frankiespeakin said-
I don't know?(not certain), that word extreme is what bugs me. One has to assume an awful lot it sounds too black and white. Extreme/Mildest/most moderate/miniscule. I get turned off by it, it is my own prejudice it's true, but that is my opinon.
Don't waste much brain glucose on it, other than to realize it's a paradox. It's meaningless, makes no sense, but only creates the impression of being profound and indicative of deep understanding when it's simply goofy on its face, and likely reflects watching too much reality TV (eg Extreme Makeover).
(A more-useful word choice would perhaps be 'INSTITUTIONALIZED shunning', or the like.)
Marvin said-
Contemporary society is gaining more and more knowledge of emotional bullying and it’s physical effect on the citizenry. Unlike some others, I can see a day when legislative bodies find a way to write law against this effect. Shunning of the sort Watchtower imposes kills people. It’s that simple.
Yes, but shunning is ignoring, and you can ignore someone, or NOT: that's it. There are no gradations of ignoring.
Similarly, the comparison to "hate speech" is irrelevant, since there's no such thing as "hate shunning". Free speech rights includes the right NOT to speak: the gov't cannot FORCE people to speak, nor should it (the famous Miranda rights comes to mind).
The example you cited of WT policy change was VOLUNTARILY made by the WTBTS; the gov't didn't FORCE them to change their policies. Advocating for a change in laws is pointless and counter-productive, since you'd require more erosion of individual liberties, and you instantly lose any credibility with those Americans who DO understand the value of the Constitution which so many have given their lives to PROTECT.
(Ironic, since you'd almost suspect those advocating for such laws may have missed this point? Perhaps it's because they WERE in a cult which was content to free-load by not letting their members serve in the military, and hence they didn't completely understand this type of thing?)
As repeated ad nauseum, the MORALLY-RESPONSIBLE (i.e. non-pie-in-the-sky, non-trolling) way to seek a change on this shunning issue is to:
1) seek out those ex-JWs willing to use their past experience inside JWs and admit to the wrongfulness of engaging in shunning, then focusing on the harm it does, NOT to the target of shunning, but those who ACTIVELY SUPPORT the practice. They then can speak out against the dehumanizing effects, the toll that it took on them as an individual.
2) Locate those who are willing to deliver that same message (the more, the merrier, perhaps with jump cuts between individuals, edited together to convey a scripted message) in a 30-second public service message video that is posted to YouTube. It would be a home-run if the person was DFed simply BECAUSE they refused to shun a family member: they could be the "poster child" of the campaign (if they were willing).
3) Once you have a slick professionally-polished spot posted on YouTube, everyone here can rally behind it, increasing public awareness of the video by posting links on forums elsewhere, and see where it goes. (Incorporate cute kittens or whatever the current viral theme is, if you must).
That's all you can do: educate the public, but more imporantly, educate those same family members who are shunning you currently, as THEY need to be convinced they're only hurting THEMSELVES; sometimes hearing the message from a stranger will break through to them. They are the ones who can force a change inside the WT (and I wouldn't hold my breath: it's worked for 3,000 yrs), ALTHOUGH your families MAY decide not to remain victims of WT any longer and "flee from Babylon the Great" which is an even GREATER "win" for you.
I started a "Shunning Confessional" thread, just to get the ball rolling. Not surprisingly, most would seemingly rather continue arguing about outlawing shunning, and few are actually willing to do anything about addressing it.
Here's the thread:
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/258897/1/Countering-JW-shunning-How-a-social-psychologists-work-from-50-yrs-ago-points-to-a-new-approach
Adam
