The problems with fighting the WTS

by return of parakeet 22 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  return of parakeet

  Over the years, many well-intentioned posters have been frustrated when they ask fellow apostates (wear the name proudly!) to band together to let the world know how corrupt and destructive the WT cult is.

  I think there are some hard facts about this particular cult that make combatting it so frustrating:

  1. The number of dubs worldwide is too small to make much difference to the surrounding population (unlike the Mormons) and too big to be considered a niche cult (like the mother-ship suicide cult in California years ago).

  2. Dubs are bland. They don't shave their heads, dress in robes, chant, live in ashrams, speak in tongues, or do anything else that identifies them as the destructive weirdos they are.

  3. They are not violent as a group, unlike a few Christian fundamentalist groups, especially the fundamentalist LDS cults. Some members are lost to the blood doctrine, but the number of deaths is not high enough to ping the national and international media radars.

  4. Many ex-dubs are faders who wish to retain contact with loved family members that are still dubs, and so, although sympathetic to the cause, choose not to participate.

  5. The public perceives dubs as harmless irritants that disturb their Saturday mornings with Bible gibberish and Watchtowers. The most they may know about dubs is the ban on blood transfusions and military service.

  In other words, the WTS and JWs, by virtue of numbers and behavior, fly below the radar that would otherwise catapult them into national media attention.

  Unless one or more of these factors changes, I don't see how any organized protest against the JW cult would succeed.

  Thoughts, questions, comments?

  (I won't be able to respond until tomorrow as my newbie account of 10 daily posts has been used up.)

  Parakeet.
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  Gopher

  ROP,

  I think your points are spot-on. The world at large is generally more interested in scandals surrounding larger groups (Catholics) or freakier, even harsher groups (Scientologists).

  The ones who care the most about Watchtower issues are those who've been directly affected by Watchtowerism, and those that care the most tend to come to internet groups (of which this is the world's largest).

  One other factor may be that many who have escaped the JW's are just glad to have escaped, and take many years (maybe decades) just to normalize their lives, and are trying to put Watchtower effects behind them. However among the escapees (and never-been-JW's like poster Jgnat who care about WT issues) are people who are able to muster up concern and care so as to make good information available for questioning JW's and those who question JW's.

  However, it seems that trying to mobilize us into a large united group is like trying to herd many different breeds of cats. If the Watchtower claims that apostates and opposers "unite together" against their form of worship, they are wrong. We are all against their cultish ways, but respell "united" and you get "untied" which is more accurate.
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  gingerbread

  Jehovah's Witnesses aren't outwardly radical. To our neighbors we appear clean-cut, honest, law-abiding, family oriented, hard-working people (JW's are busy all the time!). The only odd things that neighbors might pick up on is the lack of holiday decorations (not necessarily all that unusual anymore) and we stick to ourselves (this could be seen as a personal or family quirk).

  At this point of my family's fade - and eventual exit - we don't have any desire to join in on a "new" cause. We've had enough of trying to convince others that we are right. And we've decided to stop looking at life through a set of "negativity" glasses.

  I guess we'd just rather go camping!
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  Hortensia

  Or, some of us see the wtbts as just part of the problem. I think all religions suck, some just do more obvious damage than others do. And I've moved on. I don't see a need to campaign against the wtbts. I'd get behind a movement to tax all of them, though.
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  return of parakeet

  Gopher: " However, it seems that trying to mobilize us into a large united group is like trying to herd many different breeds of cats. "

  Gopher's addition to my list:

  6. The apostate population is too diverse in their outlook on life to be able to organize effectively.

  Gingerbread and Hortensia's subset addition to problem 6.:

  6a. Some ex-dubs are happy with having escaped from the cult and do not wish to take their protest any farther than that.

  Going back to Gopher's point, I've written this before and will probably write again-- it's amazing that the trauma of having been a dub transcends all our current philosophical, political and religious differences.

  This is the only place I know of that atheists, born-agains, deists, wiccans, buddhists, conservatives, and liberals get along (more or less). It's like having survived combat; we're more united than we are divided.
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  Satanus

  Another quirk, its the christian xjws who put the most effort into combatting jws, and perhaps, the most effective, as well. There are, at least 2 reasons for this:

  Christianity is often a logical next step for exiting jws.

  Its easier to rescam a scammed person than it is to remove all of their programming.

  S
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  return of parakeet

  The Satanus subset 6b: Those ex-dubs most likely to desire exposing the WTS are themselves not yet free of dub or dub-like thinking to make an effective attack.
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  Satanus

  I agree. Being totally free of dubism means to be ambivalent towards the org.

  S
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  new22day

  As an non-JW I always thought the religion was really sad, but ultimately a personal choice. You wanna live that way and believe the sensational crap in your mags poor you, but ultimately your choice. Now, after (unfortunately) being involved with an exJW (now reinstated) I see it differently. Now I see the complete control, totaliltarianism, fear via shunning, subtle hate speech etc. And it's absolutely shocking and heart breaking to learn people are raised/think way. JWs have mostly flown under the radar but I don't think they will forever. And I think many of you people here who have such immense courage to question, doubt, leave and challenge the WTS are part of a change - however you do that. Living happy and free is a great example for others. Never underestimate what you do. As a lurker (lol) I've been inspired by so many of you. :)
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  OnTheWayOut

  These are excellent points. If break-away groups existed in any real force, and they had polygamy or maybe if they were Armageddon "preppers" with their bomb shelters loaded with provisions and guns, then people would take notice.

  In America, Mormons have had Mitt Romney, South Park and THE BOOK OF MORMON live show. They have fringe groups that get in trouble in the news. Scientologists have big celebrity names and some really whacko stuff.

  We ex-JW's have our "colorful" members. Maybe we should trot out our "prophets" and voice-hearers to the world and say "See what Watchtower does to people."