[Freedom]

There is a lot to be said about the difficulties that leaders face, but that's another subject altogether. With any group, there will always be troublemakers and difficult cases. Even if a group is relatively free of those types, toes will still get stepped on, people will still get offended by leaders. There is a certain inevitability to that. But I wouldn't take any of that to mean always giving leaders the benefit of the doubt. Especially in the LC, there has been the tendency to give leaders the free pass, with the "everyone makes mistakes mindset." Maybe that is appropriate in certain situations, but it also quickly leads to leaders who aren't held accountable.

As far as I'm concerned, the LC has always had a leadership problem, and at the most basic level the problem is that there are lots of ineffective leaders. As it turns out, that is not just coincidence. It is one of the side effects of WL's elder-appointing game. I'm not out to judge anyone for their inexperience or unsuitability as leaders, but at the same time, every single LC leader is someone who has made the decision to function as a leader. When the opportunity presented itself, they were the ones who stepped up to the plate. So there is thus an assumed individual responsibility for their either successful or failed leadership.

I can say somewhat confidently that one of the things that was particularly frustrating about the LC was having to follow ineffective leaders. As it turns out, ineffectiveness is merely the surface of the issue, and at worse, an 'unassuming' style of leadership has been a front for behind the scenes manipulation and control. I have encountered LC leaders who are overtly authoritarian (these types are less common). The other type would hardly be identifiable as elders, but they have the ability to rule with an iron fist behind the scenes. What is problematic is you can't tell what's actually going on unless you are really familiar with who these leaders are.

This is the reason that I have such trouble viewing LC leaders from a neutral perspective. When it comes to LC leaders, things aren't as they seem. It's true some have no ill motives or intentions, but there are also a lot of manipulative leaders who take on the same appearance of being genuine, unassuming people with no hidden motives.

It is particularly problematic for rank and file members because when they are adversely affected by leaders, because there is little means for recourse or defense. They can't point at elder A and tell the other elders what he's done. Elder A is so 'unassuming' that the charge seems absurd. Thus it's the members who get labeled as troublemakers. Obviously, Lee liked to give the impression that he didn't control anyone, that he wasn't authoritarian, but things always played out just the opposite. Those who accused Lee of control were accused of speaking blatant lies. LC leaders discovered how to play the game, and there are some who know how to play it really well. Many have yet to be caught.