"Hate" is such a strong word for what I feel though. My feelings could more accurately be surmised in the simple question of "Why?". Regardless, my feelings are not warm. I started this road not really caring about them all that much, I just wanted to get out. Catholics, Baptist, Mormon, JW, it doesn't matter. The bottom line was: No more God and no more religion for me. But the more I've contemplated my situation, feelings of anger at the leaders of this beast of an organization have indeed welled up inside. Particularly towards, Rutherford, Knorr, Franz, and all the subsequent GB members, since they were the chief architects of the control that they've systematically built into the lives of innocent, trusting, God-fearing people. Their manipulating fingers invade the personal lives of every committed JW on the planet.
This affects each individual in generally the same way, but the subtleties are different. For example one individual might be homosexual and is forced to supress his natural impulses. Another might dream of being a professional athelete, and is instead relegated to a life of scrubbing toilets.
Personally, I have given up a college education for this organization (something I am currently rectifying, I already have 1 year of "higher education" under my belt).
But that's not the part that angers me...
It's the fact that I am married to a wonderful, intelligent, and beautiful woman; a woman whom I would absolutely be honored to have as the mother of my children. Yet, I cannot have children with this woman because I could not in good conscience raise those children as Jehovah's Witnesses. Because I cannot raise them to believe that they'll "never grow old in this system of things", the way I was. Because I cannot tell them that some drooly old men in Brooklyn are "Spirit-directed" and "God's Channel" despite having never done a single damn thing to deserve such lofty titles. Because I cannot lie to them they way the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society has lied to me. I can't tell my children that "it's okay" that this organization has been aware of facts that contradict their dogma yet refuse to change because "it wouldn't look good" and giving no thought to the detramental consequences that their sins of ommission would have on their loyal followers.
It's not okay. I can't rationalize away the mountain of evidence that proves they're nothing more than presumptuous old farts, of no more spiritual consequence than were the pharisees of Jesus' day, or even Ted Haggard for that matter.
I cannot bring them into a divided situation either. Actually, there's no reason a religiously divided family can't be as happy as one that isn't. Unless one of the parents is a JW. In which case it's damn near impossible, and that's just the way this self-appointed "channel" wants it. I will not force them to face all the hardships and divided loyalties that such a situation would entail.
So, because of the f**king Watchtower society, at least for the time being, I cannot know the joy of being a father with the woman I love. Should she choose to remain loyal to these men whom she's never met over her loyalty to me, then... well... then that's it. I'll have to decide then what to do if indeed things turn out that way.
I know some have asked recently "Why do you people hate the Watchtower so much?", and that got me thinking. So, I felt inclined to state my reasons. But I also completely agree with the need to keep that hate in it's proper place and to only attribute the Watchtower their fair share. In reality there are many things I am thankful for that I would likely not have received had I not been born into this faith. And I should also say that what I feel is not the hate of the bigoted and unreasoned "KKK" type, but rather the kind that the Bible admonishes us to have when it says to "hate what is bad".
And yes, the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society is bad.