Good comment by stuckinarut2
The Tower has always wanted to destroy (if at all possible), or at least minimize to the fullest extent, the non-JW relationships of the average JW.
The only thing that made it tenable was the association, the feeling to belonging within the walls of the Org.
Now look as the Org seeks to kick out that one last crutch. You're a JW, you can't have close trusting relationships with worldly folks on the outside, and furthermore, you likely cannot have them with your fellow JWs.
The Tower is basically begging for JWs to equivocate...I wonder why TPTB in there wouldn't have thought to steer clear of that, but then, I don't think there's much thinking going on there at all, these days.