by shamus100 27 Replies latest jw friends
I thought that it was just me who witnessed this stuff - that being 'in' with the bad crowd, so to speak. I remember the parties, stage-diving from second storey lofts into crowds at one party. That was not common, but it did happen at one huge one.
It's true - alcohol is one of the few vices that dubs can have, and it's rather sad. I know I sure looked forward to getting 'buzzed', as we called it too.
omg, I cannot count how many heavy drinkers my hubby and I knew in our kh. We are not really drinkers, just an occasional wine and once in a while I like Amaretto and oj, (maybe 2 tops) and my hubby likes a rum and coke. But anyway, the first ever gathering we got invited to while we were still studying, the witnesses had a huge empty metal garbage pail (the ones you use outside your home) FILLED with ice and BEER!
That was in the Hingham MA congregation. And that should have been a warning right then that something was not right. Anyway, most of the drinkers were elders and their wives but several young guys got in trouble for drinking too.
I remember this one elder who lived on my street for a while and his wife, they used to start drinking immediately after work if it was a non-meeting night. I swear I would stop by in the middle of the afternoon, say 3pm and they were sitting in their pajamas on the couch with wine in their glasses and a huge bottle of wine on a tray. It was crazy really.
Now I know why we used to hear "advice" in our hall about not coming to meetings after having a wine or two, because you want to be fully alert to recieve spiritual food. Yeah right, no doubt many went to the meetings SMASHED!
Anyway, good thread. Lilly
I've known several over the years but at the time did'nt think much of it. I wonder why now though I did'nt take notice of it.Sometimes I think we expect the Witness friends to be more than they really are so we just overlook or turn a blind eye to this stuff.I was in a car group in service one day and the elder that was with us was saying how he did'nt have to go out and find another woman to have sex with. He just called his wife by her middle name and it seemed like adultery without actually comitting it. He was talking to another bro. in the car anf they were laughing about it Just about made me sick and there were 2 young boys in the car that could have heard it.I know this has nothing to do with your subject of drinking but it just shows how much hypocrisy there is.
My JW wife kepy Vodka hidden in the house and kept her drinking problem a secret from me- I found out many years later after the divorce.
We are not really drinkers, just an occasional wine and once in a while I like Amaretto and oj, (maybe 2 tops) and my hubby likes a rum and coke.
Not Feeling It promptly runs downstairs to try amaretto and OJ despite how gross that sounds. I do like amarula which is a creamy fruity liqueur but likely quite different.
Shamus.
Another sad reality is; there's a few here who do similarly.
"I" for one, am guilty of this.
I enjoy my beer/liquor.
The interesting part of all this is, WUI (Writing Under the Influence). Not a DUI (as we all know it), but writing UNDER the influence.
Not like driving drunk; but writing drunk with various fallouts.
Whether or not practicing Jehovah's Witnesses drank/binge drank; some of us, post-JW, do similarly.
I've done that here.
(moderators are pulling this one over to the admin-forum) yes, Scully. <yup! Tsk! Tsk! (shame-shame-shame on me)
It's not an exclusive JW practice; it's part of 'some' human behaviours.
Jehovah's Witnesses, are more human than you'd actually think..... -minus the belief system; are we more similar than we'd like to admit?
Just a thought.
I agree with razor my parents were "weak witnesses" that got drunk but on leaving truth it was like a red light went ping above their heads and they went into alcohol madness zone I can only remain thankful that the JW's kept my mum from going into overdrive with drink while we were really young.
I think it is floored logic to apply this only to JW's, binge drinking is recognised as a world wide growing phenomenon.
Ah but Ren the rest of the planet is not self righteously proclaiming superiority as god's chosen few.
Drinking is HUGE among the witnesses here. There is basically no social occasion without it. People actually even bring bottles to the bookstudy, afterwards we have cheese and wine, and the guys crack open a beer.
A substance abuse counselor told a group that many religious groups' members have a hard time dealing with the impossible demands of the religion, and resort to substances to deal with it. He SPECIFICALLY named JWs as one of the religions, and he has treated several people, including elders, MSs, etc.
