Did it ever weird anyone out that commenting in meetings involved zero discussion?

[Jack Ryan]

You literally had an answer to say and you said it. I remember my mom underlining things to answer and I'd get passed the microphone and read them. Like the speakers never acknowledged the words you spoke, they'd just say "thank you sister/brother/drone so and so"

Nowhere else but like middle school does this happen

[Jack Ryan]

"Imagine you enrolled in a college class and the teacher gave you an assignment to read a chapter of the textbook before class. Now at class the instructor now picks a someone to slowly read a paragraph from the book out load. Then the teacher asks a very basic question about that paragraph and calls on someone who stumbles through rereading one the sentences. The teacher praises that student for LITERALLY rereading a sentence and then the cycle continues. Would you consider that teacher to be good? Would you consider that absurd or that the class was worth your time? Probably not."

[Droop@WNF]

  Dissemination of information.

[Evacuated]

4 hours ago, Jack Ryan said:

I remember my mom underlining things to answer and I'd get passed the microphone and read them.

Shame! Sounds like you belonged to one of those weird brainwashed type families (of which there are many unfortunately) where meeting answers were just parroted. Did you not have discussions on these studies before you went to the kingdom hall? You don't mention your dad. Was he not involved? I know it is often very difficult for mums to train up their children in homes when the father is not involved. Not that dad's presence is always  guarantee of thinking ability development!

[TrueTomHarley]

Many of my comments are absolute zingers but because they unfailingly show good will and I am a peacemaker, I always get them in unless there are too many hands. New ones, kids or nervous ones focus on “the answer.” Absent hogging the mike, brothers can progress to expounding/illustrating a bit. Some do. Some don’t.

Member attend to be “taught by Jehovah,” not “taught by Jack.”

[Matthew9969]

I remember it seemed to be very uncomfortable for the entire congregation when someone would comment on something that wasn't parroting the paragraph.

[TrueTomHarley]

It would depend upon their overall demeanor, whether or not they appeared to be bringing in something absolutely unrelated from left field, and whether they failed to have the good sense to make comments relatively brief.

But, yes, there is no question that it is not just a "shooting the bull" session. It is what those who attend have come to accept as "being taught by Jehovah."

[Space Merchant]

On 6/9/2018 at 1:58 PM, Jack Ryan said:

You literally had an answer to say and you said it. I remember my mom underlining things to answer and I'd get passed the microphone and read them. Like the speakers never acknowledged the words you spoke, they'd just say "thank you sister/brother/drone so and so"

Nowhere else but like middle school does this happen

I know for most non-American JWs, they can speak for hours regarding a comment made, an experience, and a sermon/talk, some even going as far as to speak of probably a comment and or talk from years ago, possibly a decade or more, be it such ones having remembered such, this goes for any late members among them. I know of an African community of JWs who are well connected with each other.

Other then that, it is vital to speak of what is of scripture anyways, should the nations drop the book on religion, which seems to be the case as of late, remembering such things to maintain faith is important, for if in a situation whereas you have no access to the bible and or things that derive from it, or in other cases, having obvious access to it will render you to be jailed and or killed if compromised - which was the case with a Christian village whereas even after what happen to them, they didn't faulter in what they know, even when the Scriptures itself they do not have access to, mind you, what took place was quite graphic, very graphic, and it halted the village from getting access to their, somewhat sole source of water, hence why they had to go elsewhere to seek protection.