ExJW Quiet Activism: Speaking Out

Some ex-Jehovah's Witnesses (JWs) might be feeling pressured to speak out publicly against the JW religion, whether they were evicted via disfellowshipping or walked away from the organization after becoming inactive in their congregation and are known as a "fader".

May I suggest that you distance yourself from people who are pressuring you into any one direction. Sometimes when you initially decide to never return to the JW organization, you feel very emotional and may want to lash out at someone and feel you need to take some sort of public action. Please know that you do not owe anyone anything, you do not even owe anyone an explanation as to your personal reasons for leaving the JW organization. If you were disfellowshipped for committing some action that was deemed a crime by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, you do not have to share that with anyone. Once you are disfellowshipped or you walked away never to return, that ended your baptismal contract with the organization. Yes, some choose to return because they want to have contact with JW friends and family and that is a personal decision. However, by staying in the organization, a person would have to face the fact they are still supporting their edicts, policies, and tenets, many of which involve letting loved ones die for refusing potentially life-saving medical procedures involving blood or blood products. Many of the JWs' policies support alleged perpetrators of abuse, whether it be against a spouse or a child and place the blame and responsibility on victims to either keep silent, or leave the organization and seek help from law enforcement and other governmental authorities deemed as coming from "Satan's world". However, again, these are personal choices. I could not stay and support a religion that has these abhorrent policies. Just by sitting in a Kingdom Hall, you are showing your support for this destructive religion even if you stopped supporting them monetarily, you are still supporting them by your presence which is something each person needs to think about.

If you are like me and faded from your JW congregation and have decided to never return, I was silent with everyone including my own family members. I simply said it is no longer my truth and left it at that. No JW Elders hunted me down or wanted a firm decision so they could mark me as an "apostate" or to force me into writing a disassociation letter, I wasn't important to the congregation being a single woman, we are at the lowest level of the pyramid. I simply left and never returned and eventually moved out of the area of my congregation and never reconnected with the congregation in my new town. I am here to encourage ex-JWs to not do anything rash when you first leave the organization. After some time, you may want to engage in some sort of anti-JW activism, whether that is talking to people at work, your relatives who may or may not be active JWs, or blogging about your own personal experiences as a JW to help others to see what the religion is really all about. If you feel like setting up a YouTube channel, you must deal with the repercussions of going into the public arena and may face criticism. But again, do not feel pressured to do any sort of public anti-JW activism.

The most important step is to first think about your own recovery from the damaging mind-controlled JW religious group and then think about if you want to engage in any sort of activism. It can be therapeutic for yourself, to share your experiences with like-minded people. But don't be forced into anything or feel inferior simply because you choose to stay quiet.

Facing the fact that the Watch Tower corporation isn't going anywhere anytime soon with or without us so-called "activists" whether we are quiet or very loud about expressing our opinions, can help you in your decision on whether or not you want to engage in anti-JW activism. I don't say this to discourage anyone, but you've got to face reality. Even the richest people on this earth suffer heartache, loss, depression and setbacks and you are no different whether you were born in the JW organization or not, or whether you joined later and have now left. Think about healing and recovery before you go out and face the dragon, perhaps alone and unarmed.

At the end of the day, you've
got to look in that mirror and
be okay with where you are in life.

It is your personal journey to freedom that is important. Start looking at paving your own way in this life. Your happiness comes first but not at the cost of berating others, even current and active JWs have a right to stay in the religion. Turning your focus forward and not looking back at the JW religion or the people who choose to stay, is what will eventually reduce the power and influence of the JW organization. The more people who have the courage to walk out of those Kingdom Halls and never return, are the ones that have a strong impact on those still sitting there who wonder if they are in the right place after all. Your simply walking away might be that one action that will wake people up in your congregation.

Any activism you choose is to benefit yourself and your healing process. Do not think the Watch Tower corporation is going away for good, they are too wealthy for that. Even if their entire membership left today, they can survive on mountains of cash carefully invested in various banks around the globe. They will not suffer, but you will if you don't start planning your escape and think about making a life for yourself and your family right now.