Posts by charonsdog

27

Were You Close To Your Non JW Family?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i was thinking of how little i know about my father’s side of the family.

i recently inquired about ancestry.com and i’ve come to the realization that even the closest sides of my family via my father, are unknown to me .

what a shame that jehovah’s witnesses kept us apart.

charonsdog

I have 12 aunts and uncles on my father's side. Four on my mother's. Over 50 first cousins. Yet I know very little about most of them. When my parents became JWs in 1972, they began to convert some of their siblings. Two of my dad's sisters, two brothers, and one brother on my mom's side. Their children were the only cousins we got to know. And because half of those families were considered "weak" in the faith, we spent precious little time with them. My family just alienated the rest of everyone else.

I'm in the process of trying to connect to my extended family through social media, but it will never be what it could have been. If there was one thing that is a "positive" from my parents' training me to be aloof and distant from those I should be close to, it's the fact that even though I love mom and dad, I am able to deal with not having any contact with them now. It's a little more difficult to deal with not having a relationship with my grown children. But the fact that they are PIMI is on me. I did that.

3

Spread the word and may the sauce be with you...

by doubtfull1799 in

https://www.gofundme.com/pastafund.

charonsdog

R'amen!

10

Dean Songer

by Charles Gillette in

jw
friends

a long time servant of the watchtower organization died this week.

his name was dean songer.

does anyone have any memories about him that they would like to share with us?

charonsdog

When were you at WTF, sparky?

22

Cotton wool jws

by purrpurr in

there was a talk i heard recently given by a top bethel bro, he was complaining that the type of young jws that have been joining bethel in recent years has been totally unfit for work or even life.

he called them "cotton wool jws" as he says that the parents of these young ones have kept them so sheltered from life that by the time they are of age to strike out on their own they are completely unable to cope socially, emotionally, mentally and that they have no practical life's skills or instincts of common sense or responsibility.

he said that the brothers at bethel have to work at peeling off the layers of cotton wool these ones have come wrapped in and that often when exposed to the reality of life away from mummy they quite literally go running back home.. for once i actually agree with a brother on the platform, i've met many a young teen or young adult whose life has been one long warm bath as it were.

charonsdog

So, kids in the world don't know how or want to work hard. JW kids don't know how or want to work hard. So how are JW parents raising better kids than the worldly parents? And yes, JW kids tend to be so sheltered that they cannot cope with normal pressure when they grow up. They are doubly-screwed because they cannot get a good education that will allow them not to have to perform hard manual labor.

5

Debates

by MeanMrMustard in

simon,.

i heard you are working on a new forum.

based on your recent discussion with @recovering, what do you think about debate threads?

charonsdog

Could we somehow get notifications when someone comments on our post, or responds to our comment using our name? I find it quite unwieldy having to go back through many posts to see what comments may or may not have been made in my absence. Or do I just have no clue how to use this site? That's a good possibility. Because I also cannot figure out how to cut and paste from someone else's comment and put it in yellow like everyone else does.

4

JWTALK?

by charonsdog in

i just got my first peek at jwtalk via a link posted elsewhere.

i have been hearing about this forum for a while now, but never checked it out.

my question is this: is this site sanctioned by the wbts/gb/fds/yhwh?

charonsdog

I just got my first peek at JWTalk via a link posted elsewhere. I have been hearing about this forum for a while now, but never checked it out. My question is this: Is this site sanctioned by the WBTS/GB/FDS/YHWH? Seriously? Even with the vetting and the moderating that happens, I cannot believe that the organization would willingly allow this to go on. They are all about control (The Watchtower tells you all you need to know about living by blah blah blah...). Maybe I'm wrong. If so, this group is completely unrecognizable to me after being gone for five years. But then, it was a lot different from when I started, too.

35

Female JW parking "attendants"

by neat blue dog in

i was shocked recently to see on social media a couple pictures of jw sisters at a convention working as parking "attendants".

i put that title in quotation marks because they still don't get the official attendant badge like the male parking attendants do, only the reflective vest.

has anybody else heard of this .

charonsdog

I remember back in the 80's when I was free labor at WTF, the entire waiter staff in the dining rooms was male. Same as in Brooklyn, and possibly at all worldwide branches. After I left, I heard that they had begun using sisters as waitstaff in addition to the men. I remember being offended by this because I was still (mostly) brainwashed and did not want to believe that it would happen. What a tool I was!

13

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad

by charonsdog in

today, july 1, i wrote what has become my annual contact with my parents.

it is their 51st wedding anniversary.

i e-mail them from across the world where i now live to let them know that i haven't forgotten them, i still love them, and that i'm doing okay.

charonsdog

Today, July 1, I wrote what has become my annual contact with my parents. It is their 51st wedding anniversary. I e-mail them from across the world where I now live to let them know that I haven't forgotten them, I still love them, and that I'm doing okay. I know that they wonder. And as usual, I get the brief reply: 'Thank you. Glad you are okay. Praying for your return to Jehovah- who forgives in a large way... Love you'

I have no regrets about leaving the cult. But like many of you have experienced, it comes at such a high price. I don't have any relationship with my parents, who are getting up in age. My daughter (who sometimes still contacts me on the sly) is getting married, and I won't be in attendance. From her, I have found out that I'm soon to be a grandfather, as my son and his wife are expecting. I'll possibly never hear the news from him. And I'll have no part in my grandson's life.

It's sad to see that my parents are still such true believers. They have had ample opportunity in the last 46 years to see that the organization is not leading God's people. It breaks my heart to see my kids still involved, and I feel a big sense of guilt, because I am responsible for their upbringing. I ignored my own doubts while I dutifully impressed upon them the need to "stick close to Jehovah". I hope that they can see through the veil of lies at some point.

My girlfriend tries to be supportive of me when I feel down about my loss, but she cannot possibly understand what I have gone through, so her platitudes just end up making me angry. I prefer not to talk about it with her. I'm pretty open about my past as a JW if anyone over here asks about my history. Some of them are sympathetic, but again, they really cannot fathom what it's really like to have your entire life ripped away when you finally decide that you won't live with the lies and deception anymore. Not being understood is a lonely place.

Until next year, Mom and Dad.

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