Another thing that bothered me about the Hutterite documentary was the assumption that any critism or unpopularity sent in their general direction is persecution and can simply be explained by the fact that Jesus said that His followers would be persecuted. It happens sometimes.
And sometimes somebody screws up. Christian communities are actually made up of human beings who can aggravate their neighbors, run roughshod over local mores, and make general doofuses of themselves as they interact with others. Knowing the difference between genuine misunderstanding and/or obvious errors on our part and actual persecution is crucial.
Having an accurate view allows us to understand when we need to apologize, and when we need to employ some means of self defense. People who do not have an accurate view seem to believe in a form of group infalliblity, yet are unaccountably pacifist even unto the destruction of all they hold dear. (And yes, sometimes groups need to apologize, even when individually no one has done wrong.)
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