I'm not DF or DA, but I still get shunned... (page 3)

free and happy

Darth Fader - The same has happened to me, i'm not disfellowshipped or disassoicated but many times i've been in the supermarket and seen people from my old cong who have stared at me and turned their trollies round and nearly sprinted for the next aisle, some would give Usain Bolt a run for his money! Its hilarious to watch. I like to think I have an anti-witness force field around me to protect me from the dribble they spout!

I used to take it personally and get upset as I haven't done anything wrong but in reality I wouldn't have chosen any of these people to be my friends, they were just there in the cong and you made the best of it. I have proper friends now who like me for me so I'm quite glad they don't feel the need to converse or try to pull be back to the dark side! he! he!

darthfader

Dazed, thanks for the invite :)

Zeb, Here's a quick quote from Wikipedia: Cooties are, in American and Canadian childlore, a kind of infectious disease... A child is said to "catch" cooties through any form of bodily contact, proximity, or touching of an "infected" person or from a person of the opposite sex of the same age. Often the "infected" person is someone who is perceived as "different" and bears some kind of social stigma:[3] of the opposite sex, disabled, someone who is shy or withdrawn, someone who has peculiar mannerisms, etc. The phrase is most commonly used by children aged 4–10; however, it is also used by many others older than.
The key word in that quote is childish :)

LongHairGal, I must have looked real content.

free2beme, I'm sure that they look at it as a spiritual test that they passed.

free and happy, It is encouraging to know that once a person is free, that life eventually becomes normal. Building friendships outside that cult is key to achieving a more balanced life.

Newly Enlightened

Yes, Darth. It has happened to our entire family. My daughter & Son-in-law have done nothing, but yet just because their our kids they are shunned also!

yourmomma

this doesnt happen to anymore since i reverse shun all jw's, lol

FadeToBlack

I've noticed the last few times I got to a meeting to keep the wife happy, the more 'spiritual, service minded' the individual was, the more likely it was that they would totally ignore me. The few 'real' folks make an effort to come by and say hello and try to 'encourage' me. It is really easy to notice here in Poland since the custom is to go around the hall once you are seated and greet everyone.

Julia Orwell

Hey Zeb, she shunned me because she could 'no longer tolerate' my liberal views because I said something about embracing Christian diversity on one post, and I'd posted wt quotes from old times and modern on some more controversial topics. It's funny how JWs will get all apostate-shy when you cut and paste unsavory quotes from the wt library! Mind you, they were out of context, but then again, reading the whole article wouldn't make it look less damning.

Anything that makes em uncomfortable causes them to clam up and shun. I remember my mother telling me 'apostate' things she'd heard when I'd only been in a few years and the cognitive dissonance they caused made me feel physically sick. Keep in mind also that this cult tells its members that if someone leaves then they must be deeply flawed, apostate or dangerous to them. It's called phobia indoctrination. In a way they are victims too.

I'm not DF or DA, but I still get shunned...