“Simon”: “So what do they care then?
A club they don't want to belong to doesn't want them as a member ...
That's where this always ends up. "I want to leave - but how dare they say I can't be a member!".”
Actually, disfellowshipped or disassociated people don’t have to care that they are no longer considered members – quite a lot of them really couldn’t care less. The problem, however, is that their close family members are severely pushed by the Watch Tower organization to completely shun them. It is, in effect, an extremist, totalitarian regime functioning within democratic countries – and operating above the law.
The thing is: Just how much “above the law” should religious sects/cults be allowed to operate? Acid-in-the-face attacks? Stoning? Shootings? Arson? I mean, just where do we – or should we – draw the line? And doesn’t such undue influence and coercion/blackmail constitute a clear and present danger to emotional and mental health? (And, of course, what about the Watch Tower’s most unique and deleterious blood issue, which has actually killed thousands of men, women, and children/babies – also a result of the intense fear of disfellowshipping?)
The real culprits are those at the very top of the Watch Tower organization; i.e., the executive doctrinal policy makers. The leadership which promotes, promulgated, and perpetuates such clearly harmful tactics are most reprehensible – and therefore liable.