I agree, It's really hard for someone who was never in a cult to understand what it was like, how much it affects you, even years after leaving. They may think the JWs are weird, but still just a religion you can choose to leave like any other. Most people think of cults as people wearing weird clothes and living in communes, they cannot comprehend that the nice looking, friendly couple at their door have had been systematically conditioned to believe that eight men in New York speak for God and must be obeyed, even if it results in shunning their own children or even letting them die by refusing a life saving blood transfusion. Most people just can't comprehend how this can happen to normal, intelligent people.
I have been out for sixteen years, I have successfully moved on in my life, and I am lucky to be only minimally impacted by the religion at this point, yet I still occasionally find myself falling into some of the black and white thinking, the negativity and alienation I felt as a JW. I have met a few people that get it, if they have a relative in the group or were raised as a Mormon or other cult type religion, or people like HB, who have taken an interest (and thank you for that HB!). It's this ignorance of the dangers of cult mind control that allows groups like this to flourish, people don't see how destructive it is, they can get sucked in before they realize. Fortunately they are losing their influence in more industrialized countries, but they are still growing and a danger worldwide, and of course there are millions still stuck inside.
I think it's important to keep the conversation going, to keep educating people about the destructive nature of cult mind control. Don't be ashamed of your JW past, it wasn't your fault. Tell people what happened, how much it affected your life, how hard it was to leave. The more people know about this cancer the harder it is for them to get and maintain members.