I cannot fathom the incredible amount of stupidity shown by the WT. They've been told for years that working people with good jobs can donate more money than HS graduates. Another thing is that people with good jobs can attend all the meetings because they don't have to work 2 or 3 jobs to pay their bills. They also have better health care and can afford to visit the doctor when sick so they get better more quickly and can get back to the meetings and field service. (Although doing that would make any thinking JW violently ill all over again.)
Most elders I knew had good jobs and HAD gone to college. So they only needed to work 40 hours a week and therefore had time for evening meetings, weekend trips to "elder school" (with cookies and milk provided for a "donation"), and time to meet in Judicial Committees in order to DF rank and file JW's for calling them liars when they said there was no "clergy class", yet claiming "clergy confidentiality" in court and also showing that there was a clergy class by their very act of DF'ing all those who said there was one. (I'm confused about this also. I was a servant. But I never got the chance, thank God, to "hear confessions". What fun that must have been, listening to people begging forgiveness for kissing their soon-to-be spouse or listening to what the congregation "rat finks" had to say when they squealed on their "friends".) God, that still makes me so sick. You have to wonder about grown men and women who have nothing better to do than rush to the elders and say, "Ooooh, Elder Brain Donor, I saw Brother KissSis making out with Sister Desperate. Can I watch them die at Armageddon?? Please, please?? Can I, please???" I find it so ironic that JW's can kiss an elder's ass, yet there are many rules about how or where to kiss their wife.
Flipper, if you read this, what do you think? Am I right to conclude that the WT of today has more rules, more silly and "none of the elders' damn business rules", and more rules governing the private lives of all JW's than the Pharisees could ever have had?? An education would help at least SOME of them to see that their rules and teachings will NOT help JW's enjoy a better life, even as JW's.
They are dumping a huge number of Bethel workers and others from around the world. It must have been brought to their attention that most of these "early retirement cases" can't find work because they have no skills except lying, ass-kissing, arrogance, buying K-Mart clothes and polyester, and they know all of the donut and coffee places in town. (Like the rest of us don't know how to find Dunkin' Donuts.) I'm hoping the ones "laid off" will sue the WT for "cruel and inhumane treatment" while on the job.
If most of these people being let go are men under 40 years old, many will no doubt try to catch up on the "normal" things JW's do out in the congregations. The men will date women, the ten women for every one man will try to land this "prize" from Bethel (probably breaking most Bible rules in the process because they will need to fight dirty to beat the other nine women), a few babies will suddenly appear (either by choice or else the woman trying to start a family before it's too late), and the proud parents will both have to attend the University of Mickey D. (UMD, doesn't quite sound like a good place to go).
Possibly one or both parents, and maybe even their kids, will eat more than their share of junk food. This will either be due to stopping at Dunkin' Donuts or McD's whenever they go out in service, or when the kids (or maybe even a parent) ends up working at a fast food place and gets a free lunch or dinner from their menu, which we all know is such great food.
I am sure the GB has tried to analyze all of the angles. I personally know that the majority of people who continue to get an education are more likely to quit, or not join the WT cult in the first place. This is usually due to the fact that they can do or did do research on the WTS and also have been taught how to "think" rather than being taught how to "obey", which is what the JW's do. So it's no surprise that the WT doesn't want JW's to be exposed to the world of education. They would become smarter, more logical, and would be exposed to fair and unbiased information about the WTS. So education is anathema (defined as a formal ecclesiastical ban) because it helps new people not to join this cult and it also makes those already in it question what they are being taught. The more education, the more questions they ask. Since the WT made it all up and there ARE no answers, the elders become more annoyed since they realize they are idiots, and the one with the questions is considered to be an "apostate" more and more as time goes on and the questions continue.
Someone said there will be a "brain drain" with people leaving the WTS. Considering the amount of thinking people in the WTS, this process shouldn't take too long. In conclusion, my main concern is the waste of a good life that a young person could have. This point annoys since I was a victim of this very same policy. But that's another post.
My best to all and good health to you. M.A.N.
