Dec. 15th WT - WT Society REALLY Minimizes Earning a Decent Living

by flipper 62 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  dgp

  Mr. Flipper, I wonder if you could post a scan of that Watchtower. This is a very relevant point with regard to the person I met.

  On another note, I very much like this statement by can'tleave: "we generally are not motivated just by money, we make decisions based on numerous factors". I wonder whether the writers of this Watchtower have considered that your retirement pay depends on how much you contributed to the system in your younger years. Since almost all populations around the world are ageing, most, if not all social security systems will have trouble making payments in the not so distant future. What is going to happen to the witnesses then?

  I have the feeling that they will claim that "the time is reduced" anyways. Yep, indeed: the time is reduced if you want to make payments to your retirement fund.
• 

  palmtree67

  Where was that experience about the family who had to get rid of their tobacco farm immediately when the GB decided No More Smoking????

  That fits here.
• 

  Hopscotch

  Flipper this is all about control in so many ways. And again it shows what a toxic parent the WTS (that claims to be 'our mother') is. A normal parent wants to see their child succeed and get ahead and is happy for them if they get a good education and go on to a good career, earning good money. But not the WTS. They like to keep their members dumbed down and doing menial jobs. It's so much easier to keep their members in line this way.

  But the crazy part is the WTS then punishes their members who have followed this advice and who now find that because they only have low paying menial jobs they have to work longer and harder just to make ends meet. Out comes the guilt trips, the innuendos ("bro so & so is such a slacko, he misses meetings because of his job"), the taking away of 'priviledges' and articles such as the one you mentioned.

  Another thing is, these articles are written by men who are living on handouts and have done so for decades. Not only are they totally out of touch with the realities of life, they are usually unaffected by the downturns in the economy. The ones in the writing dept (such as my brother in law) have often been in bethel for decades and are fairly 'secure' in their position. If anything they are better off financially than they were many years ago when they did actually have to work part time and pioneer before going to bethel. And because of their 'higher up' position in Bethel, they are usually sought after to give talks all over the country, each time pocketing money and other goodies from 'green handshakes'. So money and life comes fairly easily to them without much effort. How easy it is for them to sit behind their nice desk in their own little corporate office and write this kind of stuff that can have such a terrible impact on the life of a faithful member trying their hardest. Sick.

  Thanks for bringing this article to our attention Flipper

  Hopscotch
• 

  pat1060

  Many bro.in the 60s and 70s and even before were told not to worry about having money to retire because we would be in the new world.They have grown old and didn't have enough money to live there old age.My husband is very bitter toward the society.
• 

  pat1060

  You are absolutely right Hopscotch....Thank you all for your comments...
• 

  Joshnaz

  I remember the time when I was 17 years old. My parents retired to Florida and I lived in Massachusetts. I was working at $7/hr. I was living alone and it took everything I had to just pay rent. Food was a luxery, I had the oppertunity to work overtime at the cost of missing the meetings (except for Sundays) and I took it. I was so exhausted from work, I found it hard to wake up on time for the Sunday Talk but, nevertheless I was there. One day my truck broke its clutch. I thought of the people they made examples of in third world countries who have to walk miles to the meetings and cross rivers filed with piranhas to get there. I thought this is my "piranha filled river" and still I was going to make it. I grinded the gears, power shifting my beat up truck, and made it to the meeting. Only to have the elders that very day, tell me that missing the meetings was unexceptable, and I was to be stripped of all my priveleges. I told them my circumstance, and asked for help from the elders. I even gave them the piranha filled river speach. All they said to me after that was, "If you can't afford to live on your own, you should go live with your parents." I was shocked! These people were supposed to be my family. Yet they never gave me help. I later walked to work. An elder stopped by my place and talked with me and asked why I haven't gone to the meetings. I said, the Kingdom Hall is 10 miles away and its 30 degrees out. Luckily my job was about a mile away. He offered to give me a ride but said I had to pay him $5 a day to get there!!!!! I told him to leave, and I never went back to that Kingdum Hall again.
• 

  SirNose586

  I remember the time when I was 17 years old. My parents retired to Florida and I lived in Massachusetts. I was working at $7/hr. I was living alone and it took everything I had to just pay rent. Food was a luxery, I had the oppertunity to work overtime at the cost of missing the meetings (except for Sundays) and I took it. I was so exhausted from work, I found it hard to wake up on time for the Sunday Talk but, nevertheless I was there. One day my truck broke its clutch. I thought of the people they made examples of in third world countries who have to walk miles to the meetings and cross rivers filed with piranhas to get there. I thought this is my "piranha filled river" and still I was going to make it. I grinded the gears, power shifting my beat up truck, and made it to the meeting. Only to have the elders that very day, tell me that missing the meetings was unexceptable, and I was to be stripped of all my priveleges. I told them my circumstance, and asked for help from the elders. I even gave them the piranha filled river speach. All they said to me after that was, "If you can't afford to live on your own, you should go live with your parents." I was shocked! These people were supposed to be my family. Yet they never gave me help. I later walked to work. An elder stopped by my place and talked with me and asked why I haven't gone to the meetings. I said, the Kingdom Hall is 10 miles away and its 30 degrees out. Luckily my job was about a mile away. He offered to give me a ride but said I had to pay him $5 a day to get there!!!!! I told him to leave, and I never went back to that Kingdum Hall again.

  Man, I'm glad those elders were such pricks to you. And to think, had they helped you out and really acted like "hiding places from the wind," then you might still be there. Or maybe not, I don't know your story. But the point is, I really and truly hope that the good dubs remain on the bottom, and the bad ones climb the ranks. That way, more and more people wake up to the madness.

  What I thought was fairly interesting was the really well off dubs in the wealthier part of the city who openly talked about their next car purchase, next vacation, etc., and the fact that maybe 50 miles away, a witness couple is deciding to sell one of their cars, move into a studio, etc., just to get rid of "worldly distractions." The contrast amazed me.
• 

  bobld

  These guys have a short memory,just a few years ago in the same mags they mentioned about getting more education because Bro's were having a hard time getting good jobs.Some had to work long hours and even two jobs to make ends meet and could not piss away time(pioneer) in D-D.

  Why don't them look at themselves,all expenses paid.Free room,free food,free medical,free dental, free eye glass, free drugs.

  The one thing that pissed me off the most.An elder telling me to work less, no o/t etc,when he drives the latest model of vehicle,go on 3 or 4 vacations a year.Oh yeah he will take a D.O.,C.O. on a vacation.Live in a big house.

  Bob
• 

  The Oracle

  California, ... exactly. Good post.
• 

  wha happened?

  I know the "Old guys in the dorms" might be trying to turn the screws, but the few JW friends I have are less concerened about having to work extra. I know 15 years ago most of them really gave me grief at starting a business, but now it's like work work work and provide for the family