At a regional convention today....

by Nobodyspecial 43 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  contramundum

  Last RC I gave a lift to a friend in her 60's. She had recently had an operation on her foot , which was well bandaged and she could not walk without the help of crutches.

  She hadn't managed to obtain a 'ticket' in advance to allow her to sit in the coveted elderly and infirm seats on the ground floor, but I felt sure the attendants , seeing her predicament, would show compassion .

  I could not believe the lack of love, common sense and plain human decency she encountered. We were practically physically barred entry and my poor friend was abandoned in tears on an isolated chair in the foyer. She was not able to climb the steps to the other seating yet not one attendant would bend the rules in favour of showing Christian kindness and allow her access to an area she could comfortably reach. Ironic since the whole convention programme was about following the loving example of Jesus.

  I was already questioning doctrine by this stage, but this experience shockingly brought home to me the truth that so many of you have also realised - there is no real love in JW land. Obeying orders without question takes precedence over compassion and kindness every time.

  "I was only following orders". Now where have I heard that before? 😕
• 

  Splash

  Not even one attendant would help!!??

  Shocking!
• 

  sparrowdown

  I ORDER YOU to congregate. I ORDER YOU to like it. I ORDER YOU to laugh and smile. I ORDER YOU to profess love for the whole association of brothers - even the creepy guy at the back. I ORDER YOU to wear a suit and tie...

  
  
• 

  contramundum

  Splash - I should clarify that remark. I did eventually manage to enlist the help of a very kind brother who immediately saw the situation for what it was. He steered my friend through the wall of obstruction and she found a suitable seat. It's good to know that there are some people still 'in' who have true values.
• 

  Nobodyspecial

  Yea i wasn't around for much of the program but the one or two introdictions i heard were filled with the speakers honorifics... Vomit inducing to be sure
• 

  Slidin Fast

  They call them speakers as though they were generating the content. I followed the talks using downloads from the RC outlines leaked this year. Nearly all the talks were word for word from the "outline", there was no individual input at all.

  The material was extreme and to say the least disturbing. The extreme thought and speech control requirements, the tougher than tough shunning talks, all delivered bang, bang, bang by faceless white males. They may as well have been automatons. They had no more choice than robots.

  All the disturbing, hair raising stuff was then layered over with a sickly sentimental tear jerking emotional conclusion to the day. It was what is described as a "shit sandwich". All that horrible control stuff followed by gentle Jesus curing and resurrecting people.

  It was the single most disturbing day I have ever spent at a convention, six decades worth. No wonder the smiles are forced and the conversation stilted.
• 

  kairos

  My wife is on the way home from the Cow Palace in SF.

  She'll be there the next two days, as well.

  I haven't attended since 2013. So glad to be out.

  I have know idea what to expect from her when I see her tonight.
  The content is pretty bad.
  I don't think she will mention anything about the convention thus far.
• 

  zeb

  "The conversation shallow " yes indeed. So very few jw have any constructive hobby that the contact with others of same interest tthey lack. In my time I knew of none who were in any service club or org so again another area of life where experiences could be drawn from or acknowledged.

  and I have seen an attendant refuse to move so an injured/post op sister sit with better leg room crutches etc. what pissed me off so was the seats immediately behind this dill they could have moved into. The couple denied left with her in tears.
  
• 

  RichardHaley

  I am missing the rc completely this year, although my family is there right now. Over the last couple of years I have been able to reduce attendance a day at a time. I doubt anyone in the congo will notice since I have been absent since memorial. My better half would rather not be there either. Not as far as me in the fade but making progress. There are some elderly ones (elders) at the local hall who have stayed home this year and have been given "special access" to view the event online. lol Prostrates have had access for weeks!
• 

  compound complex

  In reply to the post of kairos, regarding the Cow Palace:

  Been there and Candlestick a few times; however, . . .

  in the late '60s, I believe it was, we attended the week-long convention at Kezar stadium, San Francisco, CA. Bone chilling fog penetrated our parka-clad bodies, ensconced in sleeping bags. As the saying goes, "The coldest winter I ever saw was the summer I spent in San Francisco." [not Mark Twain]

  BTW, with service in the morning and programs starting in the afternoon and concluding at around 9:00 p.m., it was a week of very long days.

  CC

  http://www.stadiumsofprofootball.com/past/KezarStadium.htm