People are afraid of the elders because the elders can disfellowship you and take everything from you that you hold dear. You are also taught that they're appointed by God himself, so if you go against them, you're really going against God, and then you'll lose your hope of everlasting life. Fear drives people to not take up for themselves, like with any bully. Members are indoctrinated to look up to those men, to see them as appointed by Jehovah, to obey and be blessed.
I almost got into it with one elder. My brother had left and moved to another area of the city and was living with some girl. He just wanted to get away from the JWs and live life. I was concerned, and I found out what street he lived on and knocked doors until I found him. But I was concerned as his brother, not as a brother from the congregation, and I missed him. We hung out some. The elders found out (from my dad, who was an elder) that I knew where my brother lived. One confronted me in the auditorium and wanted me to give him his address. I told them no, and this elder got irate. I eventually told him to go search for the lost sheep like I did, that he should leave the 99 behind and go knock doors and find him like I did if he truly cared about my brother and this wasn't merely a punitive issue. Another elder stepped in before it came to blows. Everyone in the auditorium was watching. I hated that elder. He was such a dick. They eventually just hunted my brother down at his place of employment and served him with notice of a judicial committee when he came out of his job. He was disfellowshipped by default as he didn't attend and lost everyone he knew from the dubs, including his family.
So yeah, elders hold some clout. They are enforcers. To get into an altercation would likely have repercussions, possibly even disfellowshipping.
