Do you see the pattern?
WT October 1, 2002 Jehovah Blesses and Protects Those Who are Obedient
p. 18..No doubt prior to and during that time, Gods people will experience major tests of their faith and obedience.
WT October 1, 2002 Cultivate Obedience as the End Draws Near
p. 9...In fact, the main target of Satans spiritual warfare consists of Jehovahs anointed ones..WT October 15, 2002 Oppose the Devil
p. 1 In these "last days", however, Satan is concentrating his efforts on Gods dedicated servants, waging war with anointed Christians,...WT October 15, 2002 Jehovah Cares for You
p. 18 Satan is doing all in his power to bring persecution, opposition, and pressure from all quarters upon Jehovahs people. He tries to disrupt our peace and destroy our fine standing with our God.WT November 1, 2002 Maintain your Conduct Fine Among the Nations
(Dec 9-15 2002 study)p. 17 Unfortunately, some "unreasonable men" in authority persecute us or oppose us in other ways - such as by promoting smear campaigns against us. Still, in Jehovahs due time, their lies are always exposed, and their "ignorant talk" is effectively muzzled. (I wonder, exactly, how the WTS plans on muzzling its opposers? Are they leaving it up to Jehovah?)
Tyrants, when threatened, become paranoid. Their survival depends on total control. When that slips, they will do anything to ensure their continued survival. at the expense of those under their control. Some interesting thoughts from a book review of History and Hatred,
Feelings of rage and hostility in particular are subject to denial and projected on to others. Violently angry and afraid of their own aggression, paranoids defend against their rage by viewing themselves as the victims of persecutors. In effect, the paranoids impulse to persecute and tyrannize others is denied and projected on to phantom enemies who then become imaginary persecutors who must be hunted down and either subjugated or destroyed....The process of projection, however, has been implicitly recognized for centuries, as we may see from these lines in King Lear:
Thou rascal beadle,hold thy bloody hand!
Why dost thou lash that whore? Strip thy own back;
Thou hotly lusts to use her in that kind
For which thou whipst her. (IV, vi 157-60)
If we respond narrowly to Shakespeares poetry, we will see a barbed insight directed against the sadism of petty tyrants. If our response is broader and more generous, however, we will see, reflected in the figure of the beadle, nothing other than ourselves. The whole point of Shakespeares lines is not that they illuminate a psychiatric illness. It is that they succinctly describe one of the fundamental processes of human psychology.*
Consider how David had to run for his life when King Saul recognized his authority was slipping. (1Sa 18:5-12). I fear for the intelligent, capable, funny witnesses in the society, who will experience greater pressure to conform in the coming months. If they stand out at all, innocent or no, they could become a casualty to the growing paranoia. Be like David and run. Run for your lives.
* History and hatred
Political Paranoia: The Psychopolitics of Hatred by Robert S. Robins and Jerrold M. Post. 366pp. Yale University Press, 1998book review
Times Literary Supplement, 10 April 1998