Posts by dubstepped

16

Research Help Needed for University Presentation

by dubstepped in

my wife and i will be presenting in a class at the local university in a couple of weeks.

the class is about social media and psychology.

of course they talk about fake news and propaganda.

dubstepped

@betterdaze - Has that talk been given in English? That would be easier to share.

16

Research Help Needed for University Presentation

by dubstepped in

my wife and i will be presenting in a class at the local university in a couple of weeks.

the class is about social media and psychology.

of course they talk about fake news and propaganda.

My wife and I will be presenting in a class at the local university in a couple of weeks. The class is about social media and psychology. Of course they talk about fake news and propaganda. We all grew up around a lot of propaganda.

So what I'm looking for is examples of things that I can put together for a presentation. I want examples of propaganda featuring the us vs them narrative, the way apostates are labeled, the way the world outside the cult is portrayed, the hyperbole used and the way one extreme example is used to paint everything. I am sure that I can find some but I don't have access to a lot and I know that people here are more well versed in maybe specific examples. I remember that a lot of things were brought out over the years, but I don't know that I could find many of them.

If you have some favorites, or just cringe worthy things to share, post them here and maybe we can use them. We may even use them as a handout or email sent to students. The goal is to show how propaganda is use to paint people in certain lights and then we'll talk about how with that in mind we don't just accept things that we read on social media (i.e. the portrayal of the white kids from Covington Catholic and the media narrative there with the native American man and the Black Hebrews) without taking our time and trying to allow facts to come out or researching them. We don't just take claims as facts without investigating them and have learned so much about how humans work.

So post your cites and examples and I'm going to work through them and find my own as well and see what we can put together. One of the episodes of This JW Life that I did (my first podcast about my story) was about the FOG (fear obligation and guilt) and BITE (behavior, information, thought, and emotion) models of control. The professor asked which of my episodes might be good for them to listen to before we come and I picked that one. Hopefully I can back some of that up with direct quotes and videos or whatever works.

One thing I think I'd like is if I could get the clips from JW Broadcasting about the dangers of college. Wasn't it Morris that said "the better the college, the more dangerous"?

Anyway, I appreciate any help.

16

shunning of those who have "left da troof"

by resolute Bandicoot in

hi friends, .

can somebody please help me locate a recent thread that dealt with shunning of family members and the policy double standard, e.g.

jw.borg explanation that the family relationship is unchanged and the recent daily text that suggested that we should shun them.. tried searching but could not find it.. thanks rb.

dubstepped

I'm pretty sure that people just get confused about different situations. You can have association with family that live in your household, just not spiritual association (talking about religion). You do shun family that live outside your house. It has been that way for a long time but the JWs spin answers to reflect either situation that suits what they need at the time and those who are out get confused. You couldn't totally shun a family member living with you. You can totally shun those not living with you. I think that causes confusion for many that are out.

I think a lot of people want them to be duplicitous, or want them to say certain things, and read into what is said. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I've seen it quite a bit in these circumstances. There are multiple circumstances at hand but people see it all through one lens trying to come up with a "gotcha". Watchtower certainly spins and uses theocratic warfare, but we all know what the rules are and no they haven't changed them.

39

When you were an active JW, did you ever have dealings with a pyramid scheme?

by Tameria2001 in

i'm not sure why this memory popped up, and i was wondering if any others, when they were still active jw had dealings with a pyramid scheme involving other witnesses in the organization?

at the time it was 1993, and my husband and i were still newlyweds.

once in a while, we would attend a neighboring congregation because that was where he grew up, and some of his family was still attending there at the time.

dubstepped

Sure. I was caught up in this massive thing that overtook my life where I felt like anyone not in it was an idiot. I tried telling everyone, knocking on their doors, but they didn't want the miracle cure to life that I had for them. Either way I kept giving of my time and energy and money, never got anything tangible in return other than a feeling of superiority knowing that I had the secret to happiness, while those at the top got money and I was living a life of poverty and servitude slaving for a fairy tale that I bought in to. I might still have an old box of product around somewhere in the basement.

Other than that, sure, I saw things like vitamins and supplements, legal aid, telecommunications, and other such mlms.

15

Dubtown episode - melch’s week from hell

by Dubtown in

new dubtown episode.

poor melch cant take part in anything in high school.

https://youtu.be/egcegptsn00.

dubstepped

My wife and I watched this last night. Dream small or not at all (if I'm remembering correctly). That one really got to my wife. Her parents preferred the "not at all" approach and squashed dreams of even growing up or being an adult and wanted to keep their kids small and at home forever. Just a family unit cult inside a cult.

4

JW's in Russia tortured

by ScottyRex in

jw
friends

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-europe-47419918/russian-jehovah-s-witnesses-claim-state-tortured-them.

dubstepped

Are these the same that were reported weeks ago or is this new? Either way it sucks and shouldn't happen, but I'm just wondering if this is happening in multiple places or one so far.

2

My interview with a guy from Is, Was and Will Be

by dubstepped in

even though it isn't an ex-jw this time, i thought i'd share.

i'll have another ex-jw (actually one from the infamous fremont congregation) in a couple weeks.

this guy has some cptsd that he's being treated for and the interview isn't as smooth as some but we did our best.

dubstepped

Thanks Atlantis! I appreciate the kind words. I actually have numbers on how many pay attention so even though few here or elsewhere may speak up at times I know that thousands listen. It's really fun to do something worthwhile. I know that you've got much more time in than I do as an activist. I appreciate that as well. We all do our part in helping others.

79

Ending Bible Study

by Maria Nieves in

i have been studying with jehovah's witnesses for approximately two years.

initially, i liked the studies and felt that i was growing closer to god.

however, as the studies progressed, they seemed to become increasingly negative and i did not like what i was being taught.

dubstepped

Admittedly I'm tired and haven't read through all of this. However, one thing I'll add is that part of the con of any narcissistic cult is to seek out or create people that are codependent. You are too consumed with what their feelings and ripe for the picking. You are entitled to your own feelings and decisions, nothing about taking a stand for yourself is unhealthy, but they've got you all twisted up. That is the danger of a cult. Seeing that should terrify you on some level. They can and will get in your head. You need good boundaries that let you be you and them be them. Please leave them, take a stand for yourself, and perhaps see a counselor of some type.

Also, you are kind of a bad ass for seeing through the teachings. They are indeed negative, aimed at creating a divide between us and them. Eventually they'll get you to cheer on the genocide of the entire world by their god at Armageddon if they can.

Get out. Get healthy. Leave the toxic to their own toxic ideals and worry about you, not them.

12

"The messiah" was to come from the "line of David" right??

by stuckinarut2 in

a huge realization hit me the other day while listening to a podcast that discussed the "lineage of jesus".. according to the bible, "the messiah" was to come through king davids lineage.

but, if you wade through the entire chapter of matthew that lists "son of ...son of...son of...etc", it becomes obvious that jesus did not come through davids line at all!.

in fact, that lineage lists jospeh (mary's husband) as being in davids line.

dubstepped

I found this interesting.

https://outreachjudaism.org/marys-genealogy/

2

My interview with a guy from Is, Was and Will Be

by dubstepped in

even though it isn't an ex-jw this time, i thought i'd share.

i'll have another ex-jw (actually one from the infamous fremont congregation) in a couple weeks.

this guy has some cptsd that he's being treated for and the interview isn't as smooth as some but we did our best.

dubstepped

Even though it isn't an ex-JW this time, I thought I'd share. I'll have another ex-JW (actually one from the infamous Fremont Congregation) in a couple weeks. This guy has some cptsd that he's being treated for and the interview isn't as smooth as some but we did our best. He was so nervous going in and I applaud him for reaching out and pushing himself to tell his story.

Episode Twenty Six - Nicholas is shunned by Is, Was and Will Be

Nicholas was a member of an online ministry that seems to have some hallmarks of a cult called Is, Was, and Will Be. This is a really unique look into how what seems to be a cult can get its hooks in someone that is never even present physically. Imagine getting sucked into an online world where your fellowship is primarily through email chats and a website with information on it. There must be some profound mental games being played. This is a great look into some of them. In fact, I don’t mention it during the interview, but the term gaslighting comes to mind at times.

Teachings seemed to be somewhat misery and suffering based, Nicholas was wrestling with his own sexuality, and in the end the annihilation of the “self” was something that caused him to be lost for some time. After much trauma therapy Nicholas is on his way back to finding himself again.

You can listen on the podcast app of your choice such as iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Podbean, Podcast Republic (my personal choice), or many others.

You can also listen at my website for this episode:

https://shunnedpodcast.com/episode-twenty-six-nicholas-is-…/

Or you can even go to Youtube and listen there:

https://youtu.be/YjfeR_3gde8