by StephaneLaliberte 55 Replies latest jw experiences
Thinking of the harm all of these people have suffered (and they suffered plenty),
I appreciate that there's those that did suffer harm, but I would say a large number, perhaps even the majority (including myself) don't view themselves as having suffered any harm. They simply don't believe it any more, either as they matured in adults or as they came to see things differently.
I think the reality is that many JWs are just loose associates and join and leave relatively easily.
For those that don't, only a few want to join in online - not everyone is shackled to social media and as a group, they are possible less likely than others.
So you get smaller and smaller sub-groups by the time you get to those motivated strongly enough to join communities and contribute. That doesn't mean people aren't interested but in many communities the ratio of readers to contributors can easily be 100:1 or more.
People might watch a YouTube video but not feel so compelled by it or defined by the issue that they see the need to subscribe.
I think JWdaughter summed it up very well many of us totally bought into it and it left a huge stain on our lives. I love the way she put it.
I also think that they are some very disturbed exJW's and when you have the unpleasant experience of running into them you, it just brings home all the pain you went through while being JW all over again.
Take the problem of the child molesters in the religion, there were some very great posts in the last 2 weeks on how this is being brought into the new's through newspaper ad's and TV ad's. Yet there were 2 poster's on this board who train wrecked, derailed, trashed and diminished, slammed, put down, swore, belittled, insulated and than claimed that everyone else was biased and had to much of their old JW personality in them. One went so far as to say in his own words, "simply presenting useful info is pretty shocking and shows that one or two of you haven't quite thrown off the JW judgemental mindset as much as you think you have."
This person posted that statement after some dared to question him and his sidekick poster. I know JWdaughter made a great comment and this poster came at her and tore her post apart and used swear words to drive home his point.
This poster told me I lived in my own small bubble because I have heard of (SNAP) Survivors of Network of Those Abused by Priests. He told me I was crazy because I heard of Trey Bundy and Reveal on NPR, and PBS.
Seriously ones on this board do not know what NPR and PBS is and there have been huge threads on Trey Bundy and his work with Reveal. Yet this posters insisted on swearing and belittling me for bringing this up, insisting that the problem with the child rapists in the JW's will just blow over again even with these ad's.
I think back to, to the first of this month when Randy Waters came on with his rant against Barbara Anderson. As long as people (ex JW's) keep attacking each other and trying to destroy, demoralize, degrade, belittle each other, it scares people away.
I do not understand it, It makes no sense, why not treat each other with some sort of dignity, why derail threads they do not agree with page after page of put downs to ones who have honest questions. Then come back and try to make it seem like they are being persecuted and everyone else has a problem because a few dare to stand up to their way of thinking. So this poster and his side kick do not think that the ad;s mean anything, good for them, they have never heard of NPR or PBS which here in the US are huge broadcasting networks. They have never heard of Trey Bundy all they have to do is Google him but instead they insist on spending their time attacking everyone on a thread to bring it down.
I have seen this happen also outside of the internet. In the real world also. So many ex JW's love the lime light they want to be the next Leah Remini, but instead of coming off with their act together like Leah does they look to do what Rick Fearon of six screens of the Watchtower with Johnny the exBethelight does and they become a joke instead.
I just wish the ex JW's were not so mean and spiteful to each other. I do not know what the answer is but I do know it is very disheartening.
LITS
Short and sweet answer?
JW organization loses significantly more Witnesses to apathy than to apostasy.
Most who leave are indifferent to JW organization's history, policies and practices - just as many active Witnesses are.
This is not a religion that breeds thinkers. But it certainly gives ample provision for interminable yawns.
I remember I was pretty much accidently faded for six months, but still believed. I wanted to get matters straight with God and not be destroyed at the Big A...so I started attending meetings. Then I come forward to the elders about a matter and confessed, a which led to a judicial committee, and me being DFed, and in complete isolation.
I was angry, I was scared, I contemplated taking my own life at times. The judicial committee (and "appeal" process), allowed me to peer into the heart of the organization for the first time with seeing eyes. After that, I didn't much believe in the religion anymore or much of anything. Nor could I overcome the anxiety to start attending meetings again so as to get reinstated.
Even so...I was pretty indoctrinated. I was afraid to come online and look for answers. I didn't trust any "apostate" website. I assumed it would be "lies, half-truths, and misrepresentations" by angry, bitter people who had "nothing better to offer".
I went on like this for six months. And then my exwife, in an effort to get me going back to meetings to get reinstated, brought over the October 2011 Watchtower, with the 607 article. And I began to factcheck it. Eventually that led here and places like JWFACTS. It took me three more months before I realized that everything on JWFACTS was 100% truthful.
I remember going to my first exJW meetup. I was afraid that they would want to go in front of the Kingdom Hall on protest or something. But it turned out to be a quiet, discreet dinner. So it took me time to understand my conceptions of former JWs had been painted by Watchtower, not reality.
JW organization loses significantly more Witnesses to apathy than to apostasy.
That, in a nutshell.
haha - firstly I thought EVERYONE was 'online' nowadays - OK, well slight exaggeration, but...
I think what you really mean is ... why are there so few X/JWs engaged in this bubble with us here?
Because I do think it's a bubble - the OP gives some figures, and I would estimate that there's around 20,000 people in the bubble
But wait, 20,000 out of 1,000,000 is actually very good! Thats like 1-in-50!
YouTube views and Soundcould listens are not realy an accurate measurement - but still....
Faith-to-Faithless - with a 'named' personality chairing has only 8,400 views
(Oh, and they've even spelt her name wrong on the video)
https://youtu.be/qVM1prHnocI
Enquête: The Kingdom's Dirty Secrets - has even less, with 8,000 views
And that was the English language version of the Canadian CBC ICI Tele television programme - so big apparently that the WT had letters read out at the local congregations!
https://youtu.be/_AJPHGMt9JI
Reveal News: Secrets of the Watchtower gets 5,900 listens
Broadcast on various NPR stations across the US
https://soundcloud.com/thisisreveal/secrets-of-the-watchtower
SO the hard truth also seems to be that MOST of the 20,000 or so XJW's in bubble aren't even bothering to view/listen to non-JW produced stuff regarding the JWs -hmmm kinda makes you wonder what hope there is!
Like all good things, there are exceptions that prove the rule:
Kim Mikey - Top 3 YouTubes = Total 616,547 views
John Cedars - Top 3 YouTubes = Total 330,439 view
Christian Katja - Top 3 YouTubes = Total 147,870 views
But wait - why are current and news-worthy JW related youtubes from Faith-to-Faithless, CBC TV and Reveal NOT getting those 100,000+ viewing figures???
The JWs are a small religion, the XJWs are even smaller, and the XJW Bubble is even smaller..... and remember
steve2: JW organization loses significantly more Witnesses to apathy than to apostasy.
And apathy breeds apathy amongst XJWs
Darkspilver thanks forposting the Reveal News link. The poster who belittled and swore at me over the weekend, told me I was crazy and lived in my own little bubble as he had never heard of Reveal, Trey Bundy or NPR has been posting on this thread.
He refused to even Google it but instead to insult me. You have provided him easy assess to Tray's link, not that he will bother to view it but but at least its there for everyone to see. Thank you
LITS
But that's the point isn't?
I suspect that the vast majority of US residents have absolutely no idea about who or what Reveal News is
we're in the bubble - so we know
but apparently even the majority of people with us in that bubble haven't bothered to listen to the Reveal News item - what does that tell you ??
I am sure that most exJWs just want to get on with their lives. I occasionally view the videos you mention, but I have no desire to become active. I am not even sure what I need to be active in? For example, I am not going to waste my time trying to convert those still in the cult.
I keep track of what goes on here, but if you checked my posting frequency I don't have a lot to say.
