I noticed that non_trias_theos posted a comparative comment about ex-JWs and Divorcees ... and this raised some additional thoughts given the recent proclaimation that many, perhaps 90%, of the JWD posters are an angry mob, blaming everything on the Watchtower religion. Non_trias_theos said in part:
"Peeps on this board sometimes remind me of bitter divorcees. Once they were supposedly happy Jws who had that first love and joyfully engaged in meeting attendance and the preaching work. Then something happened. What took place? What was responsible for the change in attitude? How did the organization go from THE org to THE borg? You tell non. Are you folks being a little hypercritical in this place?"
At first glance, one might think he has a point, that ex-JWs, especially the angry mob that ended up on JWD are somehow an over-reactive bunch who simply finds fault with everything about the Watchtower, as might a disgruntled Divorcee ... lots of sour grapes. ... then again ...
Another perspective: A man courts a women with great vigor to win her affections. He smells nice, always in a suit, never swears, and puts on a very charming presentation of himself as a good, kind, successful man who will be a great companion to her for life ... even after the wedding, for some years, he seems to be living a very normal life, providing for his family, working at a good and steady job ... then ...
Little by little ... the wife begins to notice something is not quite right ... he stays out in the evening more often, supposedly working at the office, or on many long business trips to meet with clients. While the money is good, and the house is nice, he otherwise becomes more and more tight-fisted with funds. he begins to place more and more demands on his wife, and when she fails to live up to his expectation, he verbally berates her, and eventually enagges in some abuse. ... he comes home with the scent of perfume, and what looks like a small smear of lipstick on his collar ...
One day ... It all starts to add up, he is having an affair. Why this outwardly good man is not what he presented himself to be ... and she hires someone to check him out, just to make sure she is not going crazy with false suspecions. Wonder of wonders, not only is he having an affair, but he is involved in dealing drugs, has two other marriages in different states, and is involved with organized crime ... and worst of all ... he was doing this before he married her ... it was a long pattern!
She files for divorce: he makes her life hell, and trys to get the house, the car, the kids and the bank account, totally shunning her.
Comparitively ... The Watchtower religion did seem very nice at first, with its promise of a cure-all Paradise Earth, simplistic doctrines, and eagerly active workers supporting one another. It is not that the Watchtower looked bed at the beginning, but disclosure about its history, teachings, involvements, policies were not forthcoming during the honeymoon phase of the courtship ... only after years of experience do JW members begin to suspect something, and upon further investigation, they find out that the Watchtower religion is not a religion, but just a publishing business founded on very shaky ground, and filled with extremely serious errors.
An Angry Mob? I suppose that if a disgruntled divorcee wife meets together in a support groups with other disgruntled divorcees, and they all learn that they were married to the same man, and had many of the same problems, that there is an understandable level of outrage, hurt, anger, etc. Some of the older divorcees, who have gotten past the anger and hurt might hang around the support group to be there for some of the yet new divorcees joining the group ... and as the group grows, the emotions can start to run higher.
And maybe even some of the older divorcees may begin to be amazed at how they too did not fully comprehend just how duped they were. When fraud, deceit, lies, and cheating are uncovered and it is massive, the corresponding reaction is most understandable ... and yes ... objectivity, pious high-voltage fair and critical thinkers might scoff at the angry mob ... yes, the self-appointed 'elite' make a case that needs to be heard - from the head - but maybe they also need to listen with the heart. Maybe if both views can be somehow amalgamated together, some sanity and balance can be achieved.
I find JWD not an angry mob, rather, it is a giant support group with well over 5,000 members (the size of a major church) with people from all walks of life, various races, nationalities, experiences, age levels, maturity levels, and educational differences ... so yes, what I see is a miracle that so many can come together, and get along as well as we do. It certainly beats the alternative we lived inside the Borg.