PHR - I've seen some "submariners" back when I was in, also. That phenomenon never ceased to amaze me- to love and be affiliated with such a dogmatic controlling sect and yet to seemingly flout its rules willy-nilly whenever it suited them....Just seemed like, why would they even want to be jw's at all? If they did want to be jw's, did they ever worry that they were going to "die at armageddon" or other such nonsense for doing all the allegedly "evil" things they did on the sidelines (holidays, etc)? How did they not get in "trouble" with the elders for it, they way that a "regular" jw would? It was a puzzler, lol.

ExJwinPeru- The wack-jobs! Yes, we had several in my old hall also. Some were actually mentally challenged persons whom I felt sorry for, while others were just an unspecified type of "crazy" that seemed unique to themselves, LOL. I remember this one poor jw woman, she was mentally handicapped and one watchtower study in the middle of her comment she "confessed" that for awhile she had been thinking bad thoughts about the elders and keeping a list of things she thought they had said or done wrong...she was so remorseful and almost in tears about it, but it was quite the awkward situation - she obviously didnt seem to get that most of the people there found it inappropriate timing for a confession of that nature and, being hyper-judgemental jws, they immediately began judging her even more harshly than they already did...The silver lining to this dismal grey cloud was the look on the elder's face who was conducting that watchtower! He was the uber-pious jerkwad type of elder and he looked like he'd just shit his crappy 'door to door vacuum cleaner salesman from the 1980's' suit pants! He interrupted her in the middle and hushed her up, telling her they'd "discuss it with her later" (cue ominous music) and the microphone-handler "brother" practically tripped over himself to try to get the mic back from her asap.

Yammer- I love that simplified list, but I guess we'd have to add two other types - those who will wake up and leave the org someday, and those who tragically die young without a chance to either leave or realize that they've grown old and the new system never came.

I would also propose another type to the longer version of the list....the believer who is a frequent "backslider"...sort of related to the "submariner" but not quite as far out on the periphery - this person is usually a baptized jw- may have been raised in, converted as an adult, or their parents converted when they were a child....they believe in the WTBS crap sincerly, although they have their own doubts and questions on specific issues that they either keep to themselves or only share with a select few trusted individuals...this person will go through bouts of diligent attendance and hyper-spirituality, followed by bouts of rarely attending or not attending at all...this person is the type that you would think is going to wake up and leave some day, but for whatever reason, they have a intense love for the org which will always keep them coming back. The confusing aspect to this person is that the manifestation of their intense love waxes and wanes - one month they seem to be on the brink of casually discarding the religion, the next they are zealously preaching at everyone they are in contact with. Sadly this person is usually judged behind their back as "unspiritual" by other jws, although they may not be aware of this.

Set me on fire if that's your desire. Set me in flames but dont make me change....I know how to be myself.
-Stars Down