The 3-Day Escape

by dontplaceliterature 3 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  dontplaceliterature

  I was listening the the Steve Hassan interview that was posted on this forum by Bangalore.

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/226147/1/Interview-With-Steve-Hassan

  Something that struck me is that Hassan mentions a couple of times that before he released his book, if people could break away from the cult for three days to visit family, or be in an environment where they were free from the social pressure, they could be helped out much easier. Once he released his book, he said that every cult leader picked up a copy of it, and it became more difficult for him to help people out, because cult leaders were more careful about letting members out of their sight for an extended period of time.

  I was trying to draw a parallel to Jehovah's Witnesses, and I'm not sure if I have a strong one, so I was hoping for some feedback from you all.

  My experience was that you could never go away for three days without someone knowing what you were doing. Even if there was a legitimate reason for people not to see you, Witnesses I grew up around were such busy-bodies that someone always wanted to know where you had been and what you had been doing. Unless you were willing to lie to people, it would be virtually impossible for you to keep a 3-day cult exit counseling session a secret.

  Any thoughts?
• 

  dontplaceliterature

  Also, if you told people it was none of their business or that it was private, you would become suspect of being up to something, or of having "issues".
• 

  clarity

  DPL ........quite right!

  When I was in the thick of it, if I could have just stopped for a few days it would have been such a relief.

  But when you are on treadmill it's hard to jump off.

  Tue meeting, d2d Wed, a bible study Thur, Fri d2d, Fri nite jw baby shower, Sat take kids in sevice, Sun mtg

  I am getting sick typing this! Talk about aversion therapy!

  W hen it did happen (rarely) it was just like school got cancelled for the day!! felt much better.

  How crazy that we gave up our LIVES so easily!

  clarity
• 

  WTWizard

  There is never a chance to leave for more than 48 hours at a time. The boasting sessions are ongoing: Back when I was in, you never got more than 3 days between (and then you had to insert field circus between the open times). These days, if you have a regular boasting session on Sunday and the midweek one is Tuesday evening, you still have Family Waste the Evening Night (which is supposed to be the evening you used to have the other boasting session). And there is still that field circus issue.

  Then, if you have gaps of 3 days, they expect you to fill them in with pious-sneering. Between this and other stupid events, there is no way you are getting time off for yourself. And, if you go out of town, Brother Hounder will make sure you were at their boasting sessions and supporting field circus. Did you go where you were "supposed" to? What happens if you originally were going to Vermont but you changed your mind and instead went to Pennsylvania or Maine? (Or something came up, and you altered your plans.) You will have to verify that you went to the boasting sessions, and have a confirmation (such as having the hounders being able to call the congregation you supposedly went to the boasting session or in field circus with). Failure to come up with confirmation information is viewed as suspicious, even as evidence of possible fornication.

  And, at any rate, all it takes is for the hounders to call it "brazen conduct" to take a few days off without being tracked. Nothing more--no specific rule from the Filthful and Disgraceful Slavebugger required. You can get "publicly reproved" or disfellowshipped on the grounds of "brazen conduct" for nothing more than taking the week off, or going to Old Orchard Beach ME instead of Vermont and not providing contact information to verify that you were in fact at all the boasting sessions and in field circus.