No one gets to that level of authority in the org without a willingness to be involved in evil deeds.

Wow! 😮you're not holding back! You've already become an important part of the outcry of disgust against this destructive cult. Please keep posting videos. Your voice and experience is very much needed. Love to your family from England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Asking "where else is there or where will you go?" is a false choice designed to keep people captive in a harmful system. If a house is on fire or poisoned, you don't ask "where will I live next?" before stepping outside—you get out first because staying is dangerous.
​Leaving an organization that covers up crimes and enforces fatal policies doesn't require jumping into another organized religion. Millions of former members live rich, moral, and fulfilling lives with strong faith in God, deep family ties, and real peace of mind without belonging to any high-control group. Freedom isn't a place; it's living without deception.

There’s a lot of narcissism in the organization

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely

They will say whatever they need to say to save face, they have no capacity to examine their wrongdoing because this would mean that they have to change, and they won’t.

Having been through lots of therapy and also having have had high leadership roles and working alongside those in high leadership professionally has truly opened my eyes to just how seriously unqualified most elders are to be giving advice and leading over anyone.

The vast majority lack even basic leadership skills and none have ANY qualifications to be giving out any sorts of mental, emotional, sexual, etc. advice whatsoever.

My father in law is an elder. He's 75 years old and a VERY passive man. He is also hard of hearing and just nods yes to everything the elder body says!

I served with some really good men. I never liked it when they would tow the company line over doing what they know is right.

The account you shared around of that sister in tears begging, 'Why can't you just treat me like a person?' cuts straight to the bone of high-control institutional psychology.

If you want to explore the exact framework of what was happening in that room, look into Philip Zimbardo’s landmark book, The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil (which builds directly on Milgram's obedience research). Zimbardo demonstrates that destructive behavior isn’t just about individual 'bad apples'—it is manufactured by bad barrels: rigid hierarchies, ideological authorization, and role expectations that systematically strip away personal agency.

That ties directly into Milgram’s concept of the 'agentic state' you touched on. In that state, an elder no longer views himself as personally or morally responsible for his actions; he views himself purely as an instrument carrying out organizational directives from the top. As the neuroscience study you highlighted proves, empathy and guilt responses in the brain actively dim when someone believes they are merely 'following orders' or preserving group unity. In that elder's mind, crushing a sister's initiative wasn't cruelty—it was 'protecting the arrangement.'

What makes your experience so compelling is that you recognized that dynamic in real time. De-escalating that confrontation and going back to apologize—knowing full well the system would penalize you and label you a 'rogue elder'—was an intentional act of breaking out of the agentic state. It proves that conscience can push back against institutional pressure, but it also exposes why high-control groups treat simple empathy as a threat: authentic human compassion is the one thing total obedience cannot survive.

Thank you for speaking so candidly and validating what so many have suffered behind closed doors. My father and uncle did the same to others in the kingdom hall as Elders.

I was not an evil elder. After 20 years and just stepped aside. I Have served with evil elders they are the very ones that just pushed me out over the last 9 years of abuse,.  i stayed to protect my friends that were close to me and my wife and to shepherd the ones i was allowed to.  So all that mental abused broke me and i have not even remotely began even the 1st steps to heal because it Just happened 1 month ago. I know i left because i gave up on the body and the organization. Its just going to take a bit to leave but the plan has begun. Thank you for your stories they help a lot. ❤

Thanks for sharing these truths!🙏

Thank you for sharing  his responses to get how truly callous the leadership is !
Medical science of seperating whole blood into components has been available for decades and the scriptures were available since they've come into power and prayer available  ; so that response isn't sufficient for those who paid with their lives 😢

The organization is like a military or law enforcement organization, structure wise. Your commanding officer gives an order, even if it is wrong, you feel like you have to follow it or face discipline. When all you have is that position, or the job is all you know, it scary to oppose the order to stand up for what it is right. You are absolutely correct in that if you know something is wrong and don’t do anything to stop it, you just might as well as carried it out yourself. Rush in the song Free Will, stated it plainly, “If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice .”  That is one of the reasons I have left, because it is hard to remain free from guilt when you stay.

Correct response is “which cong and who was involved and we will make a full investigation”

Thank you for speaking so openly and honestly. What you said about good men serving as elders in a bad organization really stood out. A person can genuinely want to be good and still find obedience to the organization clashing with his conscience.
I also respect you for publicly sharing what you personally witnessed regarding the handling of child-abuse cases and the consequences of the blood policy. You didn’t just walk away and stay silent—you spoke up knowing you would face criticism.
Your point about the blood-policy change was powerful: changing a policy is one thing, but acknowledging the harm caused by the previous one is another. The response you received from the GB helper raises serious questions about priorities and where loyalty should ultimately lie!
It takes real courage to say “something is wrong here,” especially after holding a position of responsibility. Thank you for speaking up. Current elders and Witnesses struggling with these same issues may be helped by hearing someone who has been in that position speak so openly about conscience versus organizational loyalty.

Your story of the crushed woman reminds me of a friend's experience. This was before either of us got out. She told me that she started a little food bank in her garage and other "sisters" could donate or take what they needed. It was going very well, until the elders made her shut it down.

He gave you a "corporate answer", which includes doses of fear, obligation, built and shame dumped in. They protect their status quo.

Your story about the young woman making the group chat reminds me of the time my mom invited practically all the women/girls in the congregation to have a girls night in our home. She excitedly told an elder about it the next day, and he scolded her for it because he claimed it promoted division between men and women. Seeing her smile go away and her turn into a stammering mess trying to explain herself when all she did was express love and appreciation for her sisters still makes me feel sad to this day.
This same man would go play soccer at the park every single weekend with just the men. Any girl/woman who asked to join the game would get rejected for being female and therefore “too fragile” for the way they play.

The apostles didn't ask Jesus WHERE would we go ? They asked to WHOM would we go ?
Jesus they wanted to stay with Jesus , they weren't part of any org and Jesus made it clear my kingdom is NO part of this world