Shunning is Officially Psychological Torture!! (page 2)

betterdaze

Good find and thanks Maddie, this is a keeper.

The peer encouragement part is chilling... As a JW kid I was taught not to buckle under peer pressure at school, but then fully expected to "hate what Jehovah hates."

And of course we did, to go against the grain in the congregation or at home meant we were wicked, disobedient and deserving of death at Armageddon.

Fear plus the disinhibition also mentioned keeps so many in line. Jehovah blesses us when we shun unrepentant ones, more brownie points in the New System or something.

Yet Jesus taught forgiveness 70 times over???

The mob mentality is organizationally encouraged. This is just as destructive and life-threatening, IMHO, as if they *really did* stone people to death. They would if they could!

I recall Lady Lee made a point, how the shunning, or psychological terror of it, teaches JWs to self-regulate their very own thoughts. When we're already beating ourselves up
inside our own heads, torturing ourselves day-to-day, moment-to-moment, it becomes so much easier to do so to others.

And we don't even have lift a finger.

~Sue

Rabbit

Maddie, thank you for finding this for us.

Peer encouragement: to accept torture as necessary, acceptable or deserved, or to comply from a wish to not reject peer group beliefs.
Disinhibition : socio-cultural and situational pressures may cause torturers to undergo a lessening of moral inhibitions and as a result act in ways not normally countenanced by law, custom, conscience.
Organisationally : like many other procedures, once torture becomes established as part of internally acceptable norms under certain circumstances, it's use often becomes institutionalised and self- perpetuating over time, as what was once used exceptionally for perceived necessity finds more reasons claimed to justify wider use.

This...is something any active JW who has ever been shunned or forced to shun others -- under threat -- should understand.

Rabbit

purplesofa

thanks for posting this information

purps

mamochan13

yes. Nice to have it validated, I suppose, but those of us who have experienced it already know that it is not only psychological torture that can leave deep and long term scarring, but can lead to death.

It would be nice if one day as Mary says, it is made illegal. I doubt that day will come, though, since religious freedom trumps individual anguish.

ARoarer

Effects

Shunning is often used as a pejorative term to describe any organizationally mandated disassociation, and has acquired a connotation of abuse and relational aggression. This is due to the sometimes extreme damage caused by its disruption to normal relationships between individuals, such as friendships and family relations. Disruption of established relationships certainly causes pain, which is at least an unintended consequence of the practices described here, though it may also in many cases be an intended, coercive consequence. This pain, especially when seen as unjustly inflicted, can have secondary general psychological effects on self-worth and self-confidence, trust and trustworthiness, and can, as with other types of trauma, impair psychological function.

Shunning often involves implicit or explicit shame for a member who commits acts seen as wrong by the group or its leadership. Such shame may not be psychologically damaging if the membership is voluntary and the rules of behaviour clear before the person joined. However, if the rules are arbitrary, the group membership seen as essential for personal security, safety, or health, or if the application of the rules are inconsistent, such shame can be highly destructive. This can be especially damaging if perceptions are attacked or controlled, or various tools of psychological pressure applied. Extremes of this cross over the line into psychological torture and can be permanently scarring.

A key detrimental effect of some of the practices associated with shunning relate to their effect on relationships, especially family relationships. At its extremes, the practices may destroy marriages, break up families, and separate children and their parents. The effect of shunning can be very dramatic or even devastating on the shunnee, as it can damage or destroy the shunned member's closest familial, spousal, social, emotional, and economic bonds.

Shunning contains aspects of what is known as relational aggression in psychological literature. When used by church members and member-spouse parents against excommunicant parents it contains elements of what psychologists call parental alienation. Extreme shunning may cause traumas to the shunned (and to their dependents) similar to what is studied in the psychology of torture.

I have also heard that it is a form of passive aggression and is considered an act of perpetration by the one's doing the shunning. I heard a Phsychologist give a seminar on the act of shunning and the way it is so perpetrative towards the victim being shunned.

ARoarer

Pioneer Spit...oh, i mean Spirit

Wow. Great read, Maddie. I copied a portion of it and sent it to my dad. Thanks!

Beta Male

if only wiki articles had legal weight..

Scully

Hi Sweetstuff:

The tax revenue alone generated by cults like the ~~WTF~~ WTS keeps many mouths shut.

Mary is right. As Registered Charitable Organizations (the terminology used in Canadian tax law) congregations, circuits, districts and even the branch office are all tax exempt. They are required by law to file income tax returns though in order to maintain their charitable status.

There are almost 1500 JW related charitable organizations in Canada. You can find them on the Canada Revenue Agency's search function. There are links within the results that allow you to see the income tax return for each charitable organization and the trustees for each organization.

You can also use that search function to find out which congregations have had their charitable status revoked (usually because they have neglected to file a return).

The charitable exemption applies at all levels of government too - so if you ever have a KH build being proposed in your municipality, this is a major drawback in the community - the fact that you have an organization that does not endorse or participate in charitable practices on the community level (like sponsoring the food bank or a hospital or old folks residence or school or extra curricular activities for kids - like Scouts and Guides) but is willing to exploit the tax regulations so that they can get out of paying property taxes (which covers road maintenance adjacent to the property, fire and police services), sales tax on goods and services (like electricity, phone, water, sewer) is a big issue that not too many people are aware of.

Have a look at this thread to see how one Maritime community handled the situation: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/113833/1.ashx

ush419

Quite frankly, disfellowshipping is nothing mroe than spiritual stoning, That fact that it is practiced by the rectum circles in Brooklyn and forced unpon the rank and file by their henchmen is in itself a real picture of these people. They are deadly spiritually of course.

Shunning is Officially Psychological Torture!!

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