Not surprised, Simon, but outraged that such a subjective thing could actually be used to deny participation in field service.
yeah, I think the marked / poor standing may not have absolved people from Field Service.
Refusing to allow people to participate in field service is actually a new thing. It is a signal of ever-tightening control.
It can be sign of tightening grip because of weakening control. the natural reaction of authoritarian regimes is to be stricter. Eventually they may implode and end up with a more hard core but smaller following. Would that be better or worse than a larger more relaxed group?
Maybe people will start buying clothes to get them out of going door to door ...