by jambon1 92 Replies latest jw friends
Zoos - "Some of my deepest depressions were triggered at district and circuit assemblies. I would go back to the hotel and rock back and forth with a pillow on the bed, knowing I could never measure up to those upstanding examples that were paraded on stage. Little did I know then...".
I started suspecting those examples were mostly bullshit well before my fade, when I realized the modern-day dramas were nothing like real life.
88JM - "The convention itself was by far the most boring ever."
Except for maybe the anti-apostate rant (from what I've read).
That part was disturbing as hell, and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if it was what pushed him over the edge.
I first posted here after a convention. Being at that convention,depressed me so much,I cried off and on for two weeks.
I think too,sometimes being in a crowd of people,makes one feel the most alone. That is how I felt.
But,that is so sad that he thought there was no other alternative. I'm sure there were other issues and not just the convention. But,sad,too bad,he didn't find somewhere to go for support.
Yeah, religious ideology is tolerable for those who possess a firm grasp on reality, so playing the make-believe game of imagining a supernatural dimension is OK for many individuals, since they are able to maintain a sense of themselves.
However, for those struggling with mental illnesses of various types, it's just too much, and those "fire and brimstone" accounts of Armageddon takes on a much-more threatening and menacing tone for them vs normals, being a toxic poison for their minds that triggers anxiety disorders, psychotic breaks, etc. Of course, the WT actually seeks these types of personalities out, thinking they offer the ANSWER to all that cures the troubles of the World: prayer, Bible study, and field service. They offer the mental-health equivalent of an 1890's patent medicine cure-all.
Then if their "treatment" fails, oh, well: call 911 to have paramedics load up the body of their "oh, well, we tried" treatment failures into a body bag. Shockingly, we allow this kind of nonsense to continue in 2013, based on ancient superstitious beliefs being protected under freedom of religious worship with NO reasonable safeguards in place.
Of course, the anti-apostate talk is ramping up the volatility, since those struggling with doubts will see no other way out but eternal death; it becomes a self-correcting problem for the Society in their minds, if they can get some of those harboring apostate thoughts to eliminate themselves.
Adam
How do we know he came from the convention?
Adamah - "Of course, the anti-apostate talk is ramping up the volatility, since those struggling with doubts will see no other way out but eternal death; it becomes a self-correcting problem for the Society in their minds, if they can get some of those harboring apostate thoughts to eliminate themselves."
I hadn't thought of that, but I can't deny that there's a certain logic to it.
Like I keep saying, I'm convinced they want to pare the R&F down to a more manageable size...
...extremist rhetoric that drives away fence-sitters of any stripe (mentally healthy or otherwise) would be just one tool among many.
the guest poster--on exjw-eunited----i mentioned earlier---has posted to say he didnt attend the arsembly after all.-------
thank you god---mwwooahh.
Thanks for the clarification, bigmac. I guess this means that the Society can't use this as a cautionary example about why we shouldn't leave the session during lunch, after all.
Assembleys are the loneliest place on the planet
I used to know lots of people at circuit and district assemblies. I could take ages to walk from one end of the concourse to the other and at times it was thrilling to be part of it.
At other times I felt a profound emptiness and separation that I have never felt at any other place. I can't really describe it.
