I live about a 35 minute drive from Bethel. The first hall I attended had several Bethelites assigned there, and naturally, they had first crack at the "privileges". Those of us who wanted to hold the lofty "privilege" of being a microphone handler or something higher had to be accomplished asskissers. I wasn't very good at that, so I never made much progress. The first few years it bothered me, but I eventually got a career and a life, and stopped caring about that.
As I understand it, Bethelites are accountable to elders both in the congregations as well as in Bethel. It must feel as though they're walking a tightrope, to be micromanaged like that. Just one more abuse of the WTS. In turn, brothers in the congregations were constantly admonished to follow the example of these Bethelites, to learn to look, walk, talk, and act like them. So the anality (is that a real word?) of Bethel, in my opinion, trickled down and affected many in local congregations.
I was under that kind of pressure for a number of years, but it didn't take long for me to shake off most of it's negative effects, probably because I was a party animal long before I ever heard of the witnesses. But I can't imagine what a lifetime of such pressure could do to someone, or what it would take to get them to shake off the effects of the excessively anal Bethel. I knew one Bethelite that I really disliked. He was a snake. But at one get-together I kept refilling his glass with wine. Once he was half cut he was almost kind of ok. But I think his wife figured out what I was doing and she dragged his ass home in short order. Too bad. I was seeing the beginning of some personality there.
Naturally, there are also some valid reasons why some may want to retain their anonymity, such as family concerns or other activities that may require it.
But for the rest of us maybe a major boozefest is in order???
No bibles please!
Walter
