I also don’t have to attend 5 weekly meetings, study the WT literature week after week, or log hours in field service, or answer to the whims of Elders, the Governing Body, attend the Memorial Of Christ’s Death or the conventions, consult the organization’s opinion about the music I listen to, the books I read, the movies I watch, etc. I could go on.

If our obligations are how you measure control, I’m pretty sure I would win. Luckily, that’s not how I see things.

You could search through the other articles I’ve written to get a more complete picture of where I’m coming from and offer something better than this angry commentary. (Yes, even if you disagree with me.) That would be something of value. Something interesting to read and respond to.

Or you could continue to drop angry commentaries throughout the site (and others like it) based on what seems like a knee jerk reaction to a single article that wasn’t even aimed at you. Which do you think will earn you the most respect from me and others who read this site? What impression do you think you’ve made so far?

If you are easily offended by opinions that contradict your own or the Society’s, you should really stick to reading approved sites that support that point of view. Not ones that dissent with the organization. Knee jerk reactions will only get you flamed or ignored everywhere else. They certainly don’t make practicing JWs look any better to XJWs like myself.

If you are calm and reasonable, with a genuine interest in having a conversation or communicating ideas–even criticisms–then you are welcome to contribute. And I will try to respond in kind. But please don’t bother with the angry knee jerk reaction stuff. It gets tedious very quickly. You’ll get a lot more from pretty much everybody if you do.