by flipper 44 Replies latest jw friends
I was a JW who was truly sincere (and why I am out now) many of the other bros "working toward privileges" were truly dog eat dog back stabbing competitive.
Jehovah's Witnesses are predatory cult of psychopaths with a few innocents in the midst.... not sour grapes just plain truth
I was a nobody and they still hated me anyway damned if you do damned if you don't.
From the perspective of a 'sister' who watched every male relative struggle and get humiliated again and again by the procedure, here are my experiences:
FATHER--Legendary speaker, full time pioneer, elder for decades and presiding overseer. Until he moved into a hall where an ex circuit overseer presided. My father was never a yes-man or team player. He was removed as an elder and never reappointed from the time he was about 43 until he died at 76. He would ask year after year to be reappointed and they would say he was too arrogant. He knew too much for his own good. He needed to be more of a team player. His death is what finally forced me out of that F*#king organization
BROTHER #1 & #2--both my brothers would spend their lives trying to kiss up to a group of men who would let them gain some privileges only to snatch them away for any perceived wrong: dozing off during attendant duties after working double shifts, playing music on the car stereo during coffee break while out in service, allowing their sister (me) to go to a pool party where there was underage drinking, having his wife sit with him while handling the sound, the list goes on and on. Basically it was the elders way of keeping them so humiliated they would beg forgiveness for breathing and do whatever was asked of them. To this day, they are still in, still doormats, and completely unaware of just how miserable it makes them.
MY HUSBAND--Always fulfilled everything asked of him: sound, mikes, literature, attendant, parking, etc. He even ran the magazine dept when the MS he was appted under had some meltdown and fled the congregation. His only problem was he is an introvert. He turned in 10 hours every month, but he only commented 2 or 3 times a month. He gave excellent talks and was such a good reader he was used for the Watchtower but his placements didn't reflect a productive ministry. And that is what got him passed over in the end--he should have been handing out their stupid literature...or at least lying about it.
You gotta have the right personality and the right connections to make it very far in that cult.
BALAAMSASS- Very interesting and informative posts by you ! Thanks for the information . I find it amazing how judgmental and nit picky the C.O.'s and elders were in going beyond what the WT society's requirements were for appointing elders & MS's. They seemed to make up their own lame rules on the fly according to their personal whims from how you describe it. I never would have made it as elder because I would have got in some guys face if a fellow elder was being unjust to the congregation members ! LOL ! They would have deleted me real quicklike ! I was too independent for their tastes.
That was an interesting experience of the guy who just reported 6 hours a month in on purpose , even though he got 10 hours in. Smart man. He knew they'd leave him alone and not bug him to reach out if he was constantly reporting low service hours. Pretty astute of him.
BAND ON THE RUN- That's too bad about the congregation you were raised in. Too bad illiteracy dominated the congregation. It sounds like there was racial prejudice in the congregation if it was 98 % black yet all 3 elders were white. You mean there were NO black elders at all when you attended there ? Very strange. I always loved it when I was in a racially mixed congregation. It had a much better spirit with love shown more all encompassing I feel when different races mixed together.
SEENITALL- Your comment about every congregation, elders, and C.O. being different is SO TRUE ! There was never a uniform policy that elders stuck by . Every congregation had their nuance , or at least one or two controlling elders who would tend to dominate the other elders - although they were supposed to serve as a " body ". What I usually saw was 75 % of the elders initmidated by the other 25 % of elders who were more dominating and aggressive - who ended up getting their way regarding who was appointed or not . Good points you make.
AVOCADO JAKE- Good points. I saw a lot of heavy drinking among a good number of elders. I remember at one pre-assembly preparation meeting inside the kingdom hall after the final prayer and we had practiced parts on the assembly- the elders ( with the circuit Overseers blessing ) broke open a huge couple of 12 packs of beer and started guzzling beer down right inside the kingdom hall ! I was 23 yrs.old then and it was one of my early introductions to how weird things REALLY got when elders were left to their own devices. Like yourself - I wish rank & file JW's could rEALLY see what goes on behind the scenes. They'd probably be blown away. Interesting what you said about the " hoarders " getting appointed ! Perhaps they were selected to gather and hoard more " sheep " !
WASANELDER ONCE- Thanks for clarifying. Now I see that you just meant it was what YOU had experienced in your locale- not insinuating that ALL congregations didn't appoint some as MS's because they were " lacking intelligence ". I see what you are saying. From what you say in your locale elders appointed others based on " economic status, popularity, family affiliation, and education. " Very sad , true. I've seen a combination of some of those things as well. You are correct- we had to " sell our soul " to the WT organization if we really wanted to climb up in the organization. I just could never do it. A deep part in the back of my mind nagged me that it was all BS. Thanks for the post.
REFRIED TRUTH- I saw a lot of " dog eat dog " competition as well , especially when the Circuit Overseer would come and everybody would raise their hand to work with him . You'd think the President of the United States was visiting or something ! I'd say your expression that Witnesses are a " predatory cult of psychopaths " is pretty accurate indeed ! I like that expression, I'll have to remember that one ! Don't feel too bad about being hated, I was hated as well. Lots of us were. I'm glad we are out !
LUNATIC FAITH- Thanks for your perception of things as a female ! I appreciate your input ! I feel your dad really got a raw bone. That C.O. probably felt threatned by your dad because your dad was secure within himself and confident- so the a-hole C.O. out of jealousy cut your dad off from being an elder. Very sad. I hope your dad saw the injustice that was done to him. Sounds like he may not have seen it if he still tried to reach out for elder position though. And your brothers sound like my older JW siblings- organization first and foremost over everything ! There is no reasoning with them. And your husband - I hope he got out of the JW cult eventually. Or does he still attend ? I don't remember your story exactly - perhaps you might refresh my memory ? But I agree- it takes a special kind of " mind controlled " person to just fall into line and willingness to let oneself LOSE themself to the WT society. Very dangerous in my opinion
My hubby is PYRAMIDSCHEME. He left due to the treatment he received after working so hard to reach out. He's been on this website for a couple years now. He had a good friend who is an elder that used to tell him horror stories about the bureaucracy and good-ol-boys club that is the elder body. After that Pyramid just couldn't bring himself to be a part of it.
I have found my answer to a question that was bothering me for many years. There was a brother and sister that I considered the meekest couple I ever met. But he wasn't bright. He seemed sensitive, he was friendly, she was too. He supported her pioneering (most of the time I think she did not need to work). They were modest and humble. They were not rich, but lived comfortably. Clean too! He sometimes pioneered. My question was, why he was not appointed elder. Now I know. He wasn't the right image. But I thought, if his IQ wasn't so great, but he lived such an exemplary life, isn't it proof of holy spirit? They don't want holy spirit working there. That is my conclusion.
LUNATIC FAITH- Cool ! So your hubby is Pyramid Scheme ? I'm glad to hear he escaped the JW's like you ! I too left due to injustices committed by elders towards me and others. I'm glad you and your husband got your freedom. Nice.
N. DREW- Exactly. Good point. The WT society doesn't REALLY want " holy spirit " working in the organization - they just want rank and file JW's to THINK " holy spirit " is working in the organization. I saw many men like the guy you mention passed over and not appointed servants due to not " fitting in " with the good old boys club. He was too honest a guy to play all the games in kissing up to the elders to get appointed. I'm sure he was much happier NOT being an elder . Less stress for sure ! Peace out, Mr. Flipper
Do you want anecdotes?
N. DREW- Antecdotes ? Clarify please ? Peace out, Mr. Flipper
An uncle of mine (an elder) says "it is all political", boy is he right!
CJ
Antedotes are particular things elders did that were way away from reasonable wisdom and justice when they had a choice. I don't mean names, I mean nonsense.
