Does the WTS create victims???

by Lumptard 9 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Lumptard

  Now, I'm not talking about victims of child molesters, I'm talking about the seemingly common thought process among JWs and X-JWs that causes them to beleive that any turn of events that deviates from their idea of how things should happen is caused by something outside themselves.

  Is it just me, or do many JWs and X-JWs tend to put blame on other things/people other than where the blame should fall...themselves or at the very least, circumstances? (i.e. blaming satan for hardships, blaming worldly people for the trouble in the world, blaming the WTS for various choices that people are "forced" to make)

  It just seems to me that this is a common thought process for JWs as well as X-JWs...What do you think? Am I being too critical? Are both JWs and X-JWs actually victims?
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  PrimateDave

  If we take the Genesis account at face value, Eve blamed the serpent for deceiving her, and Adam blamed God for giving him Eve and Eve for "making" him eat the fruit. So, it would seem that it is just human nature to avoid taking responsibility for one's own actions.
  
  There is a difference though between truly being victimized and refusing to accept responsibility. Real victims of crime can and should seek remedy for their grievances.
  
  Outside the realm of criminal responsibility, I doubt one could claim to be a victim simply because one was held in ignorance of certain facts. Indeed, I think that some people are just fine within the Organization. They will be there till the day they die. Who am I to say that they would be happier leaving their beliefs behind? Can ignorance be bliss? Who ever said that life was fair, anyway?
  
  Dave
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  Fangorn

  Absolutely! Faux victimhood is endemic in the organization.
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  Abandoned

  Yep. Jehovah's Witnesses are trained to believe that everything outside of the congregation is against them and attacking them. The movies, books, TV shows, news, and everything else outside of the organization is carefully designed to tear down a witness's faith.

  The reality is that the cult needs to paint everything around them as evil since it's the opposite that is true. The Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses and their corporations and entities are the ones who are misusing their authority and attempting to control those they call "brother."
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  LongHairGal

  In a way, yes. First of all, they encourage people in the congregation to let their guard down and "widen out". They don't know what they are widening out to so in many cases they are left reeling from a bad experience. If they complain, they are told to forgive their so-called brother and forget. They are just supposed to swallow all this. A victimized person is almost made to feel THEY have the problem, depending on who they talk to. They get the usual talk about "imperfection" and "satan", etc. They are not encouraged to stick up for themselves. If this were only about minor things that would be bad enough, but it isn't as many people can attest to.

  I would have to say the whole thing lends itself to victimization with a capital "V".

  LHG
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  onacruse

  Well, here I am, yet again presenting a "spoiler" viewpoint...but what the heck!

  I think that the WTS does not, characteristically, create victims. I think people are drawn to operations like the WTS because they are already victims: victims of their family situation, victims of their social situation, victims of the imaginations they have formed for themselves, etc.

  Has the WTS created victims that weren't originally victims? I'd say, you betcha. But, in that same breath, I'd say that virtually every other social, religious, and political structure that has ever existed on this planet has done the same: it's human nature--you're either a victim, or a predator.
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  Lumptard

  Onacruse:

  I'm a little confused by this:

  I think that the WTS does not, characteristically, create victims.........Has the WTS created victims that weren't originally victims? I'd say, you betcha.

  These statements contradict each other...which do you think it is?
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  onacruse

  Some victimization is situational (sexual abuse, mental abuse, and the like), due solely to external factors (family, social organizations). In that respect, the WTS does create victims of people who were not necessarily otherwise predisposed to be victims in that particular way. Thus, for myself, I might well have ended up being a "victim" of the vagaries of the scientific community (which didn't happen), instead of the religious community (which did happen). In either case, I would have been a victim.

  Insofar as I've tried to comprehend human nature, it seems to me that most people (and I'd include myself in this group) have an innate tendency to be victims, and others (apparently a minority) to be victimizers.

  Craig
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  Lady Lee

  First let's separate the two JW and ex-JWs

  JWs would entirely disagree with the idea that they are victims of the WTS or anything else. Any difficulties they have are attributed to not being spiritual enough. It is always "their" problem rather than the environment they live in

  ex-JWs on the other hand tend to separate into different groups.

  1. The first group still believe the WTS is the sole mouthpiece of God. Any problems experienced were due to turning their back on Jehovah's organization. They only see themselves as responsible for all their problems whether regardless of how unreasonable that is. I belonged to this group after I first left.
  2. The second group leave. They do recognize the WTS is not what it claims. They don't see themselves as victims. They think that whatever choices they made are theirs alone without pressure from an organization.
  3. The third group leaves the organization and blames everything on the organiaztion. Everything they lost, missed out out on, problems that arise after their leaving or as a consequence of it. They hold others responsible for it all.
  4. A fourth group may cycle through the first three but eventually comes to realize that they were controlled while in the organization. And that they now have control over their lives. They seek a balanced perspective and gain as much information as they can about the group and their experiences

  A closed, high-control group such as the JWs fosters dependency on the organization. Members follow the multitude of rules or suffer punishment. All rules come from the top down and are not to be questioned. As a result members live in a state of helplessness. As long as they are willing to obey all rules their standing is secure. But there is an element of learned helplessness while aperson is involved with a group that makes all decisions for group members I think this aspect of learned helplessness has a severe impact on which group a person falls into after they leave.

  No one likes to believe they are helpless to care for themself, to protect themself or to direct their life. But when a person exists within a group that makes all decisions, including minutea such as what kinds of clothes to wear, what to watch on TV, who to talk to and who to avoid then in reality they do not have control.

  But unless we can accept that for a part of our lives something else was calling the shots and the only choice we had to resist was to leave and risk censure. The choice we are given is obedience at all costs and there is no honorable way out.

  That makes a person a victim.

  The nice thing is we can recognize it and take back control of our lives.
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  Junction-Guy

  I think children truly are the victims of this cult.