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Nametagocracy


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Nametags, we all know what an important status symbol these could be. :rolleyes:

Does anyone know when all that goodness started? I remember hearing about it being a part of Summer School at HQ in the early 70's (it was your ticket into the dining room, I've heard) and probably from the get go with the Corps. Does it have any earlier roots than that at TWI?

And on a broader note, WTF with nametags anyways? Sure I can see value at an event where people don't know each others name, but isn't it just a little cultish to be so obsessed with them in general? Mommons rock 'em, Wayfers rock 'em, (hmmm, wonder if scientologists are into 'em...). What the big dealyo with nametags?

P.S. I'm not saying they're not awesome - they are. I'm just sayin.

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I think the nametag thing wasn't so bad, at first. I could even see the point in having them color coded for Way Corps.

But - there was no reason to differentiate between corps, or between Advanced Class grads and University of Life grads.

The usual point of a nametag is to make it easier to know someone's name. That's all that was necessary. The nametag thing became a whole religion of sorts.

I think it became a way to sell these classes. Have people be walking advertisements. Hey, car companies do it with their symbols, as do car salesmen -with their name on the back bumper.

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Word in Bizness wood grain ... PFAL '77, corps tag, two years wow, two years college wow, minuteman ... ummm ...

All I know is I'm saving them, in case they really are related to heavenly rewards ... you don't get rewards without your twi nametags ...

what if you get to the gate and Peter asks, can I see your name tags?

But yes, it was a pretty effective selling tool ...

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Where's John R? he usually has some photos of his old tags when these threads get started. :eusa_clap:

Yeah, big events...makes sense.

Branch meetings where everyone knows everyone else...not so much.

I remember being reproved for wearing my green advanced class '80 nametag when I should ahve been wearing my blue Way of Abundance and Power Advanced Class tag :evildenk:

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Nametags were status for me until I had top wear one every waking minute of everyday, then They were a burden. I never could live up to my nametag in-residence. Once we graduated it came off. I still have them, haven't looked at them in years. Maybe I should dig them out and reminisce.

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Nametags.. just another way to know who's supposed to be "more important" or "superior" in the body of Christ..

Yeah.. the bigwigs didn't wear one, did they..

I guess if a person didn't know they were supposed the lick "mr. big's" boots, something musta been wrong with them..

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Its wierd enough in a Way Meeting

My Wow Sister family coordinator insisted we wear them all the time when we first got 'on the field.'

In a lifetime of dorkiness that was in or near the top, there is nothing quite like going to rent a house, go grocery shopping, to a construction site, or to a job interview with that stupid thing on.

"We are so important--We have nametags!!"---

c070.gif

Even though she was a Nazi about it, that lasted all of a week for me.

She later called the Trunk Coordinator to try to get me kicked off the field for such unspiritual insubordination

Edited by mstar1
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Not everyone bought into the name tag prestige game. I remember one ROA when Dorothy Owens got up to lead the choir in rehearsal (in the early days when the choir was comprised of volunteers from every state for just the ROA) and she didn't say a word. She was wearing about 6 name tags pinned to her blouse! She simply looked all around and smiled that little mischievous smile. She certainly made her point without saying a word!

WG

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Nametags also quickly identified who was an outsider.

TWI was always paranoid about outsiders, something you don't see at colleges and churches where you can wander around unmolested for hours if you wish.

good reply john

i took my mom and one of my sisters to an "america awakes" deal

their only comment was, "maybe if we had one of those buttons on, people would be nicer to us"

cringe

--

i think it was the year of the smaller button (that GIANT one was so embarrassing)

but i have to tell you, i was so hurt that people with similar buttons were nice to me and didn't really say much to my mom and sister

it was just plain weird and stupid

like me

look how many years i stayed

ppppffffffff

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Nametags - the new game from ZowTel!

1. Wear them - you lose, you get a pin hole in your clothing. How to identify someone who'd been in the Way a long time? Don't need a nametag, their blouse or shirt looked like it'd been hit with a shotgun blast.

2. Don't wear them - you lose, someone's bound to figure you're "above" such matters. So your clothes stay nice but you get a rep as a snob. Or you don't get into the meeting.

How to Win - see #2. Use extra time not in the meeting spreading new rumors about yourself.

exmalloy, someone obviously didn't get the memo. Anyone without a green/brown/blue/red nametag was to be accosted at least 3 times with PFAL cards before being allowed to leavea. My apologies to your family.

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Really? Joyful Noise didn't wear nametags? I know I didn't, or tried to avoid it. It wasn't a big deal, I just didn't like them, the hole business about the pins making wholes. Holes.

Although the Holy Spirit dove pins, with the nametag, made for a rather spiffy look. You also got 3 pin holes in a single wearing. Added value, right there.

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Damn if I am not leaving the country for a couple of years, cause one of these days I would like to collect all of your unwanted nametages and make some art with it.

I definitely felt more holely with a nametag on.

Some great points. Dooj, definitely a selling tool. Was there ever a time when there was just a standard name tag or color for a nametag or were they distinctive from the start.

I think all those still in with a distaste for nametagocracy should follow Mrs. Owen's lead from years ago and wear all of your nametags at once to the next major wayfer function.

I also think there is not only the outsider side to it but the non-outsider part to it. I think there is something about knowing other people's names and a feeling of belonging and being "IN". It works for business conferences and cults alike. TWI capitalized and took this to the next level, by playing both angles. You are in the know, you have a green name tag along with most everyone else wandering around at the rock, but hey, that hot chick over there is wearing a yellow nametag. What does she know that I don't? That dude has a white tag with green lettering. He must be special.

I think they should have broke it down a little more. Like make specific nametags for where you were slummin' at the rock. Green for tent city. White for RV's, 3-D ones for those pop-ups, blue and pink for the men's and women's snore tents, I mean corps tents. Brown for those working the honey wagon. Gold for Founder's Hall, platinum for the Corps Challet, not just in color but actual gold and platinum.

Mstar- hillarious!

Ex70s

Always remember to wear it on your right side. :rolleyes:

Right, I think if you wore it on your left it meant you wiped your arse with it.

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The way I see it, the nametags were very important...How else would you have known the spiritual level of understanding that a person had?

...they made things easy. One glance at the nametag and you instantly knew who you were to obey and who was subservient to you. The nametags justified promotions within the power structure. It became clear that God's voice was dispensed to those who had advanced class nametags and were well versed in the "cookie jar" theory of hearing from the divine.

Never mind that these nametags caused division...they provided the practical understanding within the pecking order. When wearing a waycorps name tag at an open public meeting, that name tag provided a "shortcut" to perceiving the natural leadership abilities within the person wearing it...why wait for them to demonstrate their leadership abilities (that takes time)...it was much more efficient to simply gaze at the name tag for a couple of seconds.

and by golly, after paying all that money, a person deserved the right to wear it!...That little piece of plastic on your chest was your ticket to walk with confidence amoung the unwashed and unlearned.

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Heheheheh Groucho!

When wearing a waycorps name tag at an open public meeting, that name tag provided a "shortcut" to perceiving the natural leadership abilities within the person wearing it...why wait for them to demonstrate their leadership abilities (that takes time)...it was much more efficient to simply gaze at the name tag for a couple of seconds.

Look at the nametag.... see how pretty it is? Go to your happy place.... you're getting sleepy... very, very sleeepy....

When you wake up you will treat every suggestion like it is tantamount to an order. You'll jump and only ask, "How high?" Then you'll send all your money to The Teacher...

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Most people who need to make a continual show of themselves are fighting for the attention that I am sorry they missed, because they usually do very cruel things and hurt a lot of other

people just to get it, for they endlessly crave it at any cost! They usually miss far more than they ever think they will gain! They miss the real thing, real LOVE!

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