Steve 2,
You make an excellent point when you say:
many of them are basically sincere, hard-working folk who want to see their brothers and sisters get better. But the mindset fosters unhelpful thinking that exacerbates the problem.
However, ignorance is no excuse! When a multi-million dollar corporation put's unqualified, ignorant, out of their depth people in charge of their group it is an outrageous travesty. Look at the examples in this thread alone. People don't get the help they need because it was not an option which was viewed favorably (at least when I was there).
If people are sincere in their belief that it is Jehovah's organization, they are not going to go against the will of the org and get help, in general. To do so would present them with more guilt and feelings of unworthiness than they already were experiencing.
The Witnesses should not be held to a lesser standard than any other group who puts people in charge of others, and make no mistake, the elders are in charge of others and to the r&f represent the face of the organization. They should have specific training and recognize that when they are out of their depth, they should refer the person to qualified professionals. If a person went to a school counselor and told them that they were experiencing anxiety attacks, depression, feelings of suicide or worthlessness and the counselor did not refer to qualified professionals and the student then killed themselves, there would be a lawsuit so fast it'd make the School District's head spin. The counselor would also lose their jobs.
Why cannot a multi-million dollar corporation be held to the same standard?
I for one am outraged by the treatment that I saw the elders met out to people who had need of serious medical/mental assistance, and don't give a rat's ass if they *think* they are doing god's will. A mistake is a mistake, and unless it is corrected it is willful endangerment of the flock.
They're guilty!
Jean
