Posts by umbertoecho

56

The Australian Royal Commission hearings on the JWs handling of child abuse begins here in the US later today. It will be streamed.

by AndersonsInfo in

the royal commission hearing starting on monday, july 27, 2015 - australian day and date - (and it could go on until august 7th depending on how many witnesses testify) regarding jehovah's witnesses handling of child abuse is supposed to be streamed.. it could be that the hearing will only be audio not video although we were informed it will be streamed.

we'll find out in a few hours.. i live in the central time zone of the us and right now here it is sunday, 3: 45 pm.

in sydney, australia, it is 15 hours ahead of us.

umbertoecho

I am in the West and have been listening to the live stream. Anonymity is granted to those who are testifying. The reports of these people are completely credible. Actually they are understated. One woman said that she still felt guilty for bringing reproach upon Jehovah's name. That rings so very true. I am in sympathy with these women. They feel all broken up by their perception of what is " a Christian conscience" It rings true of the indoctrination that is so much a part of WT methods. It is hard to listen to at times

323

Question and answers for fisherperson regardingy time at bethel

by _Morpheus in

so fisherperson sent me a pm asking a bunch of questions re my time at beth hell.

rather than respond in a pm i will post the q/a here as i have nothing to hide.

q:what years did you serve in brooklyn bethel?

umbertoecho

Fisherperson.

You seem to enjoy being bloody minded. I have read a few of your' posts and wonder why you are like this. You seem to take the opposite point of view on so many topics. Is this because you mistakenly believe that it is some sort of sign of "intellectualism?".

It is frustrating to the point that in reading some of your' posts, I have to scroll through a lot of garrulousness in order to find out what exactly your point really is.

6

Fabulous Assembly Drama

by snugglebunny in

jw
friends

just amazing!.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zneq2utm0nu.

umbertoecho

I love that movie. I watch it from time to time Michael Palin is so good in the scene where the crowd yells " Weelees Woger!!".....and they fall about in hysterical laughter.

19

This generation revisited.

by Bigdummy in

it's 1:30 am and i'm wide awake again as usual.

i was doing a little bible reading yesterday and.

came across luke 11:29 where jesus states " when the crowds were increasing, he began to say,.

umbertoecho

And all of this was because, in part,they wanted to fix a date on the tribulation and Armageddon. The very thing they are not supposed to know, for Christ said even he did not know, when asked by the apostles.

28

Ray Franz and You.

by John Aquila in

if ray franz would have kept his mouth shut and not disfellowshipped, and remained part of the governing body how many of us ex-jw would still be trapped in the cult?.

would we have come this far?.

umbertoecho

John Aquilla.

It certainly sound like it doesn't it? And yet I know of equally bad congregations according to some who have moved away for personal reasons. I think that it was just me "seeing" things for what they were. People who were in the Inner sanctum of the congregations would have not seen things with clarity, for they were busy being assholes to other people. That line of reasoning alone, could be a great cause for stumbling, to anyone with a critical mind and a beating heart.

I was lucky in a way, for I had not accepted baptism as yet and was treated with a degree of suspicion after the initial love bombing. You see, I just did not conform in so many little ways.

28

Ray Franz and You.

by John Aquila in

if ray franz would have kept his mouth shut and not disfellowshipped, and remained part of the governing body how many of us ex-jw would still be trapped in the cult?.

would we have come this far?.

umbertoecho

EdenOne

What you have said about the "calm approach" of Ray Franz is important. Had I read the book and found a frenzy of statements and overt anger, I would have been suspicious at the time. I was so afraid the whole time I was reading his book. Afraid of being caught out, paranoid of it somehow showing on my face.........all that cultish feeling that sweeps through a person when they feel they are going against the ultimate authority on god.

I had loaned it from my local library and recall feeling scared that the librarian was a JW and I would be found. So stretched were my nerves at the time. As I read his quiet refutations of doctrine and man made rules, I began to calm down and re read passages that I had read while I was panicking ( it's hard to take it in when you are in a state of fear) I found his concise accounts, substantiated with documents and such, were a proof that I truly needed at the time.

Yes, I do agree with you, it was a well thought out biography, expose, and generally well put explanation of how things were and are.

70

How Far Apart Were Your Legs?

by Joe Grundy in

several threads on here about the excellent bbc r4 programme this week ('the report') focussing on rape and abuse in barry, south wales, jws.

fat pervert mark sewell later got 14 years and i hope he is enjoying every minute of it.. the courageous ladies who spoke on the programme were articulate, reasonable and made a tremendous impression.. the quote in the thread title made an impression on me, and i hope, on all listeners.. forget religious, theological, 'biblical' issues and cut to the basics.

a rape victim was asked to demonstrate - to demonstrate, ffs - to three unqualified (middle-aged at least, presumably) men just how far her legs were apart when she was raped.. i have rarely heard anything so outrageous, and i used to investigate rape and abuse in my profession.

umbertoecho

Joe Grundy.

Please rave on as much as you can. The facts are very important to bring a true sense of what it is like for those who are either ignored or sometimes called liars. It's an issue of importance and it includes boys and girls who are by nature trusting and wanting the love of their parents and family. To be smashed on every level of their beings whilst trying to find some way to protect themselves by "telling on the bad man or woman" . Then to be rebuffed, has a permanent effect.

39

Child Abuse - "I don't care. I haven't got any children".

by cofty in

earlier this week i bumped into a couple of jws who i recognised from the cult cart.

a few months ago i had a long conversation with him one of them and found him to be quite friendly.

he is new to the area in the years since i left.. this time he was very defensive and said he wasn't allowed to talk to me.

umbertoecho

They just need to change the authorities notification policy. The two witness policy is no longer, so there is some improvement in the case of accusations of physical/sexual abuse.

Also parents need to take better care of their young. Yes, parents.

This is not accurate. I don't know where you got this information from Sofia Lose. The two witness rule most definately applies. What people are saying on this site is that they want the organization to treat this crime as a crime and inform authorities. No one is saying that abuse doesn't happen elsewhere.

As a parent I took every precaution and somehow it still occurred after a good few years of my trust being gained. My children's too. Then it started and for a short time the children said nothing. The second I found out, he was out, then charged and found guilty. You sound a bit cold to me

39

Child Abuse - "I don't care. I haven't got any children".

by cofty in

earlier this week i bumped into a couple of jws who i recognised from the cult cart.

a few months ago i had a long conversation with him one of them and found him to be quite friendly.

he is new to the area in the years since i left.. this time he was very defensive and said he wasn't allowed to talk to me.

umbertoecho

It's what a lot of them will say when backed into a corner with facts. My sister lost all her composure and turned to insults when I refuted the crap she was trying to force me to read. She wasn't so calm and mild with "words seasoned with a little salt" then. She lost her bloody temper!!

Just a little dent in their brittle shell of "righteousness" will make a lot of them crack. Then you will see what the real personality is like. The personality is very distorted after years of expecting everyone to die but them. It's almost impossible to discuss anything like that with them. How could it not be?

34

Witnesses and anxiety disorder

by mana11 in

i saw this on a public user group for jw's .

the librarian [email protected].

the caption reads:.

umbertoecho

Can't do anything but agree with every comment. They are all accurate observations.

The elder of my "supposed" congregation is on a huge amount of drugs for depression and other ailments. The whole family is on them. I know this for a fact. It's like a drug wonder world in their house. These people are not happy, they try to look happy, but they are terribly over weight and very unfit, despite the pioneering they do. They are full of anxieties and pressures. I have know the elder since he was a boy in my old congregation in the sixties. He looks older than me, she looks older than me.......they are not a healthy balanced family........