This one's for you, my dude:
But on a serious note, I do believe the JWs in question are absolutely loving this collective contempt, hatred, revulsion and disgust (the JW said "urgh" when he realized it was you greeting him on the phone!) you've fuelled them with.
Here's why.
People who inflict physical wounds (such as cutting) report that the painful sensation of blood being drawn and the discomfort of flesh being mutilated gives them SOMETHING TO FEEL. It may not be a pleasant feeling, but after being so depressed into a state of catatonic numbness, their pierced flesh awakens their very being. Some cutters say they feel alive when the pain hits them.
JWs are emotional cutters. After being numbed and dumbed down into a depressed state, they will leech off any emotional hardship (real, imagined, personal or across the globe) to finally FEEL.
Well-wounded people experience no need to gossip. How many JWs do we know who THRIVE off this negative behavior? Balanced individuals don't capitalize on the pain and suffering of others outside of their clique (or religion) to prove their point. Is this not central to WTs doctrine? And emotionally fulfilled and content humans are actually incapable of spewing forth such unsolicited HATRED the way they do toward you.
These are very psychologically empty people, @stuckinarut2. And those feelings of outright hostility you've inspired in them is their emotional version of cutting.
They get off on it.
Finally... there's something to be felt on the inside. Sure, it's the mental equivalent of bile. But with such a small pool of options, most JWs would opt for the toxicity of feeling hatred than confronting the dejected realization that they're otherwise dead inside.
