I completely agree with these comments. Thanks for articulating this, Clever. It does sometimes feel like you're the crazy one.

I've been out for almost 10 years and I find distance (from the town, from my family, and current JWs) has really helped me to see the world beyond the organization. It's given me a chance to look at my thoughts and see how steeped in judgement (of others) they had been because of the inherent "holier than thou" bs-dom that I was always fed as a JW, in addition to a whole slew of other stuff I've gotten to realize about myself.*

Instead of "going against" or "trying to prove" something, I realized that their shunning me has just motivated me to create an even better life for myself. I've found friends that truly love me for who I am, I pursue my career as an artist, and I just try to be open and live the best life I can. That's a better way to spend your energy than trying to talk to convince brainwashed people of something. You're not crazy....or maybe you are....but who says there's anything wrong with crazy? Use that "crazy" to rock out and enjoy every minute of your time here on this planet.

*oooh don't get me started on the anger!! i live in brooklyn and i swear there was a period of time that everytime i passed the HQ, i wanted to do something seriously violent to it!! but i digress. woosah. woosah. ;)