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>The security at the door asks 20 questions and makes you feel like a criminal for wanting to just sit.
The fuck, *security?* Things must've changed since I've been out because I don't remember any conventions ever having anybody posted up to *vet* people. Attendants to point stragglers to open seating, sure. A few hall monitor types to keep those *delinquent teenagers* from wandering off and doing teenager things, maybe. But never a screening process. š¤£
I wonder what they would think if you began to cry and say you were inactive and wanted so badly to return to Jehovah but that this behavior made it so hard. And then turn and leave.
The last one I went to you had to create an account with the venue and get a free ticket for each day. This meant you had to select a seating area in advance so sitting with family was difficult. Then there was "airport style" security where you had to go through metal detectors and have your lunch bag searched. Of course this caused a massive queue in the morning and it took about half an hour to get in. At lunch we were told to stay within the fenced in area of the venue, if you wanted to go out you had to have your badge and ticket with you to get back in. It felt like I imagine prison would feel.
It makes me wonder if the lax on dress and grooming makes it harder for attendants to pick out regular people from jws in suits and dresses now. So they have to get your dub cred at the door.
New rule idea for the GB, everyone who gets in needs an invitation. Walk-ins from the street rarely happen anyway and if they do, they might be evil. They aren't evil, but they MIGHT be evil so the invitation is needed.
The last memorial I went to was in 2007 and there were dudes walking up and down the aisles looking like the secret service on the hunt for assassins. So I totally can invision how things have probably gotten worse
Two things: back then, you arrived wearing a badge, so you didn't get any 'attention.'
Things have been tightened since at least 2015. At a convention in 2015, a male relative of mine had left his suit coat with his badge attached at their seats and was walking around with one of his daughters (he had short hair, was clean shaven, wearing a dress shirt and tie) and, still, an attendant was following him around - all because he didn't have his badge on.
Since then, there have been even more apostates showing up and attendants have obviously been instructed to pay more attention to anyone showing up without a badge, as OP described.
So, they are at very high risk of turning off any interested person who received an invitation and shows up and is expecting a warm welcome. This is actually giving off Scientology-vibes and totalitarian vibes.
Edited to add: given the shooting inside the Hamburg, Germany, Kingdom Hall and the bombing at a JW convention in India, I do understand a need for some type of screening. But the paranoia about people who THINK DIFFERENTLY is very, very telling. Their truth is amazingly fragile.
Lol back when I was going, the only people wearing any kind of badge were speakers and attendants. Oh, and I suppose also the first aid volunteers.
But of course, I guess JW Land *has* become a lot more paranoid over the last 20 years.
I just want to know what exactly they think a bunch of JW doorkeepers are going to do in case of a potentially violent "apostate," though. I've worked security at religious functions where the churches had concerns about potential attacks. They made sure to ask the company I was working for to send an *armed* guard. š¤£
**[Edit] After looking through photos to see if I was remembering correctly, I guess the convention badges were a thing back then, too. My family never wore them except when my dad was an attendant. I guess I was always a bad JW**
Agree - wearing badges was much more casual back then. As long as you 'looked like a JW' it was okay. Also, many times we arrived as part of a group or family and someone in that group was probably wearing a badge.
I almost want to go to a convention now just to give the doorkeepers the ol' Ron Swanson dismissal as I walk in, only to leave immediately to avoid having to suffer a single word of some 2-hour lecture about being obedient or not having sex. š¤£
The attendant department is really turning up the heat on outsiders.
They genuinely donāt want anyone without a badge inside the facility unless they are supervised at all times.
Ironic that they still do those stupid invitation campaigns
What's funny is that I get those invitations for like *every* assembly, Memorial and also occasionally public talks.
If only they knew who they were inviting š¤£
Idk man, if *I'm* getting invitations after the way I got run out of my old congregation, I feel like the angels may have *loud* quit. I'm pretty sure I'm persona non grata as far as the local elders are all concerned. š¤£
I donāt think itās totally unreasonable for them to security in the US where gun control is a major issue, especially at a large venue. Just wild that itās someoneās dad doing security lol
Security at religious functions in the United States is 100% warranted, don't get me wrong.
But you're *exactly* on point with the "someone's dad" thing.
If they need security for the sake of safety, they *should* be hiring people like myself who are actually trained to handle active shooters, bomb threats, evacuations and low-level medical emergencies. Not some guy who washes windows for a living and has never even *seen* a pistol in person.
And on top of that, California is... Well let's just say it's a pain in the ass to be a *legal* firearms owner in California and not so much a pain in the ass if you're *not* legal about it. So even armed security is at a significant disadvantage when faced with, well, anybody with bad intentions and a little bit of motivation.
I'm definitely more concerned about hardware store IEDs than active shooters, but like none of it is good and we statistically have a high violent crime rate, so it's appalling to me that they're putting amateurs out as potential cannon fodder like that.
Well whenever Jesus spoke he quite famously had his apostles stand in a circle around the area with orange lanyards to make sure no sinners got near. Jesus wouldn't have wanted anyone who didn't believe to hear his teachings, right? It's not like he directly interacted with and debated his enemies countless times in the gospels. /s
I don't respect the Bible anymore but it seems like JW's respect it even less.
Yes!! I remember feeling guilty that I went to one I wasnāt assigned to a decade ago so I could visit some friends and I felt guilty because it was so packed. I felt I was taking a seat from someone.
Who are you calling fatty things??!
https://preview.redd.it/4ntvr5t48s9d1.jpeg?width=245&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d5d93e87ab0b0b950028ec943dcd8845b1195add
35 year old ex MS, When I was younger and serving at the CA Long Beach convention our attendance was always 10-12k every year, each day. Seeing this low of numbers is crazy, in a good way.
You sound like an apostate. Angels only help you cross mud puddles in service. They donāt protect children from getting AIDS or the venue from people who think different thoughts than the thoughts permitted by the fatties.
Yeah man. They can apparently stop rapists and murders in service, maybe even get you to the convention or help you pioneer.
But keep those damned satanic apostates out of the meeting of Gods chosen people? No can do boss.
It warms my heart that this cult is so worried about who enters those doors. WT is getting a lot of exposure and a lot of countries looking at their vile practices. They have affected so many lives and families. Destroying relationships, to the point JW's have done the unthinkable. It's coming for you WT! I hope that I live long enough to see it!
The security situation is crazy. You canāt just walk into a convention these days? Theyāll interrogate you to get in? How do they get everyone in the doors?
Bingo. We were instructed to stop, question, and monitor everyone who didnāt have a badge.
Explained why I got treated like a criminal when I forgot mine once.
I love it! So descriptive, I feel your passion . The conventions get smaller and smaller every year. Go to JW.org and find a convention near you. Most are not renting large stadiums, instead they are conventions at the JW assembly halls.
Yeah and they charge a dollar amount per head at the branch owned property the same as if it were a leased event. The assembly halls make pretty good money for the branch
Interestingly I had to pick up a relative up, out side the assembly hall. The first comment she made to me was how empty the venue was. Back in the day it was packed.
Yeah I used to goto Long Beach for years, eventually they moved us to Ontario. But LB used to be PACKED FULL when I was a kid, you had to RACE to try and get a good seat especially on weekends. We would wait in line at the ass crack of dawn to get seats.
The last time I went was some years ago in Ontario and even there I noticed the numbers thinning severely, is as picture from Long Beach and it was a sad shell of what I remember it once being.
That said, the last conventions I went to I was an attendant, and I remember the training specifically telling us then (around 2019) to stop people at the doors if they didnāt have a badge and question them, try to not let them in, and if we did let them in to follow them to their seat under the guise of ālet me help you find your seatā.
If we saw anyone with tattoos or not in full suit we were to follow them and note where they sat and tell the attendants there to watch them.
They used to take picture of āsuspiciousā people and text them to all the attendants for the convention and tell us to watch them. I remember being on break sitting up top and watching this elderly couple they were convinced were āapostatesā and the old man got up to goto the bathroom, two attendants followed him out and back.
I was instructed to follow a young guy because he had tattoos on his arms. I walked around the corner so no one could see me and just said āoh I lost himā because that was absolute bullshit.
They used to take pictures of license plates and send them to us. Hell, we a whole packet of license plates and pictures of āpotential disruptersā from OTHER conventions when I showed up. One was supposedly a āpopular apostate onlineā (no idea who tf she was) and they even had hidden camera videos confronting some of them or following them for us.
That shit alone did a lot of waking up for me. Lots of those guys thought they were hot shit and used it as an excuse to act like disgusting pieces of shit.
Meanwhile I got in trouble because a poor old lady came to me crying because she had to pee so bad and she the doors were locked before the convention. I went and asked the guys at front to let her in to use the restroom. Not can do boss. Asked my ācaptainā. Oh yeah we donāt have keys and she canāt go in anyway itās not time. She will have to wait.ā
I told her, she almost break down crying more when I told her she had to wait and said āI donāt think I can but Iāll tryā.
I ran up and beat the shit out of the glass door as those āfine Christian menā stood there staring at me refusing to look at me. Meanwhile the āwordlyā security officer that looks like a metal head with tattoos and piercings? He opened the door and said āof course she can come in.ā - I got in trouble for ānot following directionā. They were baffled when I said āand Iād do it again.ā
So much for inviting the public and then interrogating anyone who doesnāt have a badge. They would probably surround me if I went. I have a shaved head, a super long goatee and look like a metal head.
This. Itās like the cops pulling you over for window tint and then trying to see if they can get the dogs on you to smell for drugs and nail you for something else
Iāve been seeing a lot of people mention how much more uptight the attendants are at these conventions. Canāt imagine that would make outsiders feel welcomed. In fact itās like they donāt want them at all. Theyāve somehow made insufferable conventions worse lol.
Just had a passing thought... how many outsiders *really* want to go to a jw convention? I have no doubt there's some, but it has to be a scant amount in proportion to the amount of jw's.
True dat lol š. Itās kinda sad to think about it; but I imagine most outsiders who would spend their free time going to a convention are probably not in a great point in life. I think youāre exactly right though. From all these empty conventions I see it seems even their members donāt wanna go lol.
It felt like such a huge waste of time handing out invitations to the convention. I was a true believer, and even I didn't want to go! It was a long way away, the venue was cramped and the seats uncomfortable, and the entire thing was either boring or cringey.
It must feel like an even bigger waste of time handing out invitations to an event where -on the off chance they show up- you know they're going to be treated so suspiciously.
Great points. During the invitation campaign it really seemed unrealistic that anyone would actually come. People get an invitation, but are not informed about parking or that they need to pack a lunch. The more I think about it, having jw's handing out invitations for 3 weeks leading up to the convention was their way to make sure the jw was actually going to go to the convention.
I lose track of time, but def before covid, I went day #1 to convention, and my name badge was in my study bag. I was carrying a kid on my hip, and herding the other two, with book bags and lunch bags. As I approached the entrance, I was interrogated about my presence there, asked where my badge was, when I said in my bag, asked to show proof. Mind you, I had to place kiddo on my hip on the floor, put down lunch bags, and take my "credentials " out from a bag I was carrying as a backpack. Uhuum. Blah blah excuse given about security measures when the f*ing spectacle was noticed by others, because a "spiritually single " mom with 3 kiddos in tow....yeah....a security risk š§
Thatās so ridiculous. I know for the international they actually printed out tickets and had security, they wouldnāt let you in without scanning your ticket. It was annoying as hell.
>The guy said āwe have opposers from all sides, even governments who donāt like that we tell the truth from Gods word.
They have Pissed Off exJW\`s who\`s Marriages have been Destroyed and Families have been Broken Up....
Government Authorities are Prosecuting Criminals for Committing Crimes, Who Happen to Be JW\`s.
*JW\`s tell you they\`re not doing, what you see them doing.....It\`s always something else or, it could be the other thing.*
I know number in English congregations have been dropping significantly in California for the past 20 years. In Spanish congregations itās like a roller coaster goes up and down
I remember when I was an attendant, I would take my attendant badge off when I wasnāt on duty because I couldnāt stand the idea of being important. Thereās just something about the JW attitude of showing off. Now they have bright lanyardsā¦ are they really so that if you need help you could find an attendant?Ā
Oh I had one lady run up to me and start to ask me for help, but stop because she couldnāt see my orange badge all the way (it was flipped over). She kept pausing and staring at me, it wasnāt until I flipped it over that she decided I was an human being and she could in fact speak to me.
I used to go to the Long Beach Arena when I was in, and it used to be packed ! Itās been so long that it was called District Convention and not Regional Convention.
Yes ! They have pissed so many people off that it feels good that theyāre paranoid about whoās getting in, and leaking information.
lol I absolutely love the energy in your reply! It's basically
How the fucking shit should I know about this cults recent activity? Fuck em, I don't know
How do you really feel? You know, who in their right minds would be comfortable attending an event of any kind that requires so much security? It's very telling. JWs have made too many big enemies of God...not the little ones.
One time I was handling a contribution box there and I remember the elder that escorted me to the accounting room having a walkie talkie and there being a big concern about a potential apostate there. Funny to think Iām an apostate now. PLUS the elder disassociated 2 months after the assembly and sent out letters to the entire congregation. They were all told to destroy any mail from him.
Itās been maybe 6 for me. There used to be all the doors open and a whole gang of people with why 1914 signs standing just outside the doors. Itās 6 guys are every entry waiting to pounce.
OP, were they stopping others that you saw? This is the first instance Iāve heard of this year and havenāt heard of any new dramatic change to attendantsā procedures.
Was there something about your appearance that looked ānon JWā?
I only ask because we havenāt worn badges for the last 15 years and no one has ever hassled us accept my super PIMI mom.
Back when I attended training in 2018/1019 we were instructed to look for anyone without badges and approach them or follow them. Attendants may not have actually done it that much but technically the training says theyāre supposed to, and they certainly did at my conventions.
Many of my old friends were there this weekend. I feel so sorry for them. I would have been there to. So happy I wasnāt. Donāt miss it one bit. I used to volunteer every single day. Cleaning bathrooms. Contribution boxes. Ect.
When they left Dodger Stadium and went to LBC, it seemed like they didn't
want to turn on the air for a few years. It was very miserable from my memories......
Not OP but we were told to ask something along the lines of oh what hall are you from? What brings you here? Did you get an invitation? Let me take you to your seatā¦ā or if we thought they were combative or disruptive to try and get them talking with us ex: āI think youāre all wrong!ā - oh well Iām sorry to hear that? Why is that?ā while we tried to secretly call more help either on radio or by waving our hands frantically behind our back so revoke your invitation and ask you to leave.
There was probably more questions but it was several years back and I was not paying attention whatsoever. I knew damned well if I saw someone charging the stage or disruptive I was gonna sit back and let it play out.
The paranoia is intense this convention season around the world. In some places they are getting outside help with security, and in others theyāve told brothers they have permission to use force if necessary to prevent disruptions.
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>The security at the door asks 20 questions and makes you feel like a criminal for wanting to just sit. The fuck, *security?* Things must've changed since I've been out because I don't remember any conventions ever having anybody posted up to *vet* people. Attendants to point stragglers to open seating, sure. A few hall monitor types to keep those *delinquent teenagers* from wandering off and doing teenager things, maybe. But never a screening process. š¤£
6 guys standing at every entrance. You canāt go around them. This is a terrified paranoid group.
I wonder what they would think if you began to cry and say you were inactive and wanted so badly to return to Jehovah but that this behavior made it so hard. And then turn and leave.
I thought their conversations were open to anyone to attend, so 20 questions and how many do you need to answer? Does that not create a quƩ?
The last one I went to you had to create an account with the venue and get a free ticket for each day. This meant you had to select a seating area in advance so sitting with family was difficult. Then there was "airport style" security where you had to go through metal detectors and have your lunch bag searched. Of course this caused a massive queue in the morning and it took about half an hour to get in. At lunch we were told to stay within the fenced in area of the venue, if you wanted to go out you had to have your badge and ticket with you to get back in. It felt like I imagine prison would feel.
What information did you have to give to create an account with the venue? That sounds dodgy to me.
It makes me wonder if the lax on dress and grooming makes it harder for attendants to pick out regular people from jws in suits and dresses now. So they have to get your dub cred at the door.
And they are the ones who said beards and pants were Ok so now it comes back to bite them.
Like what are they asking? lol it's REGIONAL convention where a lot of non-JWs attend. Is that a new protocol they're implementing?
New rule idea for the GB, everyone who gets in needs an invitation. Walk-ins from the street rarely happen anyway and if they do, they might be evil. They aren't evil, but they MIGHT be evil so the invitation is needed.
The last memorial I went to was in 2007 and there were dudes walking up and down the aisles looking like the secret service on the hunt for assassins. So I totally can invision how things have probably gotten worse
Two things: back then, you arrived wearing a badge, so you didn't get any 'attention.' Things have been tightened since at least 2015. At a convention in 2015, a male relative of mine had left his suit coat with his badge attached at their seats and was walking around with one of his daughters (he had short hair, was clean shaven, wearing a dress shirt and tie) and, still, an attendant was following him around - all because he didn't have his badge on. Since then, there have been even more apostates showing up and attendants have obviously been instructed to pay more attention to anyone showing up without a badge, as OP described. So, they are at very high risk of turning off any interested person who received an invitation and shows up and is expecting a warm welcome. This is actually giving off Scientology-vibes and totalitarian vibes. Edited to add: given the shooting inside the Hamburg, Germany, Kingdom Hall and the bombing at a JW convention in India, I do understand a need for some type of screening. But the paranoia about people who THINK DIFFERENTLY is very, very telling. Their truth is amazingly fragile.
Lol back when I was going, the only people wearing any kind of badge were speakers and attendants. Oh, and I suppose also the first aid volunteers. But of course, I guess JW Land *has* become a lot more paranoid over the last 20 years. I just want to know what exactly they think a bunch of JW doorkeepers are going to do in case of a potentially violent "apostate," though. I've worked security at religious functions where the churches had concerns about potential attacks. They made sure to ask the company I was working for to send an *armed* guard. š¤£ **[Edit] After looking through photos to see if I was remembering correctly, I guess the convention badges were a thing back then, too. My family never wore them except when my dad was an attendant. I guess I was always a bad JW**
Agree - wearing badges was much more casual back then. As long as you 'looked like a JW' it was okay. Also, many times we arrived as part of a group or family and someone in that group was probably wearing a badge.
I almost want to go to a convention now just to give the doorkeepers the ol' Ron Swanson dismissal as I walk in, only to leave immediately to avoid having to suffer a single word of some 2-hour lecture about being obedient or not having sex. š¤£ 
The attendant department is really turning up the heat on outsiders. They genuinely donāt want anyone without a badge inside the facility unless they are supervised at all times. Ironic that they still do those stupid invitation campaigns
What's funny is that I get those invitations for like *every* assembly, Memorial and also occasionally public talks. If only they knew who they were inviting š¤£
Lol the angels mustāve quiet quit on the territory you live in
Idk man, if *I'm* getting invitations after the way I got run out of my old congregation, I feel like the angels may have *loud* quit. I'm pretty sure I'm persona non grata as far as the local elders are all concerned. š¤£
Lol the angels mustāve quiet quit on the territory you live in
I donāt think itās totally unreasonable for them to security in the US where gun control is a major issue, especially at a large venue. Just wild that itās someoneās dad doing security lol
Security at religious functions in the United States is 100% warranted, don't get me wrong. But you're *exactly* on point with the "someone's dad" thing. If they need security for the sake of safety, they *should* be hiring people like myself who are actually trained to handle active shooters, bomb threats, evacuations and low-level medical emergencies. Not some guy who washes windows for a living and has never even *seen* a pistol in person. And on top of that, California is... Well let's just say it's a pain in the ass to be a *legal* firearms owner in California and not so much a pain in the ass if you're *not* legal about it. So even armed security is at a significant disadvantage when faced with, well, anybody with bad intentions and a little bit of motivation. I'm definitely more concerned about hardware store IEDs than active shooters, but like none of it is good and we statistically have a high violent crime rate, so it's appalling to me that they're putting amateurs out as potential cannon fodder like that.
Well whenever Jesus spoke he quite famously had his apostles stand in a circle around the area with orange lanyards to make sure no sinners got near. Jesus wouldn't have wanted anyone who didn't believe to hear his teachings, right? It's not like he directly interacted with and debated his enemies countless times in the gospels. /s I don't respect the Bible anymore but it seems like JW's respect it even less.
Those lanyards! Definitely command respect!
Yeah, I got a lanyard too. I wear it at work with my work ID on it. And it has my picture. Yours doesn't have a picture. So there! Wah, wah, wah!
Oh, man! Iām jealous!
I've legit seen brothers act like putting on a lanyard like they were being fucking knighted.
Even less than an atheist. The Bible is a tool to pick and chose how to support the GB and it has no other purpose.
š
I remember it would get to 15k on sundays
Yes!! I remember feeling guilty that I went to one I wasnāt assigned to a decade ago so I could visit some friends and I felt guilty because it was so packed. I felt I was taking a seat from someone.
Who are you calling fatty things??! https://preview.redd.it/4ntvr5t48s9d1.jpeg?width=245&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d5d93e87ab0b0b950028ec943dcd8845b1195add
There needs to be new light on overlapping fatty things soon
35 year old ex MS, When I was younger and serving at the CA Long Beach convention our attendance was always 10-12k every year, each day. Seeing this low of numbers is crazy, in a good way.
I know. Thereās giant screens and no energy at all.
I thought the angels protect them?
You sound like an apostate. Angels only help you cross mud puddles in service. They donāt protect children from getting AIDS or the venue from people who think different thoughts than the thoughts permitted by the fatties.
Yeah man. They can apparently stop rapists and murders in service, maybe even get you to the convention or help you pioneer. But keep those damned satanic apostates out of the meeting of Gods chosen people? No can do boss.
Angels make sure you have $62.35 placed in your mailbox for your phone bill. Sheesh folks!! /s
It warms my heart that this cult is so worried about who enters those doors. WT is getting a lot of exposure and a lot of countries looking at their vile practices. They have affected so many lives and families. Destroying relationships, to the point JW's have done the unthinkable. It's coming for you WT! I hope that I live long enough to see it!
*I hope that I live long enough to see it!* Me too.
The security situation is crazy. You canāt just walk into a convention these days? Theyāll interrogate you to get in? How do they get everyone in the doors?
you need to have a ābadgeā to enter. š¤£
Bingo. We were instructed to stop, question, and monitor everyone who didnāt have a badge. Explained why I got treated like a criminal when I forgot mine once.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
https://preview.redd.it/q0m9r2okat9d1.jpeg?width=1066&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=86a0196f9c8a2eb81bab8e89b1355ee31e1c7c29
Upvoted for the use of the phrase "fragile, snowflake tiny dick baby" I nearly snorted a late supper croissant across the room šš
They require Enemas of God to go along with their clean dead brains!
š¤š¤
I would dare somebody to get in using that phrase.........a croissant sounds good about now......
I love it! So descriptive, I feel your passion . The conventions get smaller and smaller every year. Go to JW.org and find a convention near you. Most are not renting large stadiums, instead they are conventions at the JW assembly halls.
Yeah and they charge a dollar amount per head at the branch owned property the same as if it were a leased event. The assembly halls make pretty good money for the branch
I had an older gentleman at the door and he told me..āhoney you must remember this in life, FTMā. Follow the money. Itās always about money!
Interestingly I had to pick up a relative up, out side the assembly hall. The first comment she made to me was how empty the venue was. Back in the day it was packed.
Yeah I used to goto Long Beach for years, eventually they moved us to Ontario. But LB used to be PACKED FULL when I was a kid, you had to RACE to try and get a good seat especially on weekends. We would wait in line at the ass crack of dawn to get seats. The last time I went was some years ago in Ontario and even there I noticed the numbers thinning severely, is as picture from Long Beach and it was a sad shell of what I remember it once being. That said, the last conventions I went to I was an attendant, and I remember the training specifically telling us then (around 2019) to stop people at the doors if they didnāt have a badge and question them, try to not let them in, and if we did let them in to follow them to their seat under the guise of ālet me help you find your seatā. If we saw anyone with tattoos or not in full suit we were to follow them and note where they sat and tell the attendants there to watch them. They used to take picture of āsuspiciousā people and text them to all the attendants for the convention and tell us to watch them. I remember being on break sitting up top and watching this elderly couple they were convinced were āapostatesā and the old man got up to goto the bathroom, two attendants followed him out and back. I was instructed to follow a young guy because he had tattoos on his arms. I walked around the corner so no one could see me and just said āoh I lost himā because that was absolute bullshit. They used to take pictures of license plates and send them to us. Hell, we a whole packet of license plates and pictures of āpotential disruptersā from OTHER conventions when I showed up. One was supposedly a āpopular apostate onlineā (no idea who tf she was) and they even had hidden camera videos confronting some of them or following them for us. That shit alone did a lot of waking up for me. Lots of those guys thought they were hot shit and used it as an excuse to act like disgusting pieces of shit. Meanwhile I got in trouble because a poor old lady came to me crying because she had to pee so bad and she the doors were locked before the convention. I went and asked the guys at front to let her in to use the restroom. Not can do boss. Asked my ācaptainā. Oh yeah we donāt have keys and she canāt go in anyway itās not time. She will have to wait.ā I told her, she almost break down crying more when I told her she had to wait and said āI donāt think I can but Iāll tryā. I ran up and beat the shit out of the glass door as those āfine Christian menā stood there staring at me refusing to look at me. Meanwhile the āwordlyā security officer that looks like a metal head with tattoos and piercings? He opened the door and said āof course she can come in.ā - I got in trouble for ānot following directionā. They were baffled when I said āand Iād do it again.ā
Holy shit to all of this
So much for inviting the public and then interrogating anyone who doesnāt have a badge. They would probably surround me if I went. I have a shaved head, a super long goatee and look like a metal head.
What are the questions that I as a never-JW would have to answer?
What congregation are you from? Who is your congregation coordinator? Who are you studying the bible (aka JW publications) with?
This. Itās like the cops pulling you over for window tint and then trying to see if they can get the dogs on you to smell for drugs and nail you for something else
Yup, it's becoming paranoid and hostile. And they're oblivious to it.
Yeahā¦ when the Satanistās are more Inviting than you, you seriously need to reconsider your priorities.
This had me in a fit of giggles š great speech
I remember the Long Beach RC in July and August. miserably HOT and no seats!!
Idk if itās the same venue but I remember the AC and even upper level power going out several times just to add to it.
Iāve been seeing a lot of people mention how much more uptight the attendants are at these conventions. Canāt imagine that would make outsiders feel welcomed. In fact itās like they donāt want them at all. Theyāve somehow made insufferable conventions worse lol.
Just had a passing thought... how many outsiders *really* want to go to a jw convention? I have no doubt there's some, but it has to be a scant amount in proportion to the amount of jw's.
True dat lol š. Itās kinda sad to think about it; but I imagine most outsiders who would spend their free time going to a convention are probably not in a great point in life. I think youāre exactly right though. From all these empty conventions I see it seems even their members donāt wanna go lol.
It felt like such a huge waste of time handing out invitations to the convention. I was a true believer, and even I didn't want to go! It was a long way away, the venue was cramped and the seats uncomfortable, and the entire thing was either boring or cringey. It must feel like an even bigger waste of time handing out invitations to an event where -on the off chance they show up- you know they're going to be treated so suspiciously.
Great points. During the invitation campaign it really seemed unrealistic that anyone would actually come. People get an invitation, but are not informed about parking or that they need to pack a lunch. The more I think about it, having jw's handing out invitations for 3 weeks leading up to the convention was their way to make sure the jw was actually going to go to the convention.
I lose track of time, but def before covid, I went day #1 to convention, and my name badge was in my study bag. I was carrying a kid on my hip, and herding the other two, with book bags and lunch bags. As I approached the entrance, I was interrogated about my presence there, asked where my badge was, when I said in my bag, asked to show proof. Mind you, I had to place kiddo on my hip on the floor, put down lunch bags, and take my "credentials " out from a bag I was carrying as a backpack. Uhuum. Blah blah excuse given about security measures when the f*ing spectacle was noticed by others, because a "spiritually single " mom with 3 kiddos in tow....yeah....a security risk š§
Thatās so ridiculous. I know for the international they actually printed out tickets and had security, they wouldnāt let you in without scanning your ticket. It was annoying as hell.
>The guy said āwe have opposers from all sides, even governments who donāt like that we tell the truth from Gods word. They have Pissed Off exJW\`s who\`s Marriages have been Destroyed and Families have been Broken Up.... Government Authorities are Prosecuting Criminals for Committing Crimes, Who Happen to Be JW\`s. *JW\`s tell you they\`re not doing, what you see them doing.....It\`s always something else or, it could be the other thing.*
The fatties. I lost my shit!š
Is that a Sunday attendance
I know number in English congregations have been dropping significantly in California for the past 20 years. In Spanish congregations itās like a roller coaster goes up and down
Yes
Heard only 17 got baptized today? That's pretty low ... Last year at this same time 30 got baptized.
Spanish or English
Eng
I remember when I was an attendant, I would take my attendant badge off when I wasnāt on duty because I couldnāt stand the idea of being important. Thereās just something about the JW attitude of showing off. Now they have bright lanyardsā¦ are they really so that if you need help you could find an attendant?Ā
Oh I had one lady run up to me and start to ask me for help, but stop because she couldnāt see my orange badge all the way (it was flipped over). She kept pausing and staring at me, it wasnāt until I flipped it over that she decided I was an human being and she could in fact speak to me.
So glad to see their attendance take such a hit!
Me toooooo!!!!
I hope you get to have coffee with your mom soon
I will. Fuck the cult.
I used to go to the Long Beach Arena when I was in, and it used to be packed ! Itās been so long that it was called District Convention and not Regional Convention. Yes ! They have pissed so many people off that it feels good that theyāre paranoid about whoās getting in, and leaking information.
When I hear Long Beach, the song comes into my head: "with so much drama in the LBC it's kinda hard being Snoop D O double G."
āCompton and Long Beach together now you know you in troubleā
But uh, somehow someway keep comin up with funky ass shit like every single day. One of my favorites!!!!!
Do they not do invitations and whatnot anymore? I remember the pamphlets I'd hand out inviting the public.
How the hell would I know? Everything used to be open to the public
lol I absolutely love the energy in your reply! It's basically How the fucking shit should I know about this cults recent activity? Fuck em, I don't know
Do you have a pic of the attendance by chance? I went there a few times, be fun to see it nearly empty!
I do. Donāt want to blow my cover sorry.
How do you really feel? You know, who in their right minds would be comfortable attending an event of any kind that requires so much security? It's very telling. JWs have made too many big enemies of God...not the little ones.
One time I was handling a contribution box there and I remember the elder that escorted me to the accounting room having a walkie talkie and there being a big concern about a potential apostate there. Funny to think Iām an apostate now. PLUS the elder disassociated 2 months after the assembly and sent out letters to the entire congregation. They were all told to destroy any mail from him.
Do you remember what his letter said?
No because I listened and threw it away! :( I wish I knew!
Been roughly 10 years since I've been to the long beach convention. I don't remember security there lmao
Itās been maybe 6 for me. There used to be all the doors open and a whole gang of people with why 1914 signs standing just outside the doors. Itās 6 guys are every entry waiting to pounce.
OP, were they stopping others that you saw? This is the first instance Iāve heard of this year and havenāt heard of any new dramatic change to attendantsā procedures. Was there something about your appearance that looked ānon JWā? I only ask because we havenāt worn badges for the last 15 years and no one has ever hassled us accept my super PIMI mom.
Back when I attended training in 2018/1019 we were instructed to look for anyone without badges and approach them or follow them. Attendants may not have actually done it that much but technically the training says theyāre supposed to, and they certainly did at my conventions.
Many of my old friends were there this weekend. I feel so sorry for them. I would have been there to. So happy I wasnāt. Donāt miss it one bit. I used to volunteer every single day. Cleaning bathrooms. Contribution boxes. Ect.
Marking you *'Good'* for your excellent use of mocking sarcasm !
Thanks!!
ššš
Is it because you didnāt have a nametag?
When they left Dodger Stadium and went to LBC, it seemed like they didn't want to turn on the air for a few years. It was very miserable from my memories......
This makes me happy ,down with the witchtower society .
Out of curiosity, what kind of questions are they asking?
Not OP but we were told to ask something along the lines of oh what hall are you from? What brings you here? Did you get an invitation? Let me take you to your seatā¦ā or if we thought they were combative or disruptive to try and get them talking with us ex: āI think youāre all wrong!ā - oh well Iām sorry to hear that? Why is that?ā while we tried to secretly call more help either on radio or by waving our hands frantically behind our back so revoke your invitation and ask you to leave. There was probably more questions but it was several years back and I was not paying attention whatsoever. I knew damned well if I saw someone charging the stage or disruptive I was gonna sit back and let it play out.
Fuel the persecution complex, and make sure it starts at the front door.
Theres a way around everything, walk in with your Mother or someone elderly, they wont hold you up all day
My mother was told to treat me like Iām dead but Iād probably be able to borrow a wicked catholic mother who show me more love
Wow, I used to go there for years! Thatās pretty low attendance. Dang the security sounds pretty paranoid.
The paranoia is intense this convention season around the world. In some places they are getting outside help with security, and in others theyāve told brothers they have permission to use force if necessary to prevent disruptions.