Things JWs Say That Don't Mean What They Think It Means

by NotFormer 26 Replies latest jw friends

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  NotFormer

  Sometimes things don't come across the way the speaker intended.

  Years ago there was an ad by the whitegoods company Fisher and Paykel. They showed them going to great lengths to get customer feedback on what was important to them. One customer said that she wanted it to be easy to get her appliances serviced when they broke down. The bloke running the survey was really agreeable to that proposition. I don't know how they wanted it to come across, but all I heard was "Our stuff breaks down!" 😱 I don't know where their marketing people studied, but I wouldn't!

  As for JWs: some JW ladies once said something like "People tell us we're brainwashed, but we tell them that we've had our brains washed clean by the Truth!" I'm pretty sure I didn't hear what she thought she was telling me...

  What are some good examples of things JWs say and the WT writes that don't actually say what they think they are saying?
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  Ding

  Over 50 years ago, an elder told me the same thing almost word for word -- "Some people have told me that I'm brainwashed. I told them that's a good thing. It means I have a clean mind." Must be someone in the writing department thought that was really clever and circulated it so JWs would parrot it.
  
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  NotFormer

  Ding: that's going back about 30 years for my anecdote, and these ladies were a bit on the elderly side, so they were probably around when that was circulating and your elder picked up on it.

  Here's a WT anecdote that seems to reference it: https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1986005?q=brainwashed&p=doc It already seemed to be a meme at this point. I remember thinking that the term was pretty old-fashioned; something that you're more likely to see come up in an old episode of The Man From UNCLE.
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  LongHairGal

  NOT FORMER & DING:

  I remember hearing that expression ‘your brain being washed clean’ from a JW who I was once friendly with decades ago.

  The Witness religion is so full of quips, witty sayings, urban legends and fallacies that make the rounds! They’re so proud of themselves. In the latter part of my still being in (late ‘90s or 2000) I heard a saying that seems to have made the rounds and I first heard an elder say it:.. “Some of us are going to get to the new system the underground way.” ..Obviously referring to JWs passing away.

  I was angry when I heard it but didn’t say anything. It seemed it was a ‘hint’ at an upcoming changing of yet another belief!!.. The only way I can think of for the widespread use of these sayings being used from coast to coast is that they must be repeated by traveling COs (maybe deliberately) in talks.. Is a witty saying like this supposed to cushion the blow for all the older JWs waiting patiently for the new system?? I doubt it.
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  smiddy3

  Getting your brain washed was a good thing when I was in as worldly people certainly could do with it .
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  NotFormer

  LongHairGal: Sad that so many died believing the "soon!" promise. 😢 I'd be pretty angry too, at such a flippant dismissal of such a gut wrenching situation! And this is a great example of the sort of thing I'm asking about: they are completely tone deaf to what they are really saying.
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  Phizzy

  One insidious thing they say, the Org. in writing, and picked up by individual JW's is "But where will you go ?" , this is used on those fading away, and is a blatant Mind Control Method.

  In the Org's mind, and that of J.W's you are supposed to conclude there is no alternative to the Cult, but, if you have started to use Critical Thinking Skills you think to yourself things like : " Why should I go anywhere, but just not come here ?", " Of course there are multiple choices open for me" etc.

  It doesn't REALLY mean there are no alternatives, just that they do not want you to make those choices.
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  Biahi

  I heard that brainwashed statement too…the retort I heard was that they would rather have a washed mind than the ‘Dirty’ minds of the ‘Worldly’.
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  Vidiot

  
  

  “I do not think it means what you think it means.”
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  Slidin Fast

  Here's one. An elderly ex DO on being asked how he was, "not as well as I'm going to be". Cute eh? He's dead now.