doodle-v:
Another key aspect of thought control involves training members to block out any information which is critical to the group.
I like the way you put that in such general terms. As an illustration, I could just as well have titled this thread "Being Smart will not prevent one from following JWD." There is a social dynamic in this forum, just like everywhere else, and to a greater or lesser degree "assent and conformity" are rewarded; with a very few exceptions, anything pro-JW is immediately trounced. I'm not saying that this is good or bad...but the potential is here to continue along in the same "suppress my mind in deference to the group." The emotional "pay-off" is the same as when we were JWs; different color, same canvas. Perceiving our own self-worth, regardless of what anybody else says about us, is perhaps the most difficult challenge we will ever face.
bebu:
so many JWs were intelligent after all!
I totally agree. One brother with whom I had many an extended conversation was Brock. No subject was verbotten. hehe, he not infrequently got in trouble with the elders because he incorporated many non-WTS thoughts into his talks...I loved it, he brought a smile to my heart! I hope he and I have a chance to visit again, someday.
heinanderen:
finaly i see that they are the ones that must fill guilty
If I may offer another alternative: Insofar as we acted according to our own conscience, neither we, nor they, need feel guilty. imho "blame-assignment" is irrelevant, whichever way it flows. We are, and can be, nothing more than the sum of our emotional and intellectual capacity, at that moment. One major exception: there are those who perniciously and selfishly subvert the growth of others. Those people do deserve to be slapped down, and slapped down hard.
I'm trying to catch up with y'all Later
Craig