Are most JW's window washers? (page 4)

DanaBug

My Dad was a window washer. My mom and I started a window business when I was 15. I paid for my first car with cash. It was good money, better than McD's. Both my parents have had cleaning jobs on the side, banks and offices, as long as I can remember.

serenitynow!

Well Misery, you can think that "us apostates" (you do realize that you are an apostate as well, don't you?) are saying lots of JWs are window washers without cause, but when I first started lurking on this site, I was surprised that so many talked about window washing. I thought my family was the only one. Yes Misery, I have washed windows. Growing up my elder father had a window washing business, and employed many other JWs, including the pioneer whore that my father left his family for, but that's a story for another time. So as little kids my sister and I used to wash windows at many businesses. I also remember that I worked with my father once where he also cleaned inside of a dry cleaners in addition to washing the windows. We had the buckets, ammonia, squegee (sp?) and all. I did it until I was old enough to be embarrassed at doing such dirty, menial work (especially with boys around), and then I worked in the office, helping with various duties.

And maybe some JWs were making lots of money with it, but we weren't. We had no health insurance growing up and I only remember getting medical care through going to a low cost clinic for immunizations. Why was my father a window washer? Because he was uneducated. Because he spent years serving where the need was great instead of getting a good job and going to college. And my JW elder uncle had a side window washing business too that he did on weekends, in addition to his professional full time job.

Oh and also my father ended up in serious tax trouble with his business too.

Perhaps you Misery have just not known a wide enough spectrum of JWs. And to speak of us as elitist for just saying what seems to be true- that there are lots of JW window washers, maybe you need to realize that there is alot of JWs that you don't know. Perhaps you have just been in congregations where people had varied jobs/professions, or just had better opportunities.

jaguarbass

The brother who was a window washer in my hall back in Cleveland was/ is very well off. He lives better than my worldly neighbors

who are school teachers, nurses, firemen, policemen, politicians, business owners.

He started out cleaning windows and ended up owning the company that cleans all the windows in downtown

Cleveland.

Many of my JW brother in laws back in Cleveland were union carpenters

and were able to retire at 50 making 50,000 a year for the rest of their lives.

99% of the witnesses I know/knew personally are very well off.

Of all the people I know they are the most prosperous.

Sometimes I think they were blessed for staying with the organization and I was cursed.

But I chose the road, I have gone down.

Bungi Bill

Around here, the JWs are also heavily represented in Pest Control work.

(A few - but not many - are like me: i.e. a busted a%s electrician).

Incredible as it now seems, there was a time when cleaning work did pay very good money.

I even know a non-JW who threw in his Engineering Diploma course to take up full-time cleaning contracts. Initially, he was working part time as a cleaner, to supplement his income while attending a Technical Institute. He ended up figuring he could make more money from cleaning contracts than what they were ever going to pay him as a diploma-qualified engineer.

(For the record, this same person now makes some sort of a living as a Gold Buyer - his cleaning contracts could not have worked out too well in the long term!)

Bill.

PS: Somebody has to do it, and I don't look down in contempt on any honest occupation. What is sad is the way all too many young JWs are presented with little choice as to what they will do for a living.

Myself, I have been a farmhand, truck driver, tractor driver, factory hand, cleaner, car park attendant, crane operator, bulldozer driver, timber worker, trades assistant - before waking up to myself (and the WTS bull#hi*) and managing to get into an adult apprenticeship. (The first apprenticeship prematurely ended when the elders told me to do so, during the pre-1975 hype!)

Aussie Oz

No

i only ever knew 2 from the same family. The father had a general cleaning business working all sorts of crap hours. His son now runs his own carpet cleaning business.

I never thought of them as low class dumbed down people or jobs...i did their rounds when they had holidays and it was not easy!

all the rest i've known have been Builders, Interstate truck drivers, home renovaters, real estate agents, farmers, shop assistants, panel beaters, painters, museum curator...

i grew up in country towns in farm districts so they were mostly all hard working manual labour people.

Miseryloveselders has a point... i guess it is too easy to make fun of JWs by calling them all window washers. It stems i think from the society pushing jobs that need no formal university training as the goal. The magazines always feature as good examples those who work in the so called 'menial/low class' jobs rather than for example, : ''Brother so and so after becoming a lawyer and having a succesfull practice has now set himself up to auxillary pioneer twice a year''...it's almost always janitor, cleaner etc. Then we get hold of that stuff because it feeds our desire to be critical of the WT, and it becomes stereo-typical JW employment.

oz

By

Scott77

When I first came in, I was surprised how much the JW's got into your personal business as to what kind of work you did, how many hours you worked and if you had to work at a time that conflicted with going to a meeting. I was also amazed by the high number of those that worked for themselves. Certainly nothing wrong with these types of occupations, but there were alot of window washers, cleaning services, contracting work, auto work & odd jobs among others. I had a great job when I came in and was amazed how many people tried to convince me to quit and do these other type jobs in order to have more time for "kingdom interests." Hell, I was still making most of the meetings and putting in more FS hours than most. They just never give up getting into your personal business.

Think About It

That is a very good piece. I could not agree more. I know some of JWs who owned a cleaning company. Some are Janitors, contruction workers and are employed by themselves. As for ' JW sisters', many, having horned their ASL skills through use at regular ASL congregations meetings, work part time as ASL interpreters and they are quiete good at that. Some works are waiteress. This kind of work is strongly recommended by the society as can be seen from many of their magazines and books.

Scott77

cognizant dissident

There is someone on JWN who has put himself through law school and raised a family by cleaning windows. He has never practiced law but cleaned windows all his life and supported his family very nicely on that. He also owns 4 or 5 real estate properties just from investing his window washing earnings.

He is also one of the most intelligent people I know. You can never judge anybody by the kind of work they do.

Scott77

serenitynow! ,

Your experience was excellent rebuttal to Misery. As usual, thank you for sharing. I believe, the society is to blame for misquiding many JW families in the first place. This is not to disapprove window washing as a prefered profession for some. Its a good and gainful job for some. I have a great respect for those doing it but not for JWs. I mean current apostates who are doing it to make ends meet now that they are out of the WTS.

Scott77

WTWizard

When I was in, most of the pio-sneers had cleaning accounts. They typically would go into offices and clean them up. Or, they would do carpet cleaning. Some do cleanup work during major renovations of buildings. And yes, they were very nosey about people working when they "should" be at a boasting session or in field circus, claiming that they are not trusting in Jehovah if they need the business from someone that would make them miss one boasting session or lose half an hour of field circus during the year.

There were other "career(??)" paths I have seen the witlesses take. Many are dishwashers (and, all too many are actually diswashers, because they put away more dirty dishes than clean ones). Some work as waitresses (and get in trouble with the holidays), cashiers (again, the Christmas music gets them in trouble), stock people, and cleaning staff for hospitals, nursing homes, and institutions. Some also work as maintenance people at apartment complexes--the scumbag that dragged me into the cancer, despite not wanting to let me into a position of responsibility, has worked as a manager of one complex.

Funny thing, there are window washers in the world. Those are the ones that know that, as colder weather settles in, they are going to need to supplement their income. They often start small Christmas decorating businesses to supplement their window washing income, sometimes as part of the same business. This usually gives them sufficient income to get through the winter until the window washing season picks up again. The witlesses cannot do that, so they are often strapped for cash from November through March or April when they can start washing windows again. This compensates them for not "wasting(??)" their money on Christmas: The money they "waste(??)" on Christmas comes partly from their Christmas side business, plus they get the fun of helping others to prepare for the holidays.

Finally-Free

Those are the ones that know that, as colder weather settles in, they are going to need to supplement their income.

All of the window cleaners I knew, myself included, worked right through the winter. We rarely bothered with seasonal residential work. I made most of my income during the colder months.

You just add some methanol to the water. In winter you never get rained out.

W

Are most JW's window washers?

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