Association

People are people. There were many awful ppl who are Jehovah’s witnesses. There are many awful people who are not. But there are far more wonderful people on this earth than shitty people. I’ve met some crazy motherfuckers out here. I’ve met fake people, I’ve met honest people who are assholes, charming people who deceive. But you learn that they’re not worth a second more of ur time. In dropping the jerks as stated above out of ur life, you’re able to spot signs and symptoms of scum before you become intertwined with their bullshit. Leading to wiser social decisions as we go along. Had we been able to experiment more w our social circles in school years by attending more social events, we’d’ve known how to do this loooong before adulthood. But, learning at all is better than living in unadulterated ignorance. Stay away from true addicts (not casual drug users, they’re fine.) as you’ll get burned by their recovery process (they are master manipulators, unless you’re sure u can sniff out falsehoods, just stay away) Stay away from people who are involved in random violence. They may grow out of it or find a better outlet, but that process is between them and a therapist. Not you and them Stay away from ANYONE willing to talk shit about someone behind their back and act like besties as soon as that person makes eye contact. They’re certainly doing the same thing to you, only listening to ur every word to share it once you’re done. Make friends at charity events, book clubs, the gym, work, school, sports leagues (bowling, golf, softball), a library course, political activism group, anywhere that attracts people trying to do good in the world. They’ll show u the righteousness that has been preached to you via the witnesses. Once again, the world is full of imperfect ppl. Remember that when someone acts like a dick, 99.9% of the time, there’s a deeper reason that you have no idea about. The point .01% are psychopaths. You may draw closer to someone just by calling out the fact that they’re more easily upset than usual and drawing them to explain what’s bothering them. Good luck w building your social network. Ppl are complicated, so it’s difficult, but worth the effort!

/r/exjw Thread