And what about the former district overseer? Will he have to do more than say he's sorry before he's forgiven? Instead of fending for himself to make a decent living, will he now have to spend his old age raising money for various charities in order for us to feel compassion for him? Will he always be just a plain old evil man because he made an unwise choice as a child when he knew no better? I'm saddened by the feeling that some will say yes, according to some of the above entries.
... I don't get it. He's still a witness isn't he? And an elder? He made choices right through his life and is still doing so as a mature adult; if he's ever going to know better, now is the time. Well I do feel sorry for him, but I'd feel more sorry if he could heal the lives he'd disturbed.
Thanks Lisa, for being here. Thanks also to whoever it was who pointed out that it was me who gave the elders the authority they had over me that time I went to them hoping for compassion and mercy and got just three guys on a power trip; yes I'm an adult and should have taken charge of my own life. I guess I had to go through that, to learn what I have about the JW rules; these guys might have all the compassion and mercy in the world but also have hard and soft rules. I pity all elders, I'm sure that most of them start the gig thinking they can save the world, but come up against the corruption. If my family was being held to ransom, I might feel compelled to keep playing the game too. It isn't, however, Nazi Germany - they wouldn't be up against a wall if they rebelled and left, if they came good on their compassion and just walked away. And yet most of them don't, so they get my pity, but I'm not sorry that they face what I can pretend is a kind of natural justice.
It doesn't matter really, I'm out now, whatever the means. I don't think anybody on this thread literally wishes harm upon this man, and I've never perceived anybody on this site who wishes general harm upon JWs. I've certainly felt at times that I wish I could hurt eg my family and old friends for all the hurt they've caused me, but in reality if the opportunity arose, I know it wouldn't get me anywhere, so I'm just trying to walk away from it all and leave it behind. The only price I'm paying is a lot of people's conditional love which I don't want anyway.
Okay I had a point earlier and I've lost it, ah bugger it. 'If it saves just one person' - if one JW notices that this highly respected WBTS representative was put out to pasture without a gold watch, and decides to take that job/scholarship/promotion... in lieu of further enslaving themselves, well, that's a good result, right?