u/Even_Possibility_954 — reddlx

How are Jehovah’s Witnesses viewed in your country?

Hi everyone, I’m curious about how Jehovah’s Witnesses are perceived around the world.

I’m a 17‑year‑old PIMO Jehovah’s Witness (physically in, mentally out) living in California, USA. My impressions are obviously limited and pretty local, so I’d love to hear what it’s like where you live.

In the U.S., I notice pretty mixed reactions:

- In more metropolitan / wealthier areas, like specific places in California, most people don’t really care and usually just see JWs as pretty culty. They can be polite at the door I guess, but there’s a general assumption that JWs are just another form of Mormonism.

- When I visit family in more rural, Southern areas (like Kentucky), people tend to be more hospitable. Proselytizing can be seen in a more positive light, because having JWs knock somewhere rural is like a way to interact socially, which can be rare in those areas. Of course, there are people who hate them, but the vibe at the door (I think?) is usually friendlier.

Something else I’ve noticed is that whenever I hear about JWs in my social circle traveling to preach in foreign countries with these “amazing” or positive experiences, they almost always go to “third world” (for lack of a better term) or poorer areas. Usually a country in Africa or Southeast Asia. The official videos on the JW website about “preaching in foreign lands” 9 times out of ten tend to show small towns, pueblos, and rural areas rather than big wealthy cities. An exception I’ve heard about is Japan, which is supposedly pretty JW‑friendly (I could be wrong, so I’d love input from people actually there).

By contrast, I rarely hear about people going to preach long‑term in more metropolitan/wealthier countries. This is probably just because of internet access and people being more informed about who they are. Like, the only times I’ve heard about witnesses going to preach in Europe was when one woman went to France, and another to England, but they both ended up getting married lmao, so I’m a little suspicious of their motives for going there.

There are also what they call “International Conventions,” where JWs from different countries gather in one host country. For example, my cousin went to one in Germany years ago. The talks were in German, but during the songs people sang in their own languages. So they definitely have the whole worldwide thing on their side, but outside of those big convention events, I don’t see or hear as much from JWs in many parts of the world.

However, I do know about some international legal stuff, like Russia banning Jehovah’s Witnesses as an extremist organization, and the whole Norwegian court case. I even used to hang out with a Russian JW family that moved to the U.S. years ago (no idea where they are now).

Anyways, a few questions for you would be:

- What is the general reaction to them in your country?

- Are they generally seen as nice but weird, a cult, just another Christian group, etc.?

- Have there been any big public controversies about them in your country?

- Are there any ex‑JW activists, YouTubers, or organizations in your country? Or is most of what you see also in English?

Also, leaning into the ex-JW activism side, I mostly see activism from English‑speaking countries (US/UK), like people such as Lloyd Evans and similar creators. I almost never come across ex‑JW activists from Asia, Africa, or non‑Anglophone Europe (just to name a few) in online spaces, and I’m really curious whether that’s just my algorithm or if there’s genuinely less visible activism.

Thanks in advance for any insight, and apologies for how long this is, I just wanted to make sure I was covering a lot.

Edit: Thank you so much to everyone who’s been responding! This has all been super helpful. It also makes me feel better knowing the truth that Jehovahs Witnesses are NOT viewed as positively as I’ve been lied into believing. I had always believed I’d be preaching in foreign countries who would just accept us and my life would be set. Thank god I have woken up since then, and I have NO DESIRE at all to sacrifice my precious time and education for this messed up organization.

It also kind of feels like a brother blood indoctrination.

u/Even_Possibility_954 — 8 days ago

▲ 0 r/Derailedbydetails+1 crossposts

HELP! How bad is it??

Like an idiot, I tried to cut my own curtain bangs. All was going well, until I forgot to switch out the scissors I was using right before I tried thinning out my hair. Ended up using the actual scissors instead of the thinning scissors and chopped off a piece of the front bangs. Obviously I’m really upset, but I’m trying not to cry about it. How bad does it look?? I feel like it kind of blends in, until I pull it out. On the bright side, now they are a bit more even because one side of the bangs was always a bit thinner. Now they match more.😭😭 Anyways just wondering if this is even something a stylist could fix. I DON’T want to have to chop them off.

Btw they aren’t styled right now, this is right before a hair wash.

Edit: To clarify, I wasn’t cutting fresh bangs, I already had these but was trying to trim them.

u/Even_Possibility_954 — 10 days ago

▲ 1 r/toxicparents

Before I start, I feel like it's important to mention that my family is involved with a very controlling religion that discourages intellectual pursuits in favor of “spiritual ones”(aka the Bible and what the religion teaches). This should partly explain his behavior. Anyways since I (F17) was around 11 years old to now, almost 18, I’ve always been a curious kid, and just liked looking up random facts and learning things, as well as more recently an understanding of the political state of the world. This interest of mine, however, has been routinely criticized by my dad. He has always told me things like “I look up too many facts, I waste my time, I need to focus on other things like my spirituality instead”, etc. Also, I say this not to praise myself at all, but no one in my family except for me really likes to talk about “intellectual things” or whatever his idea of that is, so I have always been made fun of for enjoying those things in my family, especially by him. I rarely even contribute to conversations much anymore, unless I am saying things that are “acceptable” to them because they just get mad whenever I want to say anything. I’m also sick of their rude remarks and don’t feel comfortable speaking my mind with them. I apologize for the weird order but I’m just going to mention things he has said/done or just certain events.

Examples:

Whenever I have mentioned a fact, he would critique it as if I must be doing too much research to have known that. He has even gone so far as to block or limit the time I can use google chrome on my phone(parental controls)as a way to keep me from learning or looking up facts.
He has criticized the amount of questions I have asked, as if I think too deeply
He says that I need to refrain from talking about facts or things deemed too “intellectual” by his standard when I am conversing with people, as it can make them uncomfortable or it makes me sound arrogant.
One time when I was like 12 we were driving to the beach and talking about the nature around us in order to appreciate God's creation, and then my father asked me what I enjoyed about God's power or something, and I think I said something about rocks and I mentioned the periodic table passionately because I was excited, and then immediately everyone started laughing at me for mentioning the periodic table, and I kind of just shut down and was really embarrassed. It became an inside joke for a while.
I also have been told, more when I was younger, that when I say things like that, or talk about deeper topics like politics when talking to my siblings, it can offend them and make them feel bad for not knowing certain things. Which is really confusing to me, because it's not like I just interrogate them and list a bunch of facts to them??
Now, he says it differently, like I need to be careful of the type of language I use when speaking with them because I don’t want to come off as arrogant and like I am trying to sound smarter than them. I still don't understand what he means, it's not like I'm casually dropping “ubiquitous” when I speak to them??
The thing that bothers me every time he says it, is when he accuses me of saying “I know” or “definitely” too much, and I should instead opt for “I think” or “I feel”. I’ll give an example below.
Conversation A: Father speaking: Man that's crazy what happened on the news recently. Me: I know I saw it yesterday, that's crazy!
Another example of this, we were playing a game and one of the questions was something like name a CEO that is going to turn into a supervillain and why, and I said Sam Altman(lol) and then just listed a couple reasons why, nothing in depth because I know my family couldn’t give a shit, I was just answering the question. After I said the answer, he pulled me to the side and said I should really stop saying things like “definitely” and instead say “I think” when I am talking about something. Like am I missing something?? I was playing the game and keeping my answer simple and he criticizes me for even having an opinion.

The worst part about this weird treatment though, is that he has praised me in front of people before for liking the things he says I care too much about. Like one time he was talking to a guy and they were talking about a drink and chemistry or whatever, and then he goes “yeah (my name) likes chemistry!”. HUH? You literally get mad at me for talking about chemistry?! I also always have to hold my tongue and make sure I never talk too deeply about something and keep it surface level. Or else he starts to get quiet and give me dirty looks, or he’ll pivot to start talking about God. There's more I can say about this, but this is the gist of it. It just feels so weird, like he's mad at me for having opinions, and he wants to be the man in the house doing most of the “thinking”. It also feels like he’s somehow threatened by me? Even though that is NEVER my intention. I have no desire to somehow disrespect my father or make him feel dumb or something. I also acknowledge that I am not perfect, and constantly try to watch my tongue to make sure I am not coming off as a jerk. I continue to try my best to not come off like I am trying to sound smart. I just always feel like I'm the problem, and I am inherently a selfish, arrogant little bitch and my dad is right. I feel like I'm in the twilight zone. Am I really the asshole here??

TL;DR: Dad shames/criticizes my normal curiosity and interest in learning facts since childhood, restricts learning, but praises it sometimes. Feels like he wants me dumbed down. AITA? (Plz excuse my shit sentence structure as well)

reddit.com

u/Even_Possibility_954 — 17 days ago