logansrun,
A "loving act" by a JW is pretty much just like a "loving act" from a non-JW....The Witness expression of love is simply very confined.
I guess that's the point that I'm making. The Witness understanding of love is confined by the legalistic culture they are in. Whereas normal healthy people would spontaneously visit and care for family members, Witnesses cannot do so if the person is DF'd/DA'd. Whereas normal healthy people want their friends and family to grow, Witnesses are fearful to support growth exercises that might result in movement away from the party line. Whereas normal healthy people are interested and involved in their community, Witnesses mostly restrict such involvement to recruitment efforts.
As you say, when a Witness does perform a "loving act," the act itself is probably mostly indistinguishable from the same act performed by a member of the general public. But Witnesses impose very harsh limits on the scope of the ways in which it is acceptable to care for and associate with their friends and family. I believe this stems from the fact that the culture values the organization more than the individuals in it, so the first priority for a Witness is to prevent damage to the organization, rather than to care for the individual. If those two goals happen to overlap, then "love" is extended. But to me, that is not genuine care for individuals. It is natural human concern, filtered through a very small lens, such that what comes out the other side is limited and only sometimes approximates what normal healthy people consider loving.
SNG