The 1980's Watchtower discussed flip flops like the men of Sodom and said we were like sailors tacking in to the wind.
Sometimes an interpretaion might change "SEEMINGLY to the opposite viewpoint."
I don't see how something can only seem to be the opposite. It either is or isn't. I started wondering if now we were meant to knock on doors and say we only SEEM to be saying what you think we seem to be saying. I became conscious for the first time of having my thinking manipulated. The rest is history.
As for someone getting understanding of something before the FDS and being difellowshipped read the story of the WT and the oscilloclast, in which a brother who exposed it as a form of spiritism was disfellowshipped because Rutherford and others were promoting its use and did not want to be embarrassed.
Years later the WBTS came to the same conclusion but did not reinstate the brother concerned.
Fred Franz once testified under oath that if what a brother might be saying is true he could still be disfellowshipped for the sake of maintaining the unity of the Borg. When aked if the stance taken by the society on these matters is arrogant he replied "No."
Maybe someone can remind me of where this case was posted.