I heard from my sister that this lady took my long email and shared it with a bunch of JWs in her own congregation...LOL

  I told my sister that I could not have done a better job distributing that information among so many JWs than she did. I even thought about sending this JW lady an award letter for being my number one distributor of information on the JWs that year--LOL

  Jeff Schwehm

  www.catholicxjw.com
• 

  Mary

  Jeff said: I heard from my sister that this lady took my long email and shared it with a bunch of JWs in her own congregation.

  That's hilarious!! I wonder if she counted it at time on her field service report.

  
• 

  DanTheMan

  The funny thing is they gave a talk on how we should treat weak sheep and the brother giving the talk said twice " IF WE RUN INTO SOMEONE WHO IS INACTIVE WE DO NOT SHUN THEM! WE ENCOURAGE THEM AS JESUS SAID, REFERRING TO SEEKING OUT THE LOST SHEEP" Then he repeated the exact same thing again. Brothers DO NOT SHUN!

  
  

  
  Interesting that shunning of non-DF/DA individuals has become common enough among dubs that the boys in Brooklyn determined that some Counsel™ was needed, DC counsel even.

  In my case, I never know what to expect. I've only come across JW's about 3 or 4 times since I left, and they've always acknowledged me with a nod or a hello. So when I see JW's I don't know if I should try to make the eyebrows-slightly-raised-eye-contact with them as if I am waiting for them to acknowledge me, or if I should just risk it by acknowledging them first, or just look away and leave it up to them.