Posted by OneGlove [OneGlove] on November 14, 1999 at 23:11:14 {fiuUEQ5dxUddh6ih/xtgVOGhhkwG5g}:
In Reply to: *GB as shared through Ros. posted by Rick on November 14, 1999 at 17:54:34:
I don't know, Rick.
I thought you were supposed to be the media expert.
Conneticut Yankee is an old movie based on the even better book by Mark Twain. Interesting story and better philosophy.
I don't think you should use the large numbers of H2O readers as proof of great quantities of reform-minded JWs, it proves just the opposite in fact.
If we let history be our judge, we should not expect reform in this religion anytime in the next few centuries. It will either grow fatter and more bloated, or it will be choked out by more fruitful ideologies. And if reform does come, it will be evidenced by real actions and not words. The real words will follow the actions, before that they will go unheard.
As for the instance of Ros' fictional GB member, the entire act is stunningly obvious. The fact that anyone at all was fooled only highlights the fact that the organization's favorite prey has often been the unskeptical. It was a cruel trick, though no doubt Ros had the best of intentions.
I was unsure at first whether Ros was writing the posts herself or not. But the same phrases kept occuring in both Ros' and (Ros4)GB's posts. In general the style is the same, and in specific compare their comments on the piano question, or any of the specific topics both mentioned seperately.
The clincher was from Ros' recent post:
:What I see--or think I see--is a troubled individual who has what seems to be a sincere interest to help people, but does not know how to go about it. I think he
genuinely wants to do something good and feels he has a gift to give, but feels that without some kind of extraordinary status, no one will listen to him. I sense an
underlying sincerity in his posts, not intending to do any harm, just a longing for acceptance, and a belief within himself that he could accomplish something good if
people would listen to him.
Ros is obviously not writing as a person who has just realized she has been fooled. In fact if you read carefully, her real thought process stands out. She is a "troubled individual" who thinks that she "a gift to give" but without "extraordinary status" no one will listen to her.
I am happy to conclude, though, that the posts were in no way intended as malacious. If you read her quote you will see that they stemmed rather, from some sort of hero-complex on the part of Ros.
At first I was worried that the GB posts were in fact intended as a prank. And I am very happy to find that they were not. This does not lessen their damage, however. You pointed out the thousands of lurkers yourself. Susceptible people should not be lied to, being told that what they want most in the world is a reality--especially when all the evidence points to the opposite. When Ros tells people that reform minded GB members exist, these people may base life decisions on her words. On words without any basis at all.
Your inflamatory comments hardly help either. Imagining that high-ranking Bethelites and GBs post here--without any evidence--only hurts people. It is like telling them that there might really be a flying saucer behind the comet.
In light of your recent post about aliases, it has surprised me the number of hyper-aliases that have abounded the last several weeks. Ros' seperate idenity as GB. Greg as TravisJ4. And even me, dubbed 'Society Troll' by Ros. It seems that playing the spy enhances everyone's sense of importance. Your comment in that post made me laugh out loud even. You say that trying to guess each other's identities--namely GB--makes keeps real GB members from posting. How you could know this is of course a question, but beyond that, you are trying to replace anonymity with an air of mystery. If the two are confused, you might harm a great number of people.
You may fault me for calling lurkers here 'susceptible' and 'unskeptical'. But the words are unfortunately correct. These are people who have been drawn into a relgion based on falsehoods. They have held grand illusions that are only now beginning to unravel. They are now at their most vulnerable. Even more vulnerable, perhaps, than when they first entered the religion. This has been true of every Witness I have known to leave, and of myself as well. This forum is no place to tolerate those who would take advantage of the vulnerable. You are always on the look out against bad language--it might cause some harm I am unaware of--and personal insults. But I would contend that these are puny beside the very real dangers of wolves amongst sheep.
--OneGlove