bittersweet

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Posts by bittersweet

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  55

  College and EX-JW Discontent....Questions and Stats

  by teenyuck in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  *many* ex-jws say that they were robbed of an education due to the wtbts and as a result, they feel that their families and the wt screwed up their life by depriving them of the opportunity to go to college and therefore, earn a high salary at a job they love.

  here is a link to the us census which shows that approximately 26% of the us population graduates college.

  page 5, towards the bottom, shows the college graduation stats.

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  bittersweet

  When I was in 8th grade, I had all my college prep courses picked out for High school, because it was my plan to attend college. My grandparents, both teachers, had made it known to me that they would help me pay for college. Then in steps my JW mother, adamant that I will not be going to college, forcing me to go to a Vocational school so I could learn a trade and pioneer fresh out of school.She got in arguments with my Jr. high guidance counselor, who said I should not be forced to go to Vocational school, that I was Harvard material, and that I had loads of potential. She didn't care. The JW higher ups were against college at that time, so I was NOT to go.

  In Vocational school, I was a straight A student, and I recieved plenty of awards ( for academic and shop ). I still wanted to go to college, but I knew it would be harder because I didn't have all the right courses.My mother told me in no uncertain terms that I would not be attending college. I did not want to dissapoint my mother ( which is why I stayed a witness so long! ), so I gave up on the idea, and got married at age 18 and started to pioneer.

  I had the chance, the desire, and the funds to attend college. It was because of the JW religion, and my fear of dissappointing my mother, that I didn't go.

  I am planning on attending our local community college next fall. I have a low paying job, and three children, but I will make it work. I still have the chance, and the desire (ok, not the funds, but financial aid is available ) to go back to school. My future is in my hands.
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  48

  ever feel violent rage toward BORG?

  by Ravyn in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  pork chop and in_between_days seem to think i am the only one on this board who is bitter and feels occasionally violent toward the borg...what do you think?.

  i have been called low life scum because i made a comment (after being provoked) about not caring if all jws died of antrax.

  honestly, there are days i really feel that way.

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  bittersweet

  I will admit that I have a lot of angry feelings towards the Borg. I abhor violence though ( which is why I can't watch horror films without feeling sick to my stomach ), so I wish it upon no one. When I was a witness, I had problems with a god who would wipe out innocent children who new no better. How could a loving god be so mean? I feel lots of anger, but for me, it's better to be positive, otherwise I get too depressed. However, I don't think it's wrong for people to have the feelings you do. You were hurt by them, why not want to hurt them back? Perfectly logical, IMHO. As long as a person doesn't act on these feelings, there's no harm done. They are just words.

  That's just my two cents!
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  61

  What does your online handle mean?

  by iiz2cool in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a few of us use our real names as our handles, but most of us use something else, such as a nickname or a variation of our real name.

  iiz2cool - it was not my nickname (i really don't think i'm all that cool), but that of an old friend named mike prezelj.

  i won't go into how he got the name, but it happened when we were all very high, and you had to be there to understand.

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  bittersweet

  I am a little bitter about the organisation and how it stole my childhood, but I do have a few sweet memories. Hence, bittersweet.
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  53

  Samurai sword-wielding man terrorizes church full of Jehovah's Witnesses

  by jgnat in

  1. social
  2. current

  this is a local news item.

  i doubt the link will last more than a day.

  it appears the man had no connection to the jw's previously, he just considered them an "easy mark".

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  bittersweet

  WOW I'm not going to judge anyone's comments here, everyone is entitled to there opinion. For me personally though, I don't find much humour in the story ( I said much.... ). My children go to meetings with their father, and if something like this had happened to them, I wouldn't be laughing ( although I would have a good excuse for making sure they never went to a meeting again ), I would be furious. The perp was obviously having mental problems, and when you're dealing with a person who doesn't care about his own life, it can be a dicey situation. If that sister hadn't called 911 ( ha ha, now the society will have to write an article about the benefits of cell phones! ), who's to say what could have happened?
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  24

  Two APPAULING articles in one Watchtower - June 15, 2003 - SHAME ON YOU!

  by Confucious in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  dear anyone who might be reading this from bethel:.

  first of all, i am a "brother" in the congregation.

  i'm not going to meetings, nor am i following your unwritten rules - but i am not df or da.. there are two articles in the june 15, 2003 watchtower that you should be ashamed of.. the first article is on pope alexander vi.. here, the article bashes the pope (whom by the way, i don't think deserves anything less).. however, the article talks about everything from him living in luxury, affairs and other bad stuff he's done.. and then the article brings out, (paraphrasing) "well, if this guy is so bad, what does it tell about the religion.".

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  bittersweet

  Huh? What's Katarzyna thinking, going to college? Oh right, that unwritten rule changed, I forgot!
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  42

  How many of you know you want children or knew you wanted children before ?

  by sandy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  did you always know you wanted children?.

  if so how did you feel after.. if you do not want children, why?.

  i am not sure if i want children and i am interested in all your opinions.

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  bittersweet

  I knew I wanted children from a very young age. I was always very maternal, doting on my younger siblings and being the neighborhood babysitter. My older sister on the other hand, always said growing up that she would never have children. She changed her mind in her 20's, and now has two boys and is very happy.

  I do however have an aunt and uncle in their 50's who made the decision that they didn't want children. They are very happy with this decision, as the two of them are content to have eachother.

  Personally, I think it depends on the person. If you really feel you don't want children, then you probably aren't ready. But if you are just a little unsure, then you'd probably be delighted if you had a child. Whether you decide to have kids or not is completely up to you, and a decision that only you should make ( and of course your signifigant other ).
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  38

  Unwritten rules at the Kingdom Hall, what were yours ???

  by run dont walk in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  every one of us who attended the kingdom hall, must have went through this at some time, and noticed things you were not supposed to do, even though it wasn't wrong.

  the biggie at our hall was do not sit in the back row, i always did, what was the deal on that, why put chairs there.

  - don't back you car in, someone would go out and check this nightly, ???.

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  bittersweet

  cheeses, in our hall, all brothers giving talks had to wear a suit jacket.

  We also weren't supposed to sit in the back row, it was supposed to be saved for late comers. Once an elder tried to kick me and my kids out of the back row. I told him that I shouldn't be punished for getting to the meetings on time, and that I was NOT going to move. He wasn't too happy about that.
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  21

  Has anyone seen the article, Young People Ask., Do I need a mobile phone?

  by laylaluv in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  has anyone seen the article, young people ask........do i need a mobile phone?

  this is on the home page of the society.

  jesus stated the wise principle that one should "calculate the expense" before undertaking an important project.

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  bittersweet

  my son and I were reading this article on line last week ( someone else had posted a thread here about it ), and the thing we found most interesting about these types of articles, is the negative slant the society puts on them. Anytime they write these, they only focus on the negative, never the positive. In this particular one, they say at the beginning, "while there may be benefits to owning a cell phone......", then they tell you all the negative stuff ( like text messaging members of the opposite sex, spending too much time, etc ), and not once do they tell you even one benefit. Pretty slanted imo.
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  30

  yesterday's Drama

  by sandy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i am a little afraid this post will be a dead giveaway to who i am.

  i am afraid of lurkers.

  anyhow i am dying to get it off my chest and get some advice.

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  bittersweet

  Sandy, I'm glad your neice has you to turn to for help.

  As far as I know, your neice can't be reproved or disfellowshipped for dating a so-called "worldly" guy. I would imagine though, that the elders would be hounding her about it. My sister in law dated a worldly guy, and eventually married him. Nobody ever bothered her much about it.She is still an active witness. I guess it all depends on the elders and the congregation she's in. I know that when I was growing up a JW, it was definately a bad thing to do, but not a lot could be done except a lot of talkings to. I wish yo and your neice all the best of luck with this situation.
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  33

  Theocratic School Talks, they were the worst ! hated doing them, did you ?

  by run dont walk in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  remember back to the days you were in the theocratic school and had to give talks, were they the worst or what, i remember they were suppose to run about 6-8 minutes, i had some short as 3. the talks were pointless, you would just throw some mumble jumble together and go up and talk, first the introduction (and don't forget your gestures), then read the weekly scripture and then the conclusion, all your words of wisdom.

  i would rank this second on the worst list next to field service (still # 1).. how about you, did you enjoy doing them ?

  did you even prepare for them ?

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  bittersweet

  Ha ha ha, I nearly fell off my seat reading Tinks story of her first talk.....too funny!

  Any way, for the most part I didn't mind giving talks.The thing I didn't like was the outline idea. How exactly is a sister supposed to use an outline and get all the right points across? I could never do it. I also hated the way you were timed, and they would use a bell or tap the arm rest to let you know you were out of time. I also hated the way they would give you certain topics, but not give them to the appropriate aged people. For example, when I was around 20, they gave me a talk with my 9 year old sister on "baptism by fire different than baptism by holy spirit ". Let me tell you it was a little difficult thinking of a reason I would be discussing this with a 3rd grader!

  My husband is still a witness, and he hates giving talks. They take him a long time to write ( because he is a perfectionist ), and he gets so nervous speaking in front of everyone ( maybe that was why he didn't like being an elder and stepped down ). The last few talks he has had, he missed those meetings!