Posted by Covert on March 19, 1999 at 11:11:41 {MWCSSvyjpxYnM}:
In Reply to: To Cygnus and ALL posted by RomGabe on March 19, 1999 at 08:25:24:
My experiences were somewhat opposite to yours. I guess this phenomenon only occurs in more established congregations, or so I've heard... *Shrugs*
I was "born in the truth," and I attended one of the oldest congregations in the Circuit (our KH has a history of just over 30 years). Most of the JW youth in my congregation had their own little "cliques," listened to alternative and rap music (music which the Society would consider "worldly"), and went to the meetings in clothing that would make your head spin. Some teenaged brothers wore khakis and baggy corduroys, and most teenaged sisters wore dresses that looked like they were poured into... And only the kids from less-priveleged (or less popular) families were ever chided or reproved...
I was a bit upset because I loyally toed the Society's line for so many years, and all the other JW teenagers twisted the rules more or less, trying to take advantage of as many loopholes as they could. And if their father was a Ministerial Servant or Elder, or someone who was very close to the Elders, they could pretty much do almost anything they wished. I was steamed over this...
I was steamed because I had to conform while everyone else didn't take the rules seriously, and twisted and bended them. And a great deal of them (including my sister who was in her late twenties/early thirties at the time) were jealous because I was making so much "spiritual progress" so quickly, and most avoided me like the plague. They didn't care about me because I didn't dress the way they did, or act the way they did. And I could have cared less about their little cliques and what they thought of me...
I guess that's why I always got along better with the older members of the congregation, especially the ultra-conservative Presiding Overseer (who I lost all respect for after he sided with my sister's ex-husband, the blatant adulterer).
There was one brother in our congregation, a somewhat reclusive Ministerial Servant in 70's dress, who held a lot of the sentiments I did. Many of the elderly sisters in our congregation were good friends of my late mother, so they were also people I shared a common bond with.
I basically felt like a 40 year old in a teenager's body... :o(
But, anyhow, I just thought you'd like to hear an opposite experience of ostracism...
Covert