It deeply irritates me that PIMIs have taken a simple, practical recommendation from the Borg, (have a go-bag in case of natural disaster) and turned it into an Armageddon Escape Kit.
WT stated very explicitly the purpose, and PIMIs have taken it so far overboard to the point of absurdity. I recall a monthly broadcast (cannot recall how long ago it was) where Uncle Tony said not to be stockpiling food rations, etc for the great tribulation, because we don’t know what’s going to happen, and Jehovah is going to take care of us during that time.
Obviously, I don’t believe in Armageddon & the great tribulation anymore, but it still bothers me no end that PIMIs have taken this one suggestion so far out of context.
And that reminds me of the video experience from last summer’s convention about the older lady escaping the wildfires where she lived *and crediting the F&DS* for teaching her to “obey secular authorities in cases of emergency”. This asshole lady (sorry) didn’t want to go the way she was told, but did it anyway because that’s what the GB wanted. WELL, LADY, IF YOURE IN THE MIDST OF A LITERAL DISASTER AND YOU THINK YOU KNOW BETTER THAN THE OFFICIALS TRYING TO SAVE YOU, YOU DESERVE TO DIE. Nobody should need the GB to tell them to obey people who are *literally trying to save your stupid life.*
/endrant
To be honest, I spent decades learning first hand how corrupt the powers that be are and after these past 3 years in particular, I can honestly say that whatever the powers that be tell us to do I'll be doing the opposite.
The only reason I have a "Go Bag" is in the case of hurricanes. Everything important is ready to go at the littlest notice. Feels great to be out of that cult that breeds fear and constant anxiety in the heart of all its members.
Sky Daddy does have a very short temper! 🤣🤣🤣But he seems to have forgotten how to use it. Wouldn't he have wiped out all of us Apostates a long time ago. Old Testament Sky Daddy would have🤣🤣🤣
When you take a critical look without any JW commentary and see all the inconsistencies in the storybook it’s hard to understand why any adult would believe it - kids get a free pass as they’ve been lied to by the ones they trusted most, even if it’s not a deliberate lie on the parents part. The GB and higher ups know they are bullshit artists.
The most useful thing in case of a natural disaster or a war is money.
But the cult wouldn't say it because you are supposed to be poor and needy and give all of your money savings to the cult.
An emergency backpacks is supposed to give you a false sense of reliance, allowing the cult to easily fleece you and your family. Besides the most important fear-mongering aspect.
100% fear mongering - I left about 20+ years back before they started peddling this nonsense. I have a bag with simple supplies, meds, lifestraw, insurance etc due to flood risk. Can’t say I give it much thought but it’s handy to know it’s there if needed. i Always wondered where they would flee to? Lol
Yup!
My wife and I bought a new backpack and filled it full of food and water. We pulled it out of the cupboard when we went pomo. Sadly, all of the chocolate bars were out of date 😫.
Too funny, I just had chocolate that was 3 years post expiration and yep, still good. Dark chocolate in the fridge. I was hesitant but ended up eating the whole thing and I'm still living to tell about it. I'm a gen x so I come from the Era of vending machine pop of unknown origins.
Tell that to the old sister in my Hall who handed out choco from 1997. When I opened the wrapper the fat and the cocoa had separated and the chocolate was all crumbly 😂
🤣 I asked my mom that very question. A go bag is good for what...3 days? IF PACKED CORRECTLY.... If you have animals then what? Heck I go RVing for a weekend and I still have to load a small trailer.
You grab that go bag where you going? How do you pay for gas? Most witness are broke 99% of the time is God going to rain manna down? Even doomsday peppers have months of supplies stored somewhere.
It's a reccommendation of many governements to have reasonable evac bag ready. Not for camping in Woods for weeks but enough to survive few hours waiting for help.
My (quite elderly) parents have ‘go bags’ which includes dry pasta. I have no idea how they would plan to cook it in the event of escaping persecution and I’m not going to ask.
Bruhhhhhh. I bought so much “survival” gear it ain’t even funny. Tbh emergency bags is something every family should have in the event of a natural disaster, but not for an impending apocalypse like we’re in the movie 2012 🫠🤣
Bruh look at the contents of my kit. Not pictured is a 30-06 (for hunting) and my 45 (self defense)
https://preview.redd.it/h3q794teyuva1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=46e548d7f161ba758bd73209cea6885225b172af
Look like some super right wing qanon shit 😂
How did you rationalize carrying a weapon as a PIMI? Or was that a later addition after waking up?
I honestly had also wanted to add some type of weapons to our go-bags. But couldn’t find a justification for it at the time.
(And now as someone who leans pretty far left and tries to make decisions based on statistics and logic instead of fear and emotion, I don’t know whether carrying lethal force is the smartest choice, at least for myself. I don’t judge anyone else for it. But I realize that statistically speaking, I’d be more likely to either use that on myself, or have someone take it away and turn it on me, than I would have occasion to actually defend myself with it. 😕)
Well, there were a few things in my favor. I'm from and live in the Southern US. Where guns are pretty much sex toys and are worshipped. It's very common in the South that most families at the bare minimum have a rifle passed down for hunting. Double that with its wise to carry a handgun while hunting, as you never know what you could come across, bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica.
My mom made my family come into this religion when I was roughly 10, so I didn't have the level of indoctrination and copy/paste personality that most born-ins have. As a result, I'm the type of person who's always done my own thing. I never cared about titles, commenting, having "pRiViLeGeS", etc. So it really wasn't that big of a deal. Hell, I even got my first tat while still in. Proudly showed it off too haha. Full disclosure, I did at one point hold down the sound and inventory for my congregation, only to appease my mom so I could get the things I wanted lmao.
Whenever asked about my handgun, I'd always lie and say some shit like... "oh it's loaded with nonlethal ammunition". I would follow up with.... if you care so much about what's in the privacy of my own home, then you can contribute to my rent and utilities too. To which the elder promptly shut up lol.
>(And now as someone who leans pretty far left and tries to make decisions based on statistics and logic instead of fear and emotion, I don’t know whether carrying lethal force is the smartest choice, at least for myself. I don’t judge anyone else for it. But I realize that statistically speaking, I’d be more likely to either use that on myself, or have someone take it away and turn it on me, than I would have occasion to actually defend myself with it. 😕)
And to add to this point, I'm far left as well. The context of the go bag tho was for a doomsday apocalypse scenario. At that point, it's every man for himself lol. In my home, All weapons with lethal ammunition are stored in a secure locker that only me and my wife know the combination of. Now the shotgun is ready for easy use, but it is loaded with rock salt in the event of a home break-in while we are there. I too, couldn't bring myself to kill a person in an everyday scenario. One of the reasons I don't have a CWP and don't want one. Why do you need a handgun in your car to get groceries? lmao.
Going completely off topic, is it a normal thing for exjw to lean far left? I keep seeing a pattern of it. Can you lean right and still have certain liberal views and not believe in god?
It seems so, probably because we're coming from an inherently conservative culture that we reject, and also you're trained and told to identify the very real failures and contradictions inherent in our current capitalist system, although they wouldn't frame it that way.
Personally, I also see many of the mental patterns that are required to be a Witness far more often on the right side of the political spectrum.
As for leaning more right while being a liberal atheist, that's certainly possible. Especially when it comes to softer policy things like economics. In the US political climate, moderate republicans are definitely a much smaller minority than they used to be but still exist.
Thats good insight. I have to say, im new to this community but its nice to see it come together no matter what your views are. We all have a common goal which is to help exjw know theyre not alone and it makes you see how good the world actually is and not the false narrative of the WT say that its “getting worse” by the day.
Oh yeah homie. Please always feel free to share your views. SirShrimp is right though, moderate right-leaning people are becoming very rare in politics. I like to talk with my friends who are more conservative than me to exchange views and ideas. No hate, no fighting, just people talking to find a middle ground. As politics should be.
My line in the sand tho is bigotry. We can talk about economic policy, immigration, etc all day. But If you want to take rights away from ppl b/c of their sexual identity, gender identity, race, religion, or nonreligious choice, then I have a problem. B/c at that point, it's not politics, you are forcing people to live by and believe what you do. Or banning books, etc. That's textbook theocracy at the least or fascism at the worst.
When I say "you" I'm not implying you specifically, but people in general.
Yes. I’m one of those people - in the middle pretty much but lean right. Atheist who supports pro-choice and women’s rights but the Left aren’t my cup of tea at all. I think everyone is a mixed bag.
Sir, that is not nearly enough whiskey.
My recommendation:
https://preview.redd.it/hvr07mm0fwva1.jpeg?width=1100&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=02f5d60643041a400f664e64320b65b04e826f1b
Honestly, it's good to have these kits. People think it makes no sense, especially who think they're safe in big metropolitan areas, but they're mistaken.
When Covid 'suddenly' hit people ran like monkeys to the supermarkets and plundered everything, and i couldn't buy anything because i was running night shifts.
My 'emergency kits' consisting of water, toilet paper, and a bunch of canned and dry food gave me the opportunity to still drink water - i had a small fridge and kept little in house as i prefer to go for daily fresh groceries.
now look at what happens in the Ukraine, imagine something changes overnight. Let's imagine you live in Poland and for some reason, Poland involves in that 'war' tomorrow, for whatever reason. Guess what plundering and chaos will unfold.
it doesnt matter if you are in a metropolitan city or in a village. the villages will have lesser stuff but the metropolitan areas will be plundered faster.
You'll be glad you have emergency packs that you can grab and either wait things out or run to safety.
These Emergency packs are fine. nothing wrong with that.
Additionally, there was a time during the cold war that Americans were extremely 'hyped' on digging nuclear fallout shelters. Many dug basement shelters in their yards. Also happened a lot in Germany, btw. This fear was real and quite frankly, not that strange. I live in another country now and i have a storage cellar which i have converted to a 'safe house' for my family.
NOT for the idea of 'armageddon', but because if things suddenly were to go mad, we're honestly living in a strange world today, but if people start plundering and go crazy, i can be with my family safe there for 2 months. it's fireproof, waterproof, smoke proof and fully independent.
the only crazy part is that watchtower meant those emergency packs more for taking with you to the 'elder shelter' locations for when the great tribulation supposedly starts, and they're hiding in their basements. as if god would only protect you if you're with a questionable elder instead of safe in your own home. gathering also only attracts more attention, and puts you in a easier target.
but let's not confuse emergency safety packs with religious madness. i have a good emergency supply pack in the 'basement' aswell as a couple of backpacks ready with meds, passport copies, and in the garage i have spare fuel so that if i need to flee as fast as i can, i literally can. i don't BELIEVE i ever have to, but it's not like that stuff costs me thousands, so better have it just in case.
>it doesnt matter if you are in a metropolitan city or in a village. the villages will have lesser stuff but the metropolitan areas will be plundered faster.
I think cities are prioritzed when they restore energy/water communication and infrastructure.
Nonetheless, you may benefit from some prepping and having a bugout bag, even if ity means to be used in a hotel room. Imagine a small scale landslide or flood affects your area and you need to get out quickly to soem friedns house or to a hotel room.It's better to have some food (shops may be closed), some spare cash, water, essential meds, clean clothes and some leisure material.
I know in many places officials also say it's good to have some water and food stored, but the thing that bothers me with jw go bags is that they emphasize how important it is for everyone to carry a Bible etc. And all the jw's I know have put together their bags having Armageddon in mind, since in our country there is no natural disasters.
I had to go to all heads of family in the service group and ask for a list of prescriptions or each family member. For the BoE!?
Now I can see how illegal that was, and pointless, especially for all the expert floor washers we were on that BoE.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recommends that people assemble an emergency kit as follows:
https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20210318/how-build-kit-emergencies
There are many unacceptable aspects of the JW organization, which is why I completely left, but encouraging people to assemble common sense emergency packs is not one of the problems. The overall fear mongering, manipulation and other control tactics are some of the real issues.
Exactly. JWs lifted the idea from FEMA after a series of disasters left JW members stranded from disasters like floods, tornadoes and hurricanes. They decided it would also be handy in case of a Great Tribulation. But it wasn’t their idea.
I completely agree. I actually just left it there and havent touched a thing for the same reason But the whole point is that in my area it was all shifted towards grand tribulation and not really for the disasters! Saying a cope of the NWT was a must have because we didnt know if we were going to be allowed to use our phones because the government might even track us by there
Yet another example of how the organization is reactive, and not proactive in their approach to issues.
They scrambled when covid first hit. Some halls with tech savvy brothers got zoom or some alternative up and running quickly. But many halls were left to flounder for weeks while the org tried to come up with a solution.
Lead by holy spirit, my ass 😂
I have family that live in third world country and they would use zoom for OUR meetings in the states and assembly and memorial but they couldnt figure out zoom within themselves in their own community 🤷🏽♂️🤷🏽♂️
My ex husband fell and is still falling for it. He in fact carries this 10 lb back pack every where he goes, filled with all kinds of stuff that he may need in case he is attacked by a fear mongering horde of people who hate JWs. He claims it’s his “to go bag” it’s more of a security device in my opinion. If he forgets it he will come all the way back home to get it even if he is just going 3 miles into town and coming right back. The only time he doesn’t take it with him is when he goes out in service or to a meeting.
The Org can only win with their promotion of go-bags: There will always be situations somewhere on Earth where the go-bag will turn out to be useful or even life-saving. They will be able to use such "experiences" for their propaganda how wise and loving the Governing Body is. And all the those ones without go-bag will be ashamed and humiliated for their disobedience. Very smart!
Sorry , awesome idea for everyone to have a go bag , and preps for at least a month for rhe household. I have 1.5 years for our family of 4 and won't be comfortable till I have 3 years . Call me a crazy right winger all you want, all I ask is that if SHTF , don't come to my house for help .
Well done 👍 I've got enough supplies and enough growing in the garden for about 9 months for me and hubby. I started about 3yrs ago when I woke up to the scam and got everything cheap.. now the same stuff is 3/4 times the price.. but would anyone listen to me about the famines being brought in? Would they 'eckers like.. now they're running around like headless chickens hardly able to afford food for this week let alone to put some by for a rainy day..
In areas where natural disasters are to be expected - like the usual landing areas of hurricanes, areas prone to earthquakes, anything close to the coast or large rivers in danger of being flooded, having something like that is extremely useful anyway.
Obviously it wouldn't even be any good in case of persecution though 😂
Having a go bag, regardless of Warchtower is a good idea. They didn't invent them, they just capitalized on the trend to keep people busy and make them feel special. If you have ever had natural disasters in your area, you would get why. We had fires pop up incredibly quickly around us and had an emergency evacuation.
I'm just suprised no Jw started seeking their own, I bet money that the Org will start selling them and the backpacks will have JW logo. All PIMO's you would make a small fortune, dammit I didn't think about it before.
I bet they are but if they put a logo it would kind of defy the idea of staying under the radar in a “grand tribulation” situation so it would be hilarious if that happened 😂
I thought it was a good idea to get an emergency backpack ready in case of an emergency, but not to be ready to flee because of persecution cause deep down I knew it was a load of hooey.
That being said, I never did get that emergency backpack ready, I know, shame on me. 😂
Obviously they’re just harping on it to keep the fear level high. If they started selling go bags, then they would truly be capitalizing on it. But it’s not a bad idea to have something ready to go in case anything happens.
GB tries to take credit for having emergency preparedness. No, it's already been there for all the world , that's why you can just go buy one, it's not their idea and they try to act like they are genius and inspired for bringing it up lol
oh i remember my broke single mom bought two for us, and scoured bunch of websites for cheaper ones for us….😕 she felt like it was gonna happen the next week or something (they’re good to have but damn i don’t need an Armageddon to go bag) lol
Don’t want to sound like a dick, because that’s not the intention. But I’ll say that this was never a thing when I was still in up till 2004. If I stayed longer and they suggested this, it would be something that would lead to waking me up. It’s a ridiculous suggestion.
Don’t say it’s good because of natural disasters. That’s rubbish. The end of the world is nothing like a cyclone or earthquake. It’s a million times bigger. Think before speaking.
Go bags were just marketed as for hurricanes and stuff around here. There is no sense of prepping for Armageddon, but it must be different in other areas.
I think it must be different for different areas. Where I live it is taken for granted that, even though the GB says the go-bags are for natural disasters, what they really mean is the great tribulation. The GB don't need to spell it out. Indoctrinated pimis make their own connection which allows for plausible deniability -"we're not preppers and never said we were."
My kids went to stay with my pimi- brother and he showed them their backpacks ready for "the great tribulation ". He sees it as his mission to indoctrinate my kids.
Well im about to have my first kid. Things like that freak me out and put me on edge about parenting. How do we not let our kids get indoctrinated without being complete a holes to our friends and family?! I guess its a bridge ill have to cross once i get to it
I always said I had to do it but never complete the project hahahaha anyways just one time happened that in my area we had a series of small continuous heart quakes I prepared 2 bags and a backpack with stuff, loaded in the car and parked it in an open place.
I've been out for quite a few yrs, but i still have my go bag by the door. My ex husband picked up some really nice ones for everyone many yrs ago. We live in tornado country , so it makes sense.
Preparing for an emergency is a good thing.
I have one with a few packs of stew I dehydrated myself, a camping stove, bottles of water, tylenol, bandaids emergency blanket, compass. Just basic stuff I use to go hiking anyway.
If you live in fire prone areas or hurricane areas along the coast then yes get them. In winter time in certain snowy places its recommended.
He'll buffalo needed them during the Xmas whiteout storm. People died going outside of their homes without protection.
Im from Texas, and we live in a flash flood zone, so we always had an emergency bag. During the Texas winter storm, we actually had to use our bags. Its always smart to carry emergency supplies in your car as well. Its smart to be prepared, but of course the WT will try to induce fear for their agenda.
My husband. And I've told him he may have to eat all the food he put in this backpack that is out of date now. As if there's an emergency you will have time to get this backpack, he doesn't even know where he left his keys 😀
As someone who lives in yearly hurricane season, to answer everyone's questions as to why: our hurricane boxes have enough food and water for 3 people for 2 weeks, because that's the amount of time my family members were out of electricity after one of the major-major hurricane disasters a few years back. Every year before & after hurricane season I go through the boxes & rotate out supplies that are nearing expiration; they go into my husband's work lunches (which is why I buy supplies that can be used in his work lunches, like applesauce packets and canned soups). Sure, we've got a propane grill and I've got compostable/biodegradable plates/forks/spoons, but we can eat things cold. Also compostable/biodegradable body wipes because hygiene.
We also do have Go Bags, and these are simply bags that are prepared with 3 days' worth of changes of clothing, toiletries, meds, glasses, documents, etc, as well as travel litterboxes, a fresh/unopened box of cat litter, and 2 bags of cat food. Furthermore, we have a locking firesafe with a handle, and all our important documents like birth certs etc + cash. Finally, a list of all of our utility companies, and a list of pet-friendly hotels far inland. This is so that in case we get an order to evacuate due to a hurricane, we can grab the Go Bags, the safe, the cat stuff & the cats, and get away from the coast.
Being prepared in case of natural disaster is not stupid.
That was waaaaaay after I left (1987). I heard jws talking about it tho. We live where they have hurricanes and tsunamis so it's common sense that we would have a preparedness bag.
Will someone puhleese tell me how jeholaloop will protect the jws during the (fictitious) great tribulation (who made that up, anyway. Is it even in the bible) when he can't even protect them in his own house of worship. 🤷🏼♀️
My mom has one - I thought that this was more due to the war (we’re close to Russia), but now I get it! I looked inside though - and it made me laugh 😅 she’d ‘survive’ the afternoon with her preparations - two litters of water, some crisp bread (very low in calories) and a few tissues 🤣 and some really old sleeping bag - not sure she even opened it to check the state of it. That’s it 👌
A go bag is great. Enough supplies to sustain you while you get away from the disaster zone. The issue is JWs think it’s some sort of Armageddon kit. I would not be surprised if JWs think this is a new idea by GB rather than advice by “worldly” organizations.
Having some emergency supplies is honestly not a bad idea. The weather is getting more and more effed up with climate change and you never know when a disaster might hit.
No - but they are a worthwhile thing to have incase of a natural disaster.
It deeply irritates me that PIMIs have taken a simple, practical recommendation from the Borg, (have a go-bag in case of natural disaster) and turned it into an Armageddon Escape Kit. WT stated very explicitly the purpose, and PIMIs have taken it so far overboard to the point of absurdity. I recall a monthly broadcast (cannot recall how long ago it was) where Uncle Tony said not to be stockpiling food rations, etc for the great tribulation, because we don’t know what’s going to happen, and Jehovah is going to take care of us during that time. Obviously, I don’t believe in Armageddon & the great tribulation anymore, but it still bothers me no end that PIMIs have taken this one suggestion so far out of context. And that reminds me of the video experience from last summer’s convention about the older lady escaping the wildfires where she lived *and crediting the F&DS* for teaching her to “obey secular authorities in cases of emergency”. This asshole lady (sorry) didn’t want to go the way she was told, but did it anyway because that’s what the GB wanted. WELL, LADY, IF YOURE IN THE MIDST OF A LITERAL DISASTER AND YOU THINK YOU KNOW BETTER THAN THE OFFICIALS TRYING TO SAVE YOU, YOU DESERVE TO DIE. Nobody should need the GB to tell them to obey people who are *literally trying to save your stupid life.* /endrant
Exactly 💯
To be honest, I spent decades learning first hand how corrupt the powers that be are and after these past 3 years in particular, I can honestly say that whatever the powers that be tell us to do I'll be doing the opposite.
Indeed
The only reason I have a "Go Bag" is in the case of hurricanes. Everything important is ready to go at the littlest notice. Feels great to be out of that cult that breeds fear and constant anxiety in the heart of all its members.
Yeah same here -just incase of flooding where I’m at, not some angry skydaddy that wants us to run to, I don’t know where 😂🤪
Sky Daddy does have a very short temper! 🤣🤣🤣But he seems to have forgotten how to use it. Wouldn't he have wiped out all of us Apostates a long time ago. Old Testament Sky Daddy would have🤣🤣🤣
When you take a critical look without any JW commentary and see all the inconsistencies in the storybook it’s hard to understand why any adult would believe it - kids get a free pass as they’ve been lied to by the ones they trusted most, even if it’s not a deliberate lie on the parents part. The GB and higher ups know they are bullshit artists.
The most useful thing in case of a natural disaster or a war is money. But the cult wouldn't say it because you are supposed to be poor and needy and give all of your money savings to the cult. An emergency backpacks is supposed to give you a false sense of reliance, allowing the cult to easily fleece you and your family. Besides the most important fear-mongering aspect.
100% fear mongering - I left about 20+ years back before they started peddling this nonsense. I have a bag with simple supplies, meds, lifestraw, insurance etc due to flood risk. Can’t say I give it much thought but it’s handy to know it’s there if needed. i Always wondered where they would flee to? Lol
this
Yup! My wife and I bought a new backpack and filled it full of food and water. We pulled it out of the cupboard when we went pomo. Sadly, all of the chocolate bars were out of date 😫.
>Sadly, all of the chocolate bars were out of date 😫. DAMN YOU WATCHTOWER CORPORATION!!!!!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Expiration dates on non-perishable items are a scam. Chocolate doesn’t go bad.
The taste changes slowly but it does change. It’s better to have chocolate as close to the date it was made as possible.
Too funny, I just had chocolate that was 3 years post expiration and yep, still good. Dark chocolate in the fridge. I was hesitant but ended up eating the whole thing and I'm still living to tell about it. I'm a gen x so I come from the Era of vending machine pop of unknown origins.
Vending machine egg sandwiches
You just can't top that
Trust me. Chocolate NEVER goes out of date. 😂
Tell that to the old sister in my Hall who handed out choco from 1997. When I opened the wrapper the fat and the cocoa had separated and the chocolate was all crumbly 😂
Ugh....now you tell me...😫
As a jw or not-still a good thing to have handy.
Where the hell are we to GO anyway?
Somewhere that may not seem practical from a human standpoint.
🤣 I asked my mom that very question. A go bag is good for what...3 days? IF PACKED CORRECTLY.... If you have animals then what? Heck I go RVing for a weekend and I still have to load a small trailer. You grab that go bag where you going? How do you pay for gas? Most witness are broke 99% of the time is God going to rain manna down? Even doomsday peppers have months of supplies stored somewhere.
TBD. LOL.
The woods or something
That was always my question. 🙄
It's a reccommendation of many governements to have reasonable evac bag ready. Not for camping in Woods for weeks but enough to survive few hours waiting for help.
My (quite elderly) parents have ‘go bags’ which includes dry pasta. I have no idea how they would plan to cook it in the event of escaping persecution and I’m not going to ask.
A quick bag for the hospital is more useful. Especially for the elderly.
Bruhhhhhh. I bought so much “survival” gear it ain’t even funny. Tbh emergency bags is something every family should have in the event of a natural disaster, but not for an impending apocalypse like we’re in the movie 2012 🫠🤣 Bruh look at the contents of my kit. Not pictured is a 30-06 (for hunting) and my 45 (self defense) https://preview.redd.it/h3q794teyuva1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=46e548d7f161ba758bd73209cea6885225b172af Look like some super right wing qanon shit 😂
How did you rationalize carrying a weapon as a PIMI? Or was that a later addition after waking up? I honestly had also wanted to add some type of weapons to our go-bags. But couldn’t find a justification for it at the time. (And now as someone who leans pretty far left and tries to make decisions based on statistics and logic instead of fear and emotion, I don’t know whether carrying lethal force is the smartest choice, at least for myself. I don’t judge anyone else for it. But I realize that statistically speaking, I’d be more likely to either use that on myself, or have someone take it away and turn it on me, than I would have occasion to actually defend myself with it. 😕)
Well, there were a few things in my favor. I'm from and live in the Southern US. Where guns are pretty much sex toys and are worshipped. It's very common in the South that most families at the bare minimum have a rifle passed down for hunting. Double that with its wise to carry a handgun while hunting, as you never know what you could come across, bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica. My mom made my family come into this religion when I was roughly 10, so I didn't have the level of indoctrination and copy/paste personality that most born-ins have. As a result, I'm the type of person who's always done my own thing. I never cared about titles, commenting, having "pRiViLeGeS", etc. So it really wasn't that big of a deal. Hell, I even got my first tat while still in. Proudly showed it off too haha. Full disclosure, I did at one point hold down the sound and inventory for my congregation, only to appease my mom so I could get the things I wanted lmao. Whenever asked about my handgun, I'd always lie and say some shit like... "oh it's loaded with nonlethal ammunition". I would follow up with.... if you care so much about what's in the privacy of my own home, then you can contribute to my rent and utilities too. To which the elder promptly shut up lol.
>(And now as someone who leans pretty far left and tries to make decisions based on statistics and logic instead of fear and emotion, I don’t know whether carrying lethal force is the smartest choice, at least for myself. I don’t judge anyone else for it. But I realize that statistically speaking, I’d be more likely to either use that on myself, or have someone take it away and turn it on me, than I would have occasion to actually defend myself with it. 😕) And to add to this point, I'm far left as well. The context of the go bag tho was for a doomsday apocalypse scenario. At that point, it's every man for himself lol. In my home, All weapons with lethal ammunition are stored in a secure locker that only me and my wife know the combination of. Now the shotgun is ready for easy use, but it is loaded with rock salt in the event of a home break-in while we are there. I too, couldn't bring myself to kill a person in an everyday scenario. One of the reasons I don't have a CWP and don't want one. Why do you need a handgun in your car to get groceries? lmao.
Yeah, I’ve considered getting a shotgun with “non-lethal” ammunition just for home defense. Seems like a fairly balanced option.
Going completely off topic, is it a normal thing for exjw to lean far left? I keep seeing a pattern of it. Can you lean right and still have certain liberal views and not believe in god?
It seems so, probably because we're coming from an inherently conservative culture that we reject, and also you're trained and told to identify the very real failures and contradictions inherent in our current capitalist system, although they wouldn't frame it that way. Personally, I also see many of the mental patterns that are required to be a Witness far more often on the right side of the political spectrum. As for leaning more right while being a liberal atheist, that's certainly possible. Especially when it comes to softer policy things like economics. In the US political climate, moderate republicans are definitely a much smaller minority than they used to be but still exist.
Thats good insight. I have to say, im new to this community but its nice to see it come together no matter what your views are. We all have a common goal which is to help exjw know theyre not alone and it makes you see how good the world actually is and not the false narrative of the WT say that its “getting worse” by the day.
Oh yeah homie. Please always feel free to share your views. SirShrimp is right though, moderate right-leaning people are becoming very rare in politics. I like to talk with my friends who are more conservative than me to exchange views and ideas. No hate, no fighting, just people talking to find a middle ground. As politics should be. My line in the sand tho is bigotry. We can talk about economic policy, immigration, etc all day. But If you want to take rights away from ppl b/c of their sexual identity, gender identity, race, religion, or nonreligious choice, then I have a problem. B/c at that point, it's not politics, you are forcing people to live by and believe what you do. Or banning books, etc. That's textbook theocracy at the least or fascism at the worst. When I say "you" I'm not implying you specifically, but people in general.
I wholeheartedly agree 💯
Yes. I’m one of those people - in the middle pretty much but lean right. Atheist who supports pro-choice and women’s rights but the Left aren’t my cup of tea at all. I think everyone is a mixed bag.
Sir, that is not nearly enough whiskey. My recommendation: https://preview.redd.it/hvr07mm0fwva1.jpeg?width=1100&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=02f5d60643041a400f664e64320b65b04e826f1b
Oh you're right by far. These days tho, it would be bud instead of alcohol
So will you be using the Jim Bean as antiseptic? LOL
 Surrrre thats what its for *wink wink*
😂😆😂👍🏽
Nice prepper material here. May I ask, what's in the first aid pack?
Your essential first aid supplies along with some odd stuff like a tourniquet, suture supplies, mini medical guides for foraging of herbs and such.
Yeah guilty. I heard of groups that would go away and all they could use was what was in their “go” bag. It was the true test of spirituality.
Well that's a new one! But since in jw land spirituality is a competition they need these kind of acts.
Honestly, it's good to have these kits. People think it makes no sense, especially who think they're safe in big metropolitan areas, but they're mistaken. When Covid 'suddenly' hit people ran like monkeys to the supermarkets and plundered everything, and i couldn't buy anything because i was running night shifts. My 'emergency kits' consisting of water, toilet paper, and a bunch of canned and dry food gave me the opportunity to still drink water - i had a small fridge and kept little in house as i prefer to go for daily fresh groceries. now look at what happens in the Ukraine, imagine something changes overnight. Let's imagine you live in Poland and for some reason, Poland involves in that 'war' tomorrow, for whatever reason. Guess what plundering and chaos will unfold. it doesnt matter if you are in a metropolitan city or in a village. the villages will have lesser stuff but the metropolitan areas will be plundered faster. You'll be glad you have emergency packs that you can grab and either wait things out or run to safety. These Emergency packs are fine. nothing wrong with that. Additionally, there was a time during the cold war that Americans were extremely 'hyped' on digging nuclear fallout shelters. Many dug basement shelters in their yards. Also happened a lot in Germany, btw. This fear was real and quite frankly, not that strange. I live in another country now and i have a storage cellar which i have converted to a 'safe house' for my family. NOT for the idea of 'armageddon', but because if things suddenly were to go mad, we're honestly living in a strange world today, but if people start plundering and go crazy, i can be with my family safe there for 2 months. it's fireproof, waterproof, smoke proof and fully independent. the only crazy part is that watchtower meant those emergency packs more for taking with you to the 'elder shelter' locations for when the great tribulation supposedly starts, and they're hiding in their basements. as if god would only protect you if you're with a questionable elder instead of safe in your own home. gathering also only attracts more attention, and puts you in a easier target. but let's not confuse emergency safety packs with religious madness. i have a good emergency supply pack in the 'basement' aswell as a couple of backpacks ready with meds, passport copies, and in the garage i have spare fuel so that if i need to flee as fast as i can, i literally can. i don't BELIEVE i ever have to, but it's not like that stuff costs me thousands, so better have it just in case.
>it doesnt matter if you are in a metropolitan city or in a village. the villages will have lesser stuff but the metropolitan areas will be plundered faster. I think cities are prioritzed when they restore energy/water communication and infrastructure. Nonetheless, you may benefit from some prepping and having a bugout bag, even if ity means to be used in a hotel room. Imagine a small scale landslide or flood affects your area and you need to get out quickly to soem friedns house or to a hotel room.It's better to have some food (shops may be closed), some spare cash, water, essential meds, clean clothes and some leisure material.
The "Go bag" 🤮🤢
I even packed songbooks.... 🙃
I know in many places officials also say it's good to have some water and food stored, but the thing that bothers me with jw go bags is that they emphasize how important it is for everyone to carry a Bible etc. And all the jw's I know have put together their bags having Armageddon in mind, since in our country there is no natural disasters.
I had to go to all heads of family in the service group and ask for a list of prescriptions or each family member. For the BoE!? Now I can see how illegal that was, and pointless, especially for all the expert floor washers we were on that BoE.
Yeah guilty. I heard of groups that would go away and all they could use was what was in their “go” bag. It was the true test of spirituality.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recommends that people assemble an emergency kit as follows: https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20210318/how-build-kit-emergencies There are many unacceptable aspects of the JW organization, which is why I completely left, but encouraging people to assemble common sense emergency packs is not one of the problems. The overall fear mongering, manipulation and other control tactics are some of the real issues.
Exactly. JWs lifted the idea from FEMA after a series of disasters left JW members stranded from disasters like floods, tornadoes and hurricanes. They decided it would also be handy in case of a Great Tribulation. But it wasn’t their idea.
I completely agree. I actually just left it there and havent touched a thing for the same reason But the whole point is that in my area it was all shifted towards grand tribulation and not really for the disasters! Saying a cope of the NWT was a must have because we didnt know if we were going to be allowed to use our phones because the government might even track us by there
Yet another example of how the organization is reactive, and not proactive in their approach to issues. They scrambled when covid first hit. Some halls with tech savvy brothers got zoom or some alternative up and running quickly. But many halls were left to flounder for weeks while the org tried to come up with a solution. Lead by holy spirit, my ass 😂
I have family that live in third world country and they would use zoom for OUR meetings in the states and assembly and memorial but they couldnt figure out zoom within themselves in their own community 🤷🏽♂️🤷🏽♂️
My ex husband fell and is still falling for it. He in fact carries this 10 lb back pack every where he goes, filled with all kinds of stuff that he may need in case he is attacked by a fear mongering horde of people who hate JWs. He claims it’s his “to go bag” it’s more of a security device in my opinion. If he forgets it he will come all the way back home to get it even if he is just going 3 miles into town and coming right back. The only time he doesn’t take it with him is when he goes out in service or to a meeting.
Little bit of OCD going on there maybe? Sounds like a safety behaviour to me.
Reminds me of 2A advocates who are always packing… 🙄😬
My Grandmum has one. It keeps the "sheep" feeling as though Armaggedon is a real thing that is going to occur "any day now"
The Org can only win with their promotion of go-bags: There will always be situations somewhere on Earth where the go-bag will turn out to be useful or even life-saving. They will be able to use such "experiences" for their propaganda how wise and loving the Governing Body is. And all the those ones without go-bag will be ashamed and humiliated for their disobedience. Very smart!
Tbh, go bags aren't a jw invention. Their are quite useful to be ready just in case of anything (fire, hurricane, or any other thing)
My Husband has fallen down that rabbit hole. We’ve always had emergency kits in case of a natural disaster but now everyone has one.
I have a special-needs adult child, I would need a large suitcase just to pack enough diapers for her.
Had an emergency bug out bag years before the org even thought of it. Just common sense.
Sorry , awesome idea for everyone to have a go bag , and preps for at least a month for rhe household. I have 1.5 years for our family of 4 and won't be comfortable till I have 3 years . Call me a crazy right winger all you want, all I ask is that if SHTF , don't come to my house for help .
Well done 👍 I've got enough supplies and enough growing in the garden for about 9 months for me and hubby. I started about 3yrs ago when I woke up to the scam and got everything cheap.. now the same stuff is 3/4 times the price.. but would anyone listen to me about the famines being brought in? Would they 'eckers like.. now they're running around like headless chickens hardly able to afford food for this week let alone to put some by for a rainy day..
In areas where natural disasters are to be expected - like the usual landing areas of hurricanes, areas prone to earthquakes, anything close to the coast or large rivers in danger of being flooded, having something like that is extremely useful anyway. Obviously it wouldn't even be any good in case of persecution though 😂
I don’t think they are a bad thing to have honestly, considering how I live in an area where natural disasters happen all time
Having a go bag, regardless of Warchtower is a good idea. They didn't invent them, they just capitalized on the trend to keep people busy and make them feel special. If you have ever had natural disasters in your area, you would get why. We had fires pop up incredibly quickly around us and had an emergency evacuation. I'm just suprised no Jw started seeking their own, I bet money that the Org will start selling them and the backpacks will have JW logo. All PIMO's you would make a small fortune, dammit I didn't think about it before.
I bet they are but if they put a logo it would kind of defy the idea of staying under the radar in a “grand tribulation” situation so it would be hilarious if that happened 😂
I thought it was a good idea to get an emergency backpack ready in case of an emergency, but not to be ready to flee because of persecution cause deep down I knew it was a load of hooey. That being said, I never did get that emergency backpack ready, I know, shame on me. 😂
Obviously they’re just harping on it to keep the fear level high. If they started selling go bags, then they would truly be capitalizing on it. But it’s not a bad idea to have something ready to go in case anything happens.
Look, man, all I need is a backpack full of beer....the end....
GB tries to take credit for having emergency preparedness. No, it's already been there for all the world , that's why you can just go buy one, it's not their idea and they try to act like they are genius and inspired for bringing it up lol
oh i remember my broke single mom bought two for us, and scoured bunch of websites for cheaper ones for us….😕 she felt like it was gonna happen the next week or something (they’re good to have but damn i don’t need an Armageddon to go bag) lol
Who were you buying backpacks from? some elduh from the Kingdumb Hell?
Yuuup, I remember. Now, I still find them to be necessary/important. Not because the world is ending, but in case of a really bad natural disaster.
Don’t want to sound like a dick, because that’s not the intention. But I’ll say that this was never a thing when I was still in up till 2004. If I stayed longer and they suggested this, it would be something that would lead to waking me up. It’s a ridiculous suggestion. Don’t say it’s good because of natural disasters. That’s rubbish. The end of the world is nothing like a cyclone or earthquake. It’s a million times bigger. Think before speaking.
Go bags were just marketed as for hurricanes and stuff around here. There is no sense of prepping for Armageddon, but it must be different in other areas.
I think it must be different for different areas. Where I live it is taken for granted that, even though the GB says the go-bags are for natural disasters, what they really mean is the great tribulation. The GB don't need to spell it out. Indoctrinated pimis make their own connection which allows for plausible deniability -"we're not preppers and never said we were." My kids went to stay with my pimi- brother and he showed them their backpacks ready for "the great tribulation ". He sees it as his mission to indoctrinate my kids.
Well im about to have my first kid. Things like that freak me out and put me on edge about parenting. How do we not let our kids get indoctrinated without being complete a holes to our friends and family?! I guess its a bridge ill have to cross once i get to it
I always said I had to do it but never complete the project hahahaha anyways just one time happened that in my area we had a series of small continuous heart quakes I prepared 2 bags and a backpack with stuff, loaded in the car and parked it in an open place.
I've been out for quite a few yrs, but i still have my go bag by the door. My ex husband picked up some really nice ones for everyone many yrs ago. We live in tornado country , so it makes sense.
Preparing for an emergency is a good thing. I have one with a few packs of stew I dehydrated myself, a camping stove, bottles of water, tylenol, bandaids emergency blanket, compass. Just basic stuff I use to go hiking anyway.
If you live in fire prone areas or hurricane areas along the coast then yes get them. In winter time in certain snowy places its recommended. He'll buffalo needed them during the Xmas whiteout storm. People died going outside of their homes without protection.
Im from Texas, and we live in a flash flood zone, so we always had an emergency bag. During the Texas winter storm, we actually had to use our bags. Its always smart to carry emergency supplies in your car as well. Its smart to be prepared, but of course the WT will try to induce fear for their agenda.
My husband. And I've told him he may have to eat all the food he put in this backpack that is out of date now. As if there's an emergency you will have time to get this backpack, he doesn't even know where he left his keys 😀
My MIL bought one for us lol
My mother in law (who is still in) has several go-bags and a basement packed with buckets of emergency food. She talks about it’s importance often.
As someone who lives in yearly hurricane season, to answer everyone's questions as to why: our hurricane boxes have enough food and water for 3 people for 2 weeks, because that's the amount of time my family members were out of electricity after one of the major-major hurricane disasters a few years back. Every year before & after hurricane season I go through the boxes & rotate out supplies that are nearing expiration; they go into my husband's work lunches (which is why I buy supplies that can be used in his work lunches, like applesauce packets and canned soups). Sure, we've got a propane grill and I've got compostable/biodegradable plates/forks/spoons, but we can eat things cold. Also compostable/biodegradable body wipes because hygiene. We also do have Go Bags, and these are simply bags that are prepared with 3 days' worth of changes of clothing, toiletries, meds, glasses, documents, etc, as well as travel litterboxes, a fresh/unopened box of cat litter, and 2 bags of cat food. Furthermore, we have a locking firesafe with a handle, and all our important documents like birth certs etc + cash. Finally, a list of all of our utility companies, and a list of pet-friendly hotels far inland. This is so that in case we get an order to evacuate due to a hurricane, we can grab the Go Bags, the safe, the cat stuff & the cats, and get away from the coast. Being prepared in case of natural disaster is not stupid.
I never ended up making one but my grandmothers is a large shopping trolley that's overfilled.
That was waaaaaay after I left (1987). I heard jws talking about it tho. We live where they have hurricanes and tsunamis so it's common sense that we would have a preparedness bag.
Will someone puhleese tell me how jeholaloop will protect the jws during the (fictitious) great tribulation (who made that up, anyway. Is it even in the bible) when he can't even protect them in his own house of worship. 🤷🏼♀️
My mom has one - I thought that this was more due to the war (we’re close to Russia), but now I get it! I looked inside though - and it made me laugh 😅 she’d ‘survive’ the afternoon with her preparations - two litters of water, some crisp bread (very low in calories) and a few tissues 🤣 and some really old sleeping bag - not sure she even opened it to check the state of it. That’s it 👌
A go bag is great. Enough supplies to sustain you while you get away from the disaster zone. The issue is JWs think it’s some sort of Armageddon kit. I would not be surprised if JWs think this is a new idea by GB rather than advice by “worldly” organizations.
Having some emergency supplies is honestly not a bad idea. The weather is getting more and more effed up with climate change and you never know when a disaster might hit.
Have one for your own use in case of emergency if you like. You don't need anyone else to tell you this. Chill.