Posts by atypical

he had a name tag, which is how i know that i really found him.. i liked his beard, and the tape on his shoes.. i honked, so that he would know that i accept him.. he waved and smiled.

now i know that he accepts me, too..

atypical

Gumby, you from Phoenix? Yep, it's a busy intersection, complete with a new check cashing/ title loan store. Jesus was standing proud at the southwest corner.

Mouthy, I did let him into my heart. There's room for almost everyone.

91

YOU EVER FEEL SCARED IT IS THE TRUTH?

by Cordelia in

jw
friends

just wondered as im prob about to give up so much, coz i dont think it is the truth but its come as such a shock!.

my family believe it so much, my dad feels he can answer any question i have, and being brought up in it sometimes it scares me.

coz my family believe it so much, .

The only time I get those feelings is when I have a triggered subconscious response to something, usually a news item. I get a feeling of dread, then I immediately feel guilty for everything I have not been doing (personal study, turning in hours, meeting attendance, etc.). Then, after a while, it passes. Then, I start thinking reasonably again, and I realize just how freakin' deep all those years of mental conditioning really can go.

35

JW's and the Cross

by Honesty in

why is it so offensive to a jw when a person mentions the cross?

atypical

I agree with Drew Sagan; it's just another tool courtesy of Rutherford to keep witnesses sorely separate from everyone else.

Hellrider, that was an awesome point. I can't believe that never once occurred to me. It just goes to show how I too always just spouted off memorized reasons for everything.

91

YOU EVER FEEL SCARED IT IS THE TRUTH?

by Cordelia in

jw
friends

just wondered as im prob about to give up so much, coz i dont think it is the truth but its come as such a shock!.

my family believe it so much, my dad feels he can answer any question i have, and being brought up in it sometimes it scares me.

coz my family believe it so much, .

atypical

Any good salesman or saleswoman has an answer to every question. It doesn't mean they're the right answers.

19

Fading ain't goin' so well.

by atypical in

jw
friends

i've been wanting to post updates for awhile, but i have been paranoid that my posts would make it too easy to identify me.

right now i don't care, so here's what's happening if it's helpful for anyone else who is trying to fade.. first of all, as of my last update i was still hanging around some of the witnesses socially and it came back to bite me.

after that mess, i pretty much gave up on even trying to pretend i can have much in common with most of the people at the hall.

atypical

Thanks to all of you. You guys rock. As far as my wife, she is just as active as ever. At the same time though, she has been cool. She didn't complain about my party, in fact she said I should be able to have whoever I want in my house (it's our house, but you know what I mean). She left and hung out with her family, but not before cooking an awesome feast for me and all my friends to eat. She also told that elder that she is aware he was in my car, then she turned heel and walked away from him.

37

Jehovah baby: you were my better-half, but just an invitation to the blues.

by tetrapod.sapien in

jw
friends

losing jehovah was like losing a girlfriend that you loved.

you barely had time to flinch when you found out that she had been sleeping with all your friends and stealing your records to pawn off.

that you had just been another sucker on the vine.. when jehovah dumps you, you start looking at yourself longer and harder, and wondering what it was about him that you found in yourself, until all you see there in the reflection is just yourself, dancing with an imaginary hand and waistline.. when jehovah was gone, and the war was over, i realized that all the things that had made me "good", and "moral", and "hate what was bad", didn't mean anything to me anymore.

atypical

Tetra, that was awesome - you touched a deep chord, man. I envy your talent with words.

19

Fading ain't goin' so well.

by atypical in

jw
friends

i've been wanting to post updates for awhile, but i have been paranoid that my posts would make it too easy to identify me.

right now i don't care, so here's what's happening if it's helpful for anyone else who is trying to fade.. first of all, as of my last update i was still hanging around some of the witnesses socially and it came back to bite me.

after that mess, i pretty much gave up on even trying to pretend i can have much in common with most of the people at the hall.

atypical

I've been wanting to post updates for awhile, but I have been paranoid that my posts would make it too easy to identify me. Right now I don't care, so here's what's happening if it's helpful for anyone else who is trying to fade.

First of all, as of my last update I was still hanging around some of the witnesses socially and it came back to bite me. After that mess, I pretty much gave up on even trying to pretend I can have much in common with most of the people at the hall. When I see a witness that knows my family, I don't let on that I am inactive, but that's about as much as I try.

A few weeks ago, I went to the hall on Sunday because my father - in -law had the public talk. I went with a goatee; I'm sure I don't need to tell you what kind of stares I got. I made a point to wear my best suit; I didn't want to play into the "he's inactive so now he's a slob-loser" mentality I have heard a million times. I was going for more of a "I can wear a goatee and still look cleaner than half the brothers here" look. The few normal people at the hall were nice and acted genuinely glad to see me, but the rest seemed to look at me like: "What are you trying to pull?"

I did not attend the circuit assembly for my old congregation, but I found out that my neighbor who is a witness (new witness, thinks he the righteousness police) told several people that he is worried about my associations, because he has seen me hanging out with "long haired, bearded people". (Hmmmm....Jesus maybe????) Petty, I know, but it pissed me off. If I had any long haired, bearded friends, I would be proud to be seen with them. It is only by coincidence that all of my close friends are more clean cut than me, which means he made it up or is just crazy.

The day after I heard about that crap, I came home from dinner with my wife to find that an elder from the hall had put his business card inside my car shoved into my steering wheel with a note saying to call him. This same brother has stopped by quite a few times unannounced, but I never answer the door. He also keeps calling me persistently.

The first brother, my neighbor a couple doors down, had a big superbowl party and invited everyone from the hall, including my father-in-law. He did not invite me. (Remember, he is so worried about my association.) I was so fed up with everything that I had my own superbowl party. I only invited all of my friends who are inactive. One of them is disfellowshipped and is also the son of the elder who put the business card in my car. At halftime, we went out front where we could be seen and threw a football around.

I'm just waiting to be contacted, because I don't think there is any way I wasn't seen with my disfellowshipped friend and all my former jw friends. It might have been a stupid thing to do, but I am just so damn fed up with living this way. Sometimes it seems like it would be a relief to be disfellowshipped.

Thanks to anyone who read this, and sorry about the length. You guys are great. Right now this board is where I get my support when I am feeling outnumbered, and I am thankful for it.

175

This may be my last postso goodbye and thanks

by seven006 in

jw
friends

i never thought i would do one of those infamous goodbye i cant take this board anymore posts where the person shows up again a week later and looks like an idiot.

when i had enough of this board and needed a little break i would just quietly leave for a few months and hopefully nobody noticed.

that is not the case this time.

atypical

Dave, I am so sorry to see you go. Thanks for all you have contributed. Best wishes to you and your health.

52

What did you take with you when you left the organization?

by coffee_black in

leaving the organization, it is like packing for a journey you can choose what you take with you, and what you leave behind (other than people).

there are things i chose to take with me.

for example, i have used the sales training to my advantage over the years.

atypical

A hell of a lot of baggage.