Affected by assembly

by Saltheart Foamfollower 26 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Giordano

  Saltheart Foamfollower of all the great response's to your post...... Millie's stands out!

  I think we are all on the same page concerning being PIMO.

  But I think your POV is about being Emotionally In.

  We have been throwing in the expression of cult mind control when maybe it's less than that. Some of these Cults have become high control religions like the Moonies, the Mormons etc. others blew themselves up like the Peoples Temple at Jonestown or the Branch Dravidian's at Waco.

  The Jehovah's Witnesses are not Jonestown or the Branch Dravidians. Though in their way re the ban on blood they can be as dangerous.

  The Jehovah's Witnesses are more like Tupperware or Amway sales people. They meet regularly and build each other up to be able to carry on.

  At a JW Assembly you get the full force of group think, Where just about everyone is on the same page, standing in prayer or singing together accepting whatever crap is being said from the podium.

  Singing together and praying together creates a sense of unity and reinforcement.

  Lets deconstruct this at a lower level. A football fan base, American football or Soccer. A particular team......... maybe you were a born in or converted.

  There's a dress code when you attend pub parties or their actual games. Your fellow fans are united in their support, they disparage the other team. They roar with pleasure when their team scores. They mourn if they lose the game.

  Its certainly a different experience viewing at home especially by yourself.

  At an Assembly and to a lesser degree the KH.......... you are a part of things as long as you remain a fan. You don't have to like the team management or some ego driven players who are not near as good as they think they are. The team is a physical symbol of yourself.

  On some level you can identify with this team and support it, it's a part of your life.
• 

  ShirleyW

  Saltheart - 20 years ?? How do you do it?

  I was a born in so, 20 years is more or less how much I attended until I could take no more.

  How does an adult sit thru all that BS for all those years and not go crazy?
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  Saltheart Foamfollower

  Who says I haven't gone crazy! The first 2 years were the worst. The second two years were also the worst. After that I went into a bit of a decline.

  Seriously, my advice for any PIMO is - find a real person (non-jw) who you can trust and talk to them. It is what keeps me going at the moment.

  ...and thanks for the many excellent posts on here, I'm going to spend some time re-reading them.
  
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  snugglebunny

  Re the "assembly buzz". I went to my first soccer match in 1969 and recall thinking Oh wow, this is a much better atmosphere than was generated by Fred Franz.
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  steve2

  To emotionally softened ears, propaganda works.

  By contrast, when you are fully awake, JW org videos ooze all the persuasive tricks of the trade and startlingly gloss over. - or completely ignore or misrepresent - huge problems in the organization. There is absolutely nothing of substance, for example, on JW org about their shocking neglect of adequate policies on responding to allegations of child sexual abuse, with no direct upfront admission that it is a huge problem.
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  Finkelstein

  it has made me more aware of how subtle the mind control tactics are that are used

  Yes and it is fact that the WTS uses persuasive mind controlling tactics ie. (provocations of fear) , very repetitive and without critical evaluation.

  Hidden behind of all that brainwashing are a lot lies corruption and ignorance to control and captivate people to the WTS will and means.

  Its a cult that has an active publishing house at its center of operations.
  
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  redvip2000

  I find this to be so true, also. Attending a JW event ie, wedding reception or Memorial Service means mingling with all those people (some may know we are inactive/fading but many prob assume we're still active but attending elsewhere, as we're the diehards who would never "leave The Troof") that were our good "friends".

  I have to say i cannot relate to this. I've attended several JW functions, including a few memorials since i've left, and there hasn't been a time where I felt nostalgic, or a sense of appreciation. Every single time i find myself rolling my eyes every time they say something false, or stupid. Then once it's over, I try to exit fairly quickly to avoid the endless explanations needed about why I'm not a JW anymore, once i'm approached by strangers.

  What I have not done is go back to the same congregation and people I used to know. Then perhaps this could be true where you begin to think about all the times you spend together.