From reading this site and your own personal trauma, you understand the arrested emotional development of a JW, the guilt, the conflict. His mother would likely have proven to be a necessary ally. You have your priorities straight~your daughter.
tms
Posts by TMS
-
39My really long introduction...
by Madge inokay, so i am new to the site, but i have been following ur threads for awhile now, and i am finding great comfort in them!
no, i am not a witness and i have never been, and never will be!
i did however, date a witness for about three years.. it was our typical 357th biweekly 'man hating' girls night out, and meeting mr. right was the last thing on my mind!
-
-
-
22
Welfare Elders
by hoser ini had wanted to start this topic before but never had a chance.
i'm sure it's been dealt with before so i apologize in advance for bringing up again.. .
do you know of or ever know of elders who do the very minimum to work so that they can get the maximum child allowance, food stamps, medicaid etc?.
-
-
TMS
This may sound a bit far-fetched to some:
An elder, living in Arkansas in the 70's, fit this description. While he occasionally did some janitorial work, his main souce of income was the small stipend for living expenses for those going to school on the G.I. Bill. He also qualified for USDA Food Stamps for himself, his wife and daughter. He convinced the superintendent of a small, rural elementary school to allow him to complete the 5th and 6th grades, although he was 45 when he started. He was kept apart from the regular student population, received his daily assignments and did his work in a small study near the front office. After completing two years of study, he approached the superintendent again with his desire to "brush up on the basics", a thinly veiled plan to continue his government assistance. That was denied.
He was later accepted at a nearby vocational school which continued his veteran's educational benefits, eventually taking nearly every course offered including air conditioning and heating, landscaping and a nursing course. He was very open with the congregation and the traveling brothers about his means of support, was used at the circuit level for assembly parts and as a department head.
One could argue that his pre-JW military service qualified him for the educational benefits, but he blatantly abused the system.
-
22
Welfare Elders
by hoser ini had wanted to start this topic before but never had a chance.
i'm sure it's been dealt with before so i apologize in advance for bringing up again.. .
do you know of or ever know of elders who do the very minimum to work so that they can get the maximum child allowance, food stamps, medicaid etc?.
-
-
-
22
Welfare Elders
by hoser ini had wanted to start this topic before but never had a chance.
i'm sure it's been dealt with before so i apologize in advance for bringing up again.. .
do you know of or ever know of elders who do the very minimum to work so that they can get the maximum child allowance, food stamps, medicaid etc?.
-
-
-
22
Welfare Elders
by hoser ini had wanted to start this topic before but never had a chance.
i'm sure it's been dealt with before so i apologize in advance for bringing up again.. .
do you know of or ever know of elders who do the very minimum to work so that they can get the maximum child allowance, food stamps, medicaid etc?.
-
-
-
-
-
TMS
not bad
-
4
Jehovah's Witnesses are Politically Correct
by AllTimeJeff incall this a really big deal as far as i am concerned.
at the very least, a connect the dots moment.
below is a link on political correctness.
-
-
TMS
I understand Jeff. lol Actually, finding common ground to build upon is not a bad approach without the subsequent manipulation as in trying to convert to JWism. It can be a bridge to whatever you want to say. Nothing more. Nothing less. Ok. . In my case, I became a political activist sort of accidentally. Admittedly, it was an extension of my moralistic JW bent because I wanted government leaders to be nudged toward honesty. Every single day, JW habits and techniques reinforced after 50 years a JW, 30 as an elder come to the surface.
Yesterday, I jumped a guys battery in the downtown area while wearing a shirt with our groups activist slogan. I got an immediate flashback from the JW days of doing a good deed and handing a person a tract to connect the deed with the belief system. I also find myself a far better listener than most, a skill acquired at the witnessing doorstep, the judicial hearing or just hearing out a "brother" or "sister" with a problem in bygone days. I spent an over an hour today with an influential lawyer who wanted to vent about city politics. I listened keenly, asking viewpoint and rhetorical questions. He felt refreshed after doing most of the talking saying it was a welcome change from his normal "shoveling coal" daily routine.
When I blockwalk with petitions, give a speech at the city commission or check with the Elections Director about a matter, I can't escape my JW background. If it were for me, I would never reveal my background. I'm embarassed by it. My wife is more forthcoming and will frequently reveal why such activities seem to come naturally to us.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that we were salesmen. We no longer believe in the product. But we still know how to sell if we so desire.
tms
-
16
I Was a Practicing Idiot
by AllTimeJeff inthe older i get, the more i see that the collective intelligence of people isn't too high.
i lump myself in on that.. when i first left, i was so conflicted.
do i try to help others by bringing down the wtbts?
-
-
TMS
I won't concede superior idiocy to any of you guys. Did you stay in 50 years like my wife and I? I rest my case. . . . . . . . ..After spending a few years daydreaming about what could have been, should have been, we began looking around for opportunities in our community. We were thinking about such things as serving turkey dinners to the homeless on Thanksgiving, etc., but never did.
Meanwhile without the shackles of JW neutrality I enjoyed commenting in the online version of our local newspaper on a variety of issues. Based on that we were invited to a political event. We had no political interest but the meet and greet was being held in a historic building that we had never been inside. We took numerous pictures of the building but also documented the event on Facebook. My wife videotaped while I took pictures and wrote a short synopsis of the occasion. We began to be invited to all events and became sort of the official online journalists for our city of 200,000 on the Mexican border. We branched out to attending all sorts of events, covering them for our Facebook blog.
I began to also comment on a social activist internet site, becoming aware of certain issues affecting our city. The commenting back and forth led to face-to-face meetings and action. We spoke at the city commission meetings and blocked a corrupt deal. The mayor challenged us to a public debate that was also videotaped locally. Our group grew to 5,000 members online but with a smaller active core. We tackled other local issues after research and pooling our skills.
It is almost eery to be using public speaking skills, engaging in group discussion, even block walking for certain candidates. Of course, some are baffled as to why such things seem to come so naturally to us. Only a few know our actual background, although they can't possibly understand. This is of course a very personal solution not fitting everyone's values. We have found camaraderie, some fulfillment and an outlet for a few skills we just happened to acquire. As with any group there are personality conflicts, hurt feelings, ego management, etc. But the judgementalism, the hypocracy, the pressure to do more is absent. We are self-scheduled, cherry picking what interests us. Our social contacts include the full spectrum of ages, ethnicities and economic wherewithall.
It almost feels like we didn't waste fifty years but we did.
tms
btw: Because of our association with social activists, we got connected to CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocates. This group advocates for children placed in foster care. We've recently become ad litem representatives for the children which means we stand up for them in court, giving a report of what we feel in in their best interests.
-
-
-
TMS
He was hurt by some gentle, but contructive criticism.
-
36
The whole NGO thing.
by shakyground ini was just thinking today at work about the whole ngo thing and got pretty deep in thought about it.
i remember reading about it and i remember reading on a pro jw site i think it was jehovah uk or something like that.
on the pro jw site they said that when the society signed and joined as an ngo there were no requirements to pledge that you will uphold the ideals of the un etc etc.
-
-
TMS
Yes, shaky. It's hypocritical, indefensible from a doctrinal standpoint. Think about how the same organization views such things as joining a YMCA or working for a company that is a defense subcontractor. Years ago an elderly sister was seen through the window at a Christian Science reading room. She was approached about it and stated that she couldn't see the conflict. She viewed it as a library close to her home. She was eventually DF'd for this very thing.
"Quit touching the unclean thing!" they tell us. lol!