I Need Help Getting My Head Straight.......

by TTATTelder 44 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  TTATTelder

  One of the things I have been wresting with mentally is unraveling the "us vs. them" mentality that has been driven into my skull in the organization.

  I am starting this thread seeking advice on how others have come to grip with this.

  This is what I struggle with:

  I like the feeling/thought of being among people that live, or try to live, or at least know they ought to live by higher standards of conduct (maybe it is just what I'm used to...)

  When you walk out of a convention of people dressed up, clean-cut, shaven, non-smoking, less-profanity-speaking, fairly orderly etc and see what greets you in the streets outside, it is a big contrast.

  I am also still trying to understand how a religion that has conned people (so is morally wrong) could also be so well organized and have a lot of truly decent folks among their ranks. Are they just duped?

  Any thoughts?

  .

  P.S... I just went to a convention this weekend (3 days of constant indoctrination), so I know that has a lot to do with this post. I could write an essay on all of the BS spewed from the platform (it was outrageous). I will probably write a post on that soon, but just wanted to address this first. Thanks in advance for any of your help.

  -TE
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  jgnat

  You are on to something important here. I would characterize the feeling of separateness as an expression of our native "Sanctity/Degradation" mores. I lean to greater inclusiveness. People are so much more than their shells. Perhaps a good walk through a San Francisco neighbourhood can help reset your cleanliness clock.

  

  How can a large organization manage to control so many people? By exploiting another set of native mores, "Loyalty, Authority". There is a satisfaction in giving one's whole life to a noble cause. This isn't unique to the Witnesses or even religion. This is exactly how governments inspire entire nations to engage in war.
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  TTATTelder

  Thanks Jgnat.

  You make some really good points.

  The pics are cool too.

  -TE
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  DesirousOfChange

  When you walk out of a convention of people dressed up, clean-cut, shaven, non-smoking, less-profanity-speaking, fairly orderly etc and see what greets you in the streets outside, it is a big contrast.

  I share your feelings often.

  I think our past experience in the Organization has us mentally thinking that you must wear a suit & tie to be acceptable or to be good person. In reality, most of society has gone casual (everyday is Casual Friday), but it's been branded into our heads that this is not acceptable. Sure bankers and lawyers and others still wear the 3-piece suit but they also do it to create a distinction between themselves and their client. And that is exactly what JWs are attempting to do -- to draw a distinction between "us" and "them". But in reality, we know that clothes are superficial. A Versace suit does not make a lawyer or politician a good person.

  I came to realize that many of our non-JW family and associates were also morally good and upstanding people. Yeah, some are shitbumbs, but so are some JWs.

  I am also still trying to understand how a religion that has conned people (so is morally wrong) could also be so well organized and have a lot of truly decent folks among their ranks. Are they just duped?

  1st) Couldn't that be said about most groups? That there are decent folks among them?

  2nd) Have you ever worked at an RBC quick-build? Or, a convention set-up? You call that "organized"? Or maybe is it the consistancy of the doctrines that causes you to use the work "organized"?........such as the EIGHT flip-flops on the resurrection of Sodom & Gomorrah (twice in one year, in fact)? The WTS claims they are organized more than any other group on earth, but in reality the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing (at least in the Writing Dept). I'd give UPS a thumbs up over them any day.

  You're still buying into the rhetoric. That's what the propaganda sessions are supposed to do to you.

  Doc
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  cofty

  Be careful not to confuse "nice" with ethical.

  Nice is a facade.
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  jgnat

  Khaki pants and a golf shirt is the new North American uniform.
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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  "When you walk out of a convention of people dressed up, clean-cut, shaven, non-smoking, less-profanity-speaking, fairly orderly etc and see what greets you in the streets outside, it is a big contrast."

  There are plenty of snapshot moments like that with the JWs. There are plenty of such snapshot moments with the Mormons and any number of other religions as well. But what you list is all window-dressing. I can't speak for your experience as an elder, but I was often disillusioned at how troubled, unhappy, or downright abuse many of these "clean-cut" people were. The bethel family looked clean and shiny, but there were plenty of problems in that nuthouse. And the last congregation I was with in bethel looked ideal on the outside, but it was so stressful as an elder because it was an unbelievable bloodbath of personality conflicts and non-stop problems. I've known way too many JWs that have committed suicide.

  When I look at the people walking the streets outside of the "spiritual paradise", I see a real blend of some people that have it together and some that don't. I see people I wish I was like, and others that I don't. So when I see JWs walking down the street or standing at their litteratrash carts, I see people that may be good, but have been brainwashed into a bland beige with their potential talents or skills going to waste. They have been taught to believe that they are better than everyone else because they conform to what WT says they need to be.

  And those smiling people really believe that everyone that doesn't blindly obey the popes in Brooklyn will soon have their heads smashed by rocks falling from the sky. That's what those orderly, well-dressed JWs are praying for!
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  TTATTelder

  Have you ever worked at an RBC quick-build? Or, a convention set-up? You call that "organized"? - DOC

  So true. Thanks for reminding me. They often make up for the lack of organization with the sheer numbers of free-labor volunteers.

  Be careful not to confuse "nice" with ethical. Nice is a facade. - Cofty

  Yes Indeed... I also need to remember that the "nice" knob gets turned up at conventions temporarily.

  There are definitely some absolute snakes walking around the conventions with huge smiles on their faces greeting everyone in their path.

  -TE
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  DesirousOfChange

  They have been taught to believe that they are better than everyone else because they conform to what WT says they need to be.

  Also known as SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS.

  And those smiling people really believe that everyone that doesn't blindly obey the popes in Brooklyn will soon have their heads smashed by rocks falling from the sky.

  Yep, they are all so special..........

  

  Doc
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  Oubliette

  I attended a small teacher's convention recently. No one smoked, there wasn't any profanity and ... everyone knew how to think for themselves.

  You're trained to see the world through the WT's lenses. Take their glasses off and learn to see for yourself.

  What you see may surprise you. The world is a messy place. Some people are good, some are bad, most are somewhere in between. There is crime and violence, but their are even more acts of kindness, goodness, charity and love. Sadly, the latter rarely get headlines while the former always does.

  Look and you will see there are people in the world that will love you for WHO you are, and not WHAT you (pretend to) believe.