I've been thinking about all the recent incidents involving those in the WT and those who no longer associate with it...It seems to me that the Bryants were subject to another form of self destructive behavior that the flock brings upon itself. Not accepting blood, shunning, no transplants, living/worshipping among pedophiles, isolating the young from education, disrespecting women and thinking less of them in the congo, etc...are all forms of abberant/self destructive ways of life. Ways of life that are not singular in thier effect, but have multiplicitous repercussions. The only problem is that not even the papers really report it that way. They always keep thier distance from calling them kooks, or the condemnation of things that obviously destroy lives. Granted, the children invovled had no choice, nor are they in any way responsible, only the victims of more than being murdered. Definitely however, stuck in a morasse of biblical direction and ideology gone to the extreme. I lay blame evenly on the shoulders of the elders, who obviously counseled the estranged wife to avoid Robert, and or keep him from association with his children. Then too, the estranged wife must share some of the hateful responsiblity for alienating Robert to the point of blowing more than his proverbial stack. Obviously she had complete control over the children and denied him one of the most basic rights a parent has. That of being with his/her kids and sharing his life with them. Regardless of her reason, be it her wacko religious convictions, her poor relationship with him after the break up, or her own manipulation of the childern which guaranteed that he would feel isolated from and unwanted by his kids, she bought into a bad ticket.. And finally, Mr. Bryant himself. He failed to do several things in my opinion, that would have lessened his emotional turmoil. Mostly things like demand to see his kids, get a court order if necessary, and get his own life. Needless to say, he was missing a few screws and probably had the potential to be a family killer even when he was a good JW, but I see in his anguish the inability to ever really give up the org and all its trappings. It sucks feeling like half a person, however you are the only one who can allow that to happen to you, especially for long periods of time. This may say something for his lack of emotional development, social development, mental capacity, or the desire to "start over". The starting over is a classic reason for family killings, like Longo. I'm sure all of us can gather from our experiences, that it would not be terribly difficult to go way crazy after years of living in guilt, superstition, fear of jehovah and the elders, repression and isolation. I feel very fortunate in my life, to have avoided such hatefulness by leaving early and very saddened for those who have to clean up in the aftermath of such an unecessary/unfortunate course of events. A bad ride indeed. Just my two cents.
Sincerely,
District Overbeer