One thing I have noticed, both in my own reportoire of personal habits and in those of others posting on xJW boards, is the tendency to argue.
I contrast this to a few other boards I've frequented on a variety of topics. Obviously there are disagreements, but xDub boards can get REALLY crazy at times.
There is this tendancy for xJW's to argue like rabid dogs; hell, it's not just the x's who do it, current JW's are just as bad.
This is over and above the normal 'spit on the mat and call the cat a bastard' atmosphere that often prevails on discussion boards (although if you ever want to see a really polite board I suggest you go to a lifestyle BDSMer's board!!).
Why is this? Are we all psychos?
Well, in addition to the obvious answer being yes, one has to remember as JW's you are conditioned NEVER TO BE WRONG. People who disagree with you are BAD.
Thus arguing with someone who has had any real amount of exposure to the Dubs can be like walking into a propeller.
We can't be wrong, it's just not in our skill set. And as we are right, others are wrong and being wrong is bad.
Now, this, if you think about it, is a load of pony poo.
Virtually all of us are wrong at times, even if some make it more of a habit than others. And, you can be wrong and still be a good person. Like, major revelation!
But, if you don't think about it and go with your subconcious programming... then I think many with our backgrounds lose perspective at times when discussing things.
There is also the 'Beastie Boys Syndrome'. "You've got to fight (chngchng) for your right (chngchng) to be free to do what you want any old time". Okay, so that's a bit of Beastie Boys and Rolling Stones/Soup Dragons mixed up, but you get what I mean even if I sound like that guy from 'High Fidelity'.
When someone has been sat on your head farting malodorously and restricting what you can say (well, that's what it felt like for ME being a Borgette), and you get out, you develop this rather rose-tinted view of 'freedom'.
It becomes something that is not "just some people talking" ('Desperado'), or "just another word for nothing else to lose" ('Me and Bobby McGee'). It becomes real, tangible... holy.
Does anyone know what I'm talking about?
So, anyone restricting your freedom becomes a fire-breathing hypernazi from the nth plain of hell. By default.
It might be the difference between saying 'I disagree with what you say in this and that and such a way', and the difference between saying 'you mutated zombie baboon, I micturate on your grandmother's memory and exporate upon all you hold dear, not only are you wrong, but your children are ugly because I disagree with what you say in this and that and such a way'.
But if someone says 'Hey, mind the zombie baboon bit', it's like 'NAZI!! YOU'RE OPPRESSING ME!!', and then decends into a sub-Monty Python sketch over what f~~~ means in what context and whether merkin (a pubic hair wig) counts as bad language. When actually, you can say what you like really, anyway.
So, to summarize, does anyone else think that the 'arguing like rabid dogs' thing and the 'FREEDOM!!!!!!' obsessativia is a left-over from Dubdom?