waysider

Let me see if I understand this. You weren't at Jonestown ----but you KNOW what happened. You weren't at HQ-------- but you KNOW what happened. You weren't at Rome City ------but you KNOW what happened. You weren't at Emporia -------but you KNOW what happened. Etc., Etc., Etc. Now whose presuming to "become an authority"?

What point are you trying to make, WD? That The Way was not mind controlling cult? That the abuses that took place there were OK because they were of a smaller scale? People died as a direct result of TWI doctrine too, though the death toll was not as high as Jonestown.(AFAIK) Don't bother to tell me they didn't because I knew two such people personally. The Way was a dangerous cult. It was not a "religious experience". Unless you personally spent significant time living in a Way communal setting, such as The Way Corps or Fellow Laborers, you really don't know the full scope of what went on at that level.

Personally, I find the CIA theory to be unbelievable. Any scientific experiment, in order to warrant validation, must follow a regulated protocol. In other words, you can't just toss various poisons to lab rats in some haphazard fashion and expect to draw conclusions that have any real value.

If you are suggesting that TWI HQ was some sort of modern day Camelot, your efforts are futile. Too many people who actually lived there can offer a far more realistic observation of what it was really like.

Perhaps some unanswered questions in New Knoxville as well.

Unlike the "one line" thread, this one requires the artist as well.

I took her home to my place Watching every move on her face She said, "Look, what's your game. baby?" "Are you tryin' to put me in shame?"

That's the Pointer Sisters' version of The Boss' song, Fire. I don't know if this is true but I heard that Bruce S. wrote it with the intention of having it recorded by Elvis. That, of course, never materialized. Here's The Boss.

Sad to say, we have nothing here that even remotely resembles the local pub or experiences you describe. :(

I wasn't going to watch this but decided to at the last moment. I'm glad I did. There were an amazing amount of parallels, although some specifics, like the final outcome, were obviously different. The real benefit to be gained from watching this is a better understanding of what motivated people to become initially involved, what motivated them to contribute to the daily mechanics of keeping it running, and what constraints made it so difficult to leave. Not all the constraints were physical. For instance,they were told that if they ever left, they would meet a tragic, violent death. (Grease spot by midnight?) One woman, who left before the big event, left behind a young son. When questioned about how any mother could leave behind her child, she explained that, by leaving him behind, she was trying to spare him a tragic ending. She, of course, had no way to know what the future held. Often we see outsiders or people who chose to not participate in the in-residence programs express a bewilderment of how we could have stayed on and didn't simply voice opposition or leave when things weren't "right". I think this program can give some valuable insight into those questions. If you are an outsider, a newer member of TWI who was not around for the earlier days or someone who was around but did not experience the communal living of the in-residence programs, this program can give you a whole new level of insight about the "TWI" that many of us experienced.

Hot Rod Lincoln!

Don't be sorry. You made some excellent points.

The clam bake has come and gone. -----at least for this year

I think VP was afraid the wrong person (ie: father, husband, brother,etc.) would get wise to his sexual antics and take matters into their own hands. Those fears were well founded.

My Pappy said "Son, you're gonna dive me to drinkin'-------

I know there were guns in Fellow Laborers. I had one as did many others. Mostly we used them to target practice. There was never really any time to use them to hunt. And, WG has related an incident that involved the limb leader discharging one recklessly. That particular incident, though potentially tragic, was really an example of foolish and capricious handling, not of any malicious intent. I bring this up to draw a distinction between the incidents I cited and the very different subject of your thread.

Here's one for Tom Strange

This gun incident is a glaring illustration of how VP&Co. regarded the flawed "law of believing, believing=receiving, confess it/possess it, action verb, yada, yada" doctrine upon which the "ministry" was built. They didn't really believe all the scriptures about God being our shield, etc. or their mumbo-jumbo about getting revelation. No, they brandished firearms because they were painfully aware they had committed misdeeds that might provoke a victim to seek violent retribution. It's really just that simple. edit Don't forget, these are the same clowns who taught us that carrying a spare tire in the trunk was equal to "believing" for a flat. <_<

The Fish Cheer (Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die)----Country Joe McDonald and The Fish I must say, that is probably the most instantly recognizable tune I have seen on this thread thus far. Very well done, Dooj.! Gonna take some real effort to top that one. Be back later.

What's a BBQ without some cornbread and butterbeans?

What are we fightin' for?

Absolutely!

When I hit the road I was really wheelin Had gravel flyin and rubber squeelin And I didn't slow down till I was almost to Arkansas

What's that spell?

Don't Be Angry-----Nappy Brown