Isn't the essence of a chassidus to follow those at the top? Aren't there people "in power" there at the him of the rebbe?
It is somewhat of an oxy moron to want to be a part of Satmar but to be unwilling to follow the community. I understood you to be saying that it is not so easy to leave and hence my comment. There are plenty of places one can move to if they do not wish to conform to the community they are in. Many have moved from KJ to Monsey for exactly that reason.
I will tell you my experience. The guy that sent me to jail was a "Rosh Hakahal" in one of the Satmar Batei Midrashim. He's supposedly in the upper echelon of power in the chassidus. The Rebbe didnt know what he was doing and when the Rebbe found out he was none too happy. So Not everything that is said or done by the people "in power" is sanctioned, or the "Word of G-d".
I can tell you what I hear from my neighbors and tenant who are Ger. The Rebbe supposedly sent word that he was unhappy with the Ger community in NY. He supposedly said that the current yeshiva, Yagdil Torah, was not up to snuff. He supposedly said that the American chasidim had lost their way and were causing all sort of pritzus geder to occur including in the mode of dress of women. I say supposedly because its all machorei hapargud...no one really heard him say this. Those that have his ear say he said this.
They opened a new yeshiva for the children of lets call them "perushim". Most of the kids that go to that yeshiva are children of Israeli Ger chasidim. The Americans left their kids in Yagdil Torah. The interesting part is...that the pritzus gedarim, that was supposedly the direct reasoning in splitting the community, was introduced by...you guessed it...the Israelis themselves. Maybe not the men, but the women definitely.
So The Rebbe is hoodwinked into making proclamations and demands of a community by the ones "in power". If you ask me as a disinterested outsider, this was plain and simple a money grab by someone who was disenfrachised in Yagdil Torah. The American Gerrer chasidim resent the Israelis now for wreaking havoc on the schools. The Schools invested huge amounts of money in infrastructure over the last few years to be able to accommodate growth and then in one fell swoop the Rebbe...i.e. those in power in Israel, with no real understanding of the facts on the ground, send the whole chasidus in America into chaos.