by cognisonance 95 Replies latest jw friends
An unforgettable story was told by a poster who is sadly no longer with us, Onacruse. He told a multiple part "Story of My Life" and his time at Bethel.
He was a most intelligent and engaging man, who showed great taste when picking his wife, too.
Frankly, I consider the WTS bloodguilty in his early demise, and his lost potential.
jgnat, the link takes you to a non existant page 20 of his previous posts. Do you know the correct page to read his story?
Nevermind, I found it. There are 17 parts!!! Here are the links:
jgnat, how did he die? You made it sound like he took his own life...
I was at bethel for two seperate two week construction deals in 84.....
the second I was ready to leave the org, I went there to get away from the congragation I was in .. you could miss meetings while you were there no one knew you so .. I did
Ive said before that, the Bro who was bringing me in constantly reminded me that we were not CULT as a CULT has one leader..
But while at bethel, the morining text, all the comments were somehow spun into praise Freddie Franz.. he was in his 90's
I thought geez really..when he's dead who will they worship!
plus the food sucked
I different guy who studied with me was there his Name was Bill Christ... he was a refrigeration tech, who had a lot to do with the new 4 color presses...
does any on here no him..
I never really woke up till now I just wanted out.. I remember, if this is how the new system .. I'll pass
L8R T8R
"So if one has a legitimate concern, notices that something is being done wrong, or that someone is wronging you, one has no recourse?"
If your superior was wronging you, the standard response is the same as at the congregation... "wait on Jehovah." Very seldom did Jehovah come to the rescue and correct things. I guess I learned early on to just shut up and do my job. It wasn't a case where "the squeeky wheel gets the grease." It was more like, "the nail sticking out will get hammered."
I guess I'm still trying to come to terms with the deeply ingrained message that I must stay an obedient, subservient, subordinate. And I was such a dutiful slave for them. Treat me like sh!t, and I'd just try harder. Get caught in the ongoing ego battles between Teaching and Writing and I'd keep my mouth shut. Watch idiots like GB 2.0 take a fast-track to the top of Jaracz's Sh!t Pile of As$holes and pretend that they're somehow smart and deserving. Seeing thousands of dollars wasted on bad decisions and I looked the other way. It really is like a police state. Underneath the painted on smiles was a climate of fear. Your room and stuff were subject to scrutiny 24/7. The world outside was demonized by all the lectures and mind-control, so the fear of leaving, or being kicked out, was very real to me.
Being in bethel woke me up to the reality that it was a very human and imperfect organization. After I left bethel, I tried to just go back to being a regular dub, but I couldn't. Eventually, I wised up and left. Although I'm still trying to get on with life.
I think what got my attention later on after my fade, was the amount of those who served in Bethel who are now inactive. It seems like once someone goes there, they either get completely brainwashed, or they figure it out.
Well now it's going to drive me crazy. I spent an hour reading through onacruse's many awesome posts, and I don't know what happened to him. Did he get to a dark place like Oompa did?
Years ago, out of curiosity and in a semi-social setting, I asked innocent questions of ex-Bethelites and their families in the congregation.
I could immediately see them clam-up and give me quick answers that I sensed fell short of the truth. So, I got the sense that all was not quite well at Bethel and they were covering something up and it was verboten to talk about it.
However, years later I heard a rumor that they search people's belongings in Bethel on a fairly regular basis and I wondered if this was possibly one reason some people don't stay at Bethel. I know I would be furious if my belongings were gone through.
With this and the dictatorial behavior, I would not have lasted a week.
