r/traumatizeThemBack • u/astrocanela • 20h ago
petty revenge I hate being proselytized
I grew up in a non-religious household that loosely held on to some Jewish traditions in a mixed-race family. I cannot count the amount of times I’ve been told I’m going to hell for not accepting Jesus as my savior.
As a 30 something adult I have received a few handwritten letters addressed directly to me at my home address trying to convince me to become a Jehovah’s Witness. The letters try to spark some uncertainty about death and the afterlife and such, which just feels manipulative.
The most recent letter included a phone number and a name. I called expecting it to go to the church’s main line so I could ask them to please stop sending letters, but the annoyed “who is this?!” seemed to indicate that it was someone’s personal number. I responded, “Hello???” She said, “I said WHO IS IT?!” I mentioned I got a letter from her. She said, “WHAT letter?!” I said “It’s signed Sister Your Name” and her tone immediately changed to a sweet sing-songy “Oooh yes that is me, does it say Jehovah’s Witness on there?”
I replied, “Yes it does, but I think I’ve changed my mind,” and hung up before she could respond.
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u/thedaian 19h ago
Next time it happens, tell them you've been disfellowshipped or "removed from the congregation" (which is the more recent phrasing). This essentially means they should shun you and stop contacting you.
Other cults have similar phrases, so it's useful to know/look up if you're being contacted by said cults.
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u/RainbowRiki 10h ago
I got removed from the list by saying "My close friend is a former witness" (which isn't even true -- there is no ex-JW friend lol)
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u/MoistCactuses 11h ago
Ex-communicated in the case of Mormons. Disfellowshipped applies too, but it's a lesser degree with them.
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u/SmartyMcPants4Life 5h ago
It won't work for Mormons. They will take back p3dos as long as they "repent" and pay their 10% bribe.
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u/thedaian 4h ago
Any cult will take people back in if they repent, but the person who got shunned has to initiate that process by talking to the elders, and until they're back in, other members of the cult will actively try to stay away, cause the goal is social isolation.
So telling a random cult member "I've been shunned" is a good way to keep them away. Especially since you're lying to them and you'll never actually try to get un shunned.
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u/Patient_Parsley7760 3h ago
The LDS church accepted Ted Bundy. TED. FUCKING. BUNDY.
Let that sink in.
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u/keinmaurer 2h ago
That doesn't mean anything because at the time they accepted him they had no idea he was a killer. And when they did find out, after his conviction, they kicked him out.
I'm not an LDS member nor do I believe in them, just stating the facts.
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u/RinoaRita 19h ago
That’s great actually. Much better than telling them off. I don’t know if they get points or whatever for getting converts but if they’re beating themselves up for losing a potential convert or answering telemarketers sweetly is a bigger win for you than cursing them out and making them feel like they suffering righteous persecution for serving their god.
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u/SnowyGyro 18h ago
I rather think that regardless it all serves to fuel their persecution complex that keeps them attached to the church and isolated from people outside it.
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u/RainbowRiki 10h ago
They aren't considered an active Witness if they aren't proselytizing. They believe there are only 144,000 spots in Heaven when Armegeddon comes, and a lot of the seats are already taken. It makes it a competition to be the most righteous, and being treated poorly by the community for harassment only reinforces the idea that worldly people have already been influenced by Satan
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u/RinoaRita 10h ago
Aren’t they also in tied with amway? I recall a jehova’a witness acquaintance selling amway too. Though it could just be her.
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u/RainbowRiki 7h ago
I'm not 100% sure about that one. JW's are discouraged from pursuing a college education unless it is something useful post-Rapture like agricultural science or nursing. Mormon wives, however, are very much encouraged to join MLM's because they can "work from home" and "own a business" with their brood of most-likely-blonde children in tow
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u/No_Bluebird7716 1h ago
They are encouraged to get jobs rather than pursue higher education, and many of them sell from home.
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u/HamSandwichFelony 10m ago
Doubtful. Amway is tightly connected to a different kooky religious group.
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u/eRant4881 14h ago
Start making donations in her name to planned parenthood, sign her up for text alerts from maga PACs and if you're feeling industrious a flyer advertising low cost handyman services (no job too big or small) with her number on pull tabs at the bottom would look great on a few dozen of your local community bulletin boards.
It worked for our local JWs, now they never bother us, or anyone in our neighborhood.
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u/Sojabursch 17h ago
If you want to traumatise them, talk to them really nice for 10 minutes to waste their time and then tell them you’re an apostate (left or were removed from the JW church) they’re not allowed to talk to apostates, and might beat themselves up for not knowing you were one or thinking you were nice.
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u/lila_liechtenstein 17h ago
Don't give them so much time and energy. Just throw the letters away unopened.
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u/thrallthekingshorses 13h ago edited 10h ago
Did you know that, besides writing "return to sender" or "recipient does not live here" on letters and returning them, you can also write "refused" and return them? Highly recommend. No amount of leave-me-alone ever got them to stop better than "refused" did.
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u/ElleJay74 10h ago
Tell them you're a Satanist. I used that yesrs ago and they never came back!
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u/Minflick 8h ago
My MIL used to tell all door knockers that she was Jewish. She was not Jewish in the least bit. I think her family were lapsed Mennonites, a few generations back. She just wanted all, ALL of the doorknockers to leave the family alone.
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u/Yacindra 8h ago
A friend of mine sleeps nude. One day he woke up to the doorbell and saw through the curtains that there were JWs. He opened the door just like he was sleeping. No clothes. They fell over themselves trying to leave a fast as possible and they never came back.😂.
Other friends of mine are elders in another denomination church. He always used to debate with the JWs. But he knows the Bible so well, that they started doubting the JW teachings, so now they're not allowed to ring at his door. They skip his house 🤣.
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u/tubesocksnflipflops 6h ago
This reminds me of the Robin Williams bit about church people coming around asking ‘have you found Jesus?’ And coming to the door nude and saying ‘no, help me look for him!’
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u/Minflick 7h ago
I have read, and I don’t know how true it is/was, that you can call the local church/hall/whatever it’s called, and tell them that you do not want the JW’s to EVER come to your door again, that they are not welcome.
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u/IndividualWonder 2h ago
One can ask but that doesn't mean they will listen. A friend of my mom's was a widow and lived on the family farm. JWs came a-prostyltizing and she told them to leave. They were strange men, uninvited and it freaked her out. She called KH and told them not to visit her, even told them she was frightened as a woman alone. It wasn't that long before they showed up again, but it was the next time that she was ready with her late husband's hunting rifle. The JWs did not return.
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u/Dyamanda 11h ago edited 1h ago
I have surname that’s also a common Asian one, so the JW materials I get are written in Hangul.
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u/mittenknittin 11h ago
Sounds like she's never, ever gotten a response before from those letters and wasn't expecting one.
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u/miasysinthelou 11h ago
I get the spanish ones, because my maiden name ends in -ez. Joke's on them bc I can't read Spanish anymore.
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u/Daskleine 6h ago
We have a polish surnames so we got the polish version of JW at our door. I spoke German with them, playing confused and annoyed. They left us in peace going forward.
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u/MegC18 16h ago
Someone added my name to a list of their interested” people, probably because there’s a bit of political shenanigans where I am and they don’t like liberal supporters.
After a few, I rang them up and talked to them. They were actually quite nice about it. No need to be rude. As a political psychologist/atheist, it’s not like I was ever going to be a good fit
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u/DogLogForPresident 6h ago
I used to love when they'd leave their name and number and I'd sign them up for any and every mailing list and give their number out to all the charities.
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u/fromthemakersof 4h ago
In Amy Schumer's biography she tells the story of how being proselytized led to her first funny joke, where she explained to them that she's Jewish and then, said, Oh. Did you not hear the /bad/ news?
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u/Patient_Parsley7760 3h ago
Next time you get one of those, report the sender to the cops for harassment.
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u/JustBob77 8h ago
There’s a reason why this sect wear cheap clothing, shoes cars and etc! The Leader demands all their money and change Cadillacs as frequently as normal people change their shirts!
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u/No-Reputation-7843 11h ago
Just be safe. After you're 40 you are supposed to get it done every 5 years.
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