A little slice of happiness... and a bad taste.

by Kafka 5 Replies latest jw friends

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  Kafka

  Been about 20 yrs since I've been a JW, still have relatives who are.

  Anyway... I found myself amused one day when during a conversation, whose topic I can't recall, I referred to Jehovah's Witnesses as Jehovah Witnesses, without the apostrophe s, just as all my "worldly aquaintances" did when I was growing up. I remember being distinctly annoyed and self-righteous when they left out the possessive in Jehovah, and I'm sure I said something to them about it. But now I was doing the same thing and thinking, "Wow, that came off so naturally." It made me snicker silently, because the person I was talking to was a friend with no idea what JW's are about. We continued to talking and he also pronounced Jehovah's Witnesses without the apostrophe s. I made no effort to correct him, and in fact, I indulged in pronouncing it as "Jehovah Witness."

  One thing, though, that still is with me that bugs the hell outta me: Is my tendancy to have my attention immediately drawn to the word 'Jehovah' in print. I spend very little of my time reflecting on JW's, and, in fact, joining and posting this is probably the most I've spent doing so in a while. But it still riles me to no end to be reading something, and no matter where on the page, if it is on the page, to have my eyes immediately flash and single out the word "Jehovah."

  Ah! Such is this peculiar life.

  My heart does go out to a lot of the pain I see here, but my smile goes out to the brave ones who come through it better than before.

  Much love...
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  Broken Promises

  But it still riles me to no end to be reading something, and no matter where on the page, if it is on the page, to have my eyes immediately flash and single out the word "Jehovah."

  It happens to me too. And I've been out for more than 10 years.

  Hi, and welcome to the board.
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  wobble

  The word "Jehovah" is unusual, in print or spoken, do you not find that other words you do not often see in print, swearwords for example , spring out of the page at you ?

  Funny thing is, my ex-dubbie wife still doesn't like me to make fun of the name, saying "Jehoober" or something similar, she still cannot believe there is no Sky-daddy.
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  Kafka

  Thank you for the welcome, Broken. Amazing, how well conditioned we were and still are to a small extent.

  @ Wobble: I'll have to agree on the unusualness of the word 'Jehovah.' But I know, and I think others who do the same thing can back me up, it's not the unusualness of the word that makes it spring out at me. Rather than any mystical relevance, I believe that it is the years of conditioning, from the age of 7 to the 27, that are responsible for this occurance. Other words really don't spring out at me like 'Jehovah' does.

  Funny, too, how your wife, though an ex-JW, still doesn't take kindly to jesting about the name Jehovah. It took me a while to assign unvalidity to the whole concept of God.

  Occasionally, during my family get-togethers of those who used to be JW's and those who never were, the ex-JW's will refer to the those still in as J-Ho's, which I find amusing. Which is not to say that we spend a lot time at our get-together to bash JW's. Just a small occurance, whose relevance, I think, is appropriate for this board.
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  Broken Promises

  I've been out so long, I'm now used to referring to JWs as "Jay Dubs" when I speak.

  But if I said that in front of my staunch-JW sister, it would sound too "apostate" to her and she'd get offended. So I have to still be careful what I say in front of her and other JWs like her.

  The exJWs in my family are more fun to be around. And there's a new generation of those who have not grown up as JWs, which is great to see.
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  Kafka

  I hear you there, Broken. Kinda nice to be so far removed from all that nonsense, to be able to attach so little importance to something that meant so much way back when.

  But, like you, I watch what I say around my mother and younger sister; not to mention three aunts and several cousins. Just don't see any reason to unnecessarily rock the boat. They know where I stand, and, as long as they respect it, we can pretend to be a family. lol

  On the other hand, there is my other sister (also no longer associated with that book publishing company). I love her to death! Kindest, most giving person in the world. We went through the same hell together and we are always there for each other. I have one cousin that comes in from out of state twice a year, just to escape her JW sisters and hang with us. She says it restores her sanity.

  All in all, though, as complex as life is... it's so much simpler now.

  Congrats on a whole new generation of non-JW relatives, Broken. Gotta put a smile on your face!