Ozzie,
Thank you for your kind words. I've been pursuing uhh... life lately and haven't had as much time to post. It's nice to hear my absence was noticed.
Hmmm
Posts by Hmmm
-
38JW funeral and I am DF'd
by Vivamus ini have not been a very active poster lately [have you missed me?].
there has been plenty of drama in my life the last few weeks, and my time has been absorbed by it.
my grandma is seriously ill, and has but a few more months to live.
-
-
-
6
OK, it's two billion years off, but
by JeffT inwhat happens to the everlasting paradise when the sun goes out?
is jehovah going to refuel it or what?
i don't ever recall seeing anything about this.. there's got to be a couple of good "new light" jokes in this.
-
-
Hmmm
The Bible says the earth will be here forever... didn't say at what temperature
Hmmm
-
11
Leave that Gameboy at home when visiting Greece...
by Xander in.
that's right folks, all video and computer games are now banned in greece!
edited by - xander on 4 september 2002 10:53:53.
-
-
Hmmm
Path,
Their 'perfectly reasonable' measure was to ban ALL games, including computer chess and Tetris on a PDA, because they can't tell the difference between online gambling and private gaming... and you don't see a problem with it? Your solution is that anyone not happy with it should just leave the country?
Well, thanks for the post. I've been wondering what makes you tick. Now I think I know.
Hmmm
-
38
JW funeral and I am DF'd
by Vivamus ini have not been a very active poster lately [have you missed me?].
there has been plenty of drama in my life the last few weeks, and my time has been absorbed by it.
my grandma is seriously ill, and has but a few more months to live.
-
-
Hmmm
Viv,
I'm a bit late to the party, but I concur with everyone else--sit where you wish. Why give those clueless followers of the clueless any authority?
What's more, don't let them pressure you into staying away as your grandmother's time gets shorter. Years from now you don't want to look back and regret that you didn't spend more time with your grandma because they made you feel uncomfortable.
Hmmm
-
28
Any (original) Star Trek Fans?
by wasasister inanyone remember the one where kirk got mixed up in the transporter and spit into two people?
one kirk was mean and violent and nasty and tried to feel up yoman rand and swore a lot and attacked people for no good reason.
the other kirk was sweet and nice and he seemed better, but he was kind of a woosie and couldn't make a decision or do anything meaningful except talk about denuvian slime bread toppings and he couldn't even get a bulge in the spandex for yoman rand, but at least he was polite.. gosh, i don't know what made me think of this episode.. night all,.
-
-
Hmmm
Incidentally, television's first interracial kiss was on Star Trek.
In one episode (don't remember the name, and wouldn't admit it if I did) their bodies were being controlled by some dudes dressed like Greek Gods. Kirk smooched with Uhura (Nichelle Nichols). It might have been a tiny copout to have them do it under outside control, but it was still a pretty steamy kiss.
Hmmm
-
9
Part 2: The Bowling Alley
by Jourles inas a quick refresher from part one, i was to meet up with my good friend and his wife along with a few of their friends at a bowling alley to enjoy some wholesome recreational activity!
wholesome does not begin to describe what took place.
he knew exactly where i was from already and what hall my wife and i(sometimes) attend.
-
-
Hmmm
Jourles,
It seems you've run afoul of the infamous JW rumor mill. It gets no more effective than when they smell the blood of a "weak one" in the water. These people would put the KGB to shame.
You've demonstrated an admiral proficiency in electronic countersurveillance, but you need to work on other aspects of The Game. Start with dead drops and defensive driving, and work your way up to brush passes. Before long, you'll put even the most skilled JW spook to shame.
I'm looking forward to Part III.
Hmmm
PS Judging by your ability to pound them back at the Michigan 'fest, I'm guessing Tad slipped you a little sodium pentathol.
-
22
American Idol, Who's watching?
by TheStar inam i the only shmuck on this board watching this every week?
please say i'm not.
-
-
Hmmm
Kelly is pretty much a shoe-in to win, now. I'm glad, because Tamyra won't need a win on this show to catapult her into a career. Now that America has seen her, she'll go far. I don't believe she is allowed to sign with anyone until the show is over, but there will be a bidding war among agents and record labels.
BTW, I didn't think her performance this week was sub-par. Patti Labelle's song, New Attitude was probably a bad choice, but she was spectacular with the Stephanie Mills song, Feel The Fire.
Nikki kicked ass last week. She picked two really good songs for her voice.
Kelly blew me away with that Celine Dione song (I'd never heard it before)
Justin is disappointing me the last few weeks. Actually, just about every week after his initial try-out. He's starting to sound like a lounge singer. After one decent album, I think he'll end up performing at Bar Mitzvah's.
Hmmm Cowell
-
6
Can someone help please
by Eddy256 ini was wondering if you could help me.. im not a jw but im trying to help a friend who is.. recently he announced to all his friends that he's a jw and many of.
them ran a mile and havnt talked to him since, the rest of us, had either .
guessed or have stuck by him because we're his friends and his religion.
-
-
Hmmm
Tuesday evenings (usually) are the book study. The book study is often a consideration of a book that was published 2-5 years ago. Specific teachings may have changed since then, but it doesnt really matter. Your average Witness has no hope of keeping up with "current light" and just repeats what's in the paragraph. They are currently studying the book of Isaiah, which tells Witnesses that victims of child sexual abuse must have been raped in front of at least one other witness, or the perpetrator goes unexposed. Isaiah also prophesied that victims that try to expose their attackers should be shunned by family and friends for harming the organization's reputation.
Thursday evenings (usually) are the Theocratic Ministry School. Students give short bible-based talks to hone their speaking skills. You'll currently hear ancient scriptures applied to modern technology, especially the Internet. It seems that when Jesus mentioned a "faithful and discrete slave" who would give his followers "food at the proper time", he was referring to the Society's media web site on the Internet.
Immediately following the TMS is the Service Meeting. There members will be warned of the dangers of the single most powerful tool (recently supplanting television) that Satan uses to mislead Witnesses, namely the Internet. Witnesses are told not to use the Internet, not to talk about their beliefs on the Internet, and especially not to look at sites like this one, Freeminds, or the Watchtower Observer.
Sunday is a Bible Discourse. There you're likely to hear a talk about keeping separate from the world. The United Nations, being the prophetic Scarlet-colored Wild Beast of Revelation is the most vile organization ever created by man. Witnesses are to have NOTHING to do with this or other worldly organizations. Working for the UN, even as a parking attendant to put food on the table, will result in your being shunned.
After the BD is the Watchtower Study. There you'll read that the watchtower society was affiliated with the UN for a decade, agreeing to uphold the charter and ideals of the UN. It's OK, though, because they did it to gain access to the UN's research library.
Hmmm
-
31
I NEED your advice!!!!! Please reply!
by worldly girl inok here's the deal..... i've not had much to do w/ my parents since jan '02 when my mother and i got into over her force feeding my 3 year old the "troof".
when i respectfully ask her on behalf of myself and my non jw husband, to respect us enough to let us teach our child about religion.... her response was "well if you don't want her around our religion, then don't bring her around us".
and during the course of this conversation she stated this in the most hateful of tones at least 4 or 5 times to both me and my husband, in front of our daughter.... well i was furious.... that she would say such a thing and openly chose to have nothing to w/ my daughter.. without being given an ultimatum<sp> to choose.
-
-
Hmmm
Worldly Girl,
This is a tough one.
The temptation is to tell them they can see your daughter when they (or at least christian mom) apologize for their behavior.
There is the alternate temptation to take the high road and show them what being a christian is all about. Something tells me this lesson would be lost on them.
Were it me, I don't think I would punish my daughter or father for the comments made by mother. I wouldn't even want to punish her. She is afraid for you--afraid that you're never coming back to Jehovah, and you'll die at Armageddon. That fear often is transformed into anger, and indignant anger when channeled through a lifetime of bOrg conditioning.
Whether you want to demant an apology is up to you. At the least, I think I would politely yet firmly make it clear to them that if they do decide to visit, I must still demant that they not try to indoctrinate my daughter against my wishes. In fact, I would probably request a moritorium on all discussion of religion while they're over.
Please let us know what you decide, and how it goes.
Hmmm
-
98
Deleting A Poster Akin To DF'ing?
by Englishman ini recently got an email from mr. moe.
amongst other things, she says that she hated df'ing when she was a dub, so she abhores the banning of certain posters from this site, because it seems so similar to df'ing.. i think her opinion is of great value and warrants looking at closely.
is suspending someone for the contents of their posts justifiable then?
-
-
Hmmm
There is an oft-quoted post from a DB eons ago positing that once someone mentions Nazis to prove a point, they've lost the argument. I think that post (which I don't agree with) was written because then, as now, any bad thing is unfavorably compared to the Nazis... and what's worse than Nazi's, right?
It's obviously a great exaggeration to compare someone who is being a bit heavy-handed on a discussion board to perpetrators of some of the worst atrocities of human history--but that's the point; it's de rigueur to make exaggerated analogies to make one's case.
Among ex-JWs, there is no worse thing you can call someone than a loyal dub. Do you think they're being stubborn? Don't call them a Nazi; call them a braindead dub! Are they being pompous? Don't tell them they'd make a good SS Officer; say they'd make a good Elder! Every big or little thing we don't like in this community will be compared to Witnesses. No matter how calmly or logically someone presents a case, they will eventually and invariably be told, "how JW of you." Translation: I can't refute what you're saying, so I'll use emotionally charged words to bully you.
This is not to say that these extreme Nazi/JW analogies aren't sometimes effective in getting a point across. I just consider the source.
To answer the question: I think most of the cries of "free speech" and "censorship" lately are coming from people who don't even comprehend the terms; and claims of being "disfellowshipped" from a discussion board are ploys to play on our ex-JW sensitivities.
Radar: Yes, this is an open (whatever that's supposed to mean) forum in cyberspace, not a pub. The similarities are that both are open to the public, and both have rules of conduct. NEITHER is a free-for-all. The ability to speak openly does NOT mean--and never has meant--freedom to say absolutely anything you want.
Hmmm
Edited by - hmmm on 22 August 2002 12:29:46