Am I the Only One? — The Dangers of Groupthink and Razor Burn in the Dallas ‘Burbs

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that anyone who disagrees with them is the enemy. Their leaders, collectively known as the Governing Body, demand unquestioning loyalty and obedience, even though they have repeatedly failed, lied to, and exploited their parishioners. They are the self-proclaimed gatekeepers of truth and mouthpiece for God, when their track record doesn’t warrant the reverence they receive. Unfortunately, Jehovah’s Witnesses live in an echo chamber, leaving anyone with even a whiff of doubt to think: Am I the only one who feels this way?

In a cult, you can’t express your doubts without immediate repercussions. There is zero grey area, or room for nuance, without your character suddenly being called into question. Here’s where it gets even more sticky. Sometimes, the group is not entirely wrong. Jehovah’s Witnesses, as a group, want paradise on earth. They want to eradicate injustice and inequality. This is a beautiful sentiment. But, they also want to achieve this by the most divisive means possible—eradicating anyone who isn’t a Jehovah’s Witness. This paradoxical logic means they want to usher in an unprecedented era of world peace through a wholesale rejection of anyone who isn’t exactly like them.

At first, I tried to express my concerns in a way that was non-combative and reasonable. Why do we shun people who leave? If you want someone to change their mind and possibly return, insulting and isolating them isn’t exactly going to make them receptive to what you have to say. Or, when I vocalized my distrust of the Governing Body due to their mishandling of child sexual abuse cases, their eyes just glazed over. One Jehovah’s Witness put it this way: “Even if the accusations are true,” they said, “this is still the best place to be.”

One afternoon in my early twenties, a girlfriend invited me over to swim with her at her apartment complex. The cool, chlorinated waters would be the antidote to my hot Dallas depression. As I changed into my swimsuit, I noticed I was a bit scrappier than I’d like to be. “You got a razor?” My girlfriend, a disciple of the Brazilian wax, rummaged through her bathroom cabinet when she pulled out something cheap, pink, and plastic. I held out my hand.

“I wouldn’t do that,” she warned, laughing at the one-blade relic. But, I insisted.

“Better than nothing,” I said.

Next, as we dipped our toes in the chilly pool and congratulated each other on how cute we looked, we agreed to jump in at the same time. I surfaced with a gasp. Holy shit, that burns.

It’s okay to have doubts, to not be so certain that you leave zero margin for error. Unlike the Jehovah’s Witness who tried to convince me that their haven for pedos was still morally superior, I don’t believe that defaulting to the group out of misplaced loyalty is the answer. As they fall back on sweeping generalizations and pressure their members to conform, the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ rigidity will be their downfall. Is it possible that there are alternative viewpoints, or solutions, and why was I so confident that a rusty Bic was a smart move?

Sometimes, nothing is better.