It was easier in older times. You just told them to beat it.

Nowadays, they bring THEIR CHILDREN with them, so I find it almost impossible to be as direct with them as I would wish. I don't want to embarass the kids, when I tell their parent to f--k off.

A polite lack of interest is probably best. It won't get them to stop going to your house, but they'll certainly do it less frequently.

One more thing: don't take the literature out of politeness; no matter what you say, even if you tell them flat out that you are not interested, if you take one of the booklets, they will interpret that as interest; that would be like feeding a stray cat..

Edited: this is all from personal experience, as I used to be a Jehovah's Witness (I left 6 years ago).

[ 06 October 2005: Message edited by: googlymoogly ]

quote:

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Originally posted by Sanitary Engineer:
How do you be polite, yet firm to these pests?

---

If you are polite to them, they take it as a sign of weakness, and perhaps, receptiveness.

I will debate them about "Armageddon", the 12 tribes, the "144,000". "Blood Tranfusions"

I will tell them I'm not interested, I'm Catholic, Atheist, Satanist, Jewish, Muslim.

quote:

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Originally posted by Hephaestion:
My solution? I told the local JWs who come to my door that I had heard they don't celebrate Hallowe'en. I expressed full support for that, saying I could understand how annoying it is to have complete strangers hammering on your door and pestering you.

---

quote:

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Originally posted by Sisyphus2:
One possible solution is telling them you'll agree to listen to what they have to say (even though you don't believe it) if they'll go and donate a few pints of blood to the local blood bank. And remind them not to return until they have proof that they've done so. A fair trade.

---

quote:

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Originally posted by Sven:

Is that approach copyrighted or is it part of the public domain? Cuz it's a beautiful thing that I'd like to use!

---

I liked to tell them all about the virtues of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, and whatever -isms I could think of. I'd tell them all about the many people whose lives had been transformed or sustained by these religions. (Most of my examples were from personal acquaintance, although I'll admit to embellishing a bit.) If we were at home I'd show them my library of sacred books (I make it a point to have one of each), all claiming to be the literal or at least inspired word of God(s).

Then I'd ask them a simple question: why should I believe your religion instead of all those others? What does your religion have to offer, that none of these others has?

I never got a coherent response.

[ 06 October 2005: Message edited by: Ron Webb ]

quote:

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How do you be polite, yet firm to these pests?

---

Why be polite? They come to your door uninvited, bother you with their vile nonsense in the hopes that you will change your very life. It is the height of gall to go up to a random person and tell them that their life is worthless because they don't ascribe to a certain fairy tail. There is no need for manners when fundamentalist whack-jobs want to mess with you.

quote:

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Originally posted by Sanitary Engineer:
Any advice on how to deal with the JW salesmen/women who bring their children with them?

---

quote:

---

I have tried many approaches besides "f--k off".
If you are polite to them, they take it as a sign of weakness, and perhaps, receptiveness.

I will debate them about "Armageddon", the 12 tribes, the "144,000". "Blood Tranfusions"

I will tell them I'm not interested, I'm Catholic, Atheist, Satanist, Jewish, Muslim.

They are like the Engergizer bunny battery ad. They keep going and going........

---

quote:

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Okay. Lemme get this straight. You thought that maybe arguing with the Jehovah's Witnesses about their key doctrines(the 144 000 etc) was a good way to get them to LEAVE your house? Ane yet the idea of just saying "no thanks not interested" never occured to you before someone on babble suggested it?

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1. I thought a logical deconstruction of their key doctrines would get them to leave my house.

2. "No thanks not interested", has been tried. Didn't work.

quote:

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"No thanks not interested", has been tried. Didn't work.

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That's funny, because earlier you wrote:

quote:

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Hinterland and Hephaestion have given me some useful pointers for this situation.

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Now what were those useful pointers that Hinterland gave you? Well...

quote:

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Yeah, I listen politely until the first opportunity to say "not interested" and I don't take the literature (I smile and say "no thank you").

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quote:

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I just paste this wide, warm, beatific smile (you know, the kind people of profound faith go around with all the time) on my face and tell them "no, not interested." It works really well.

---

quote:

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So if you had already tried the "no thank you" thing before, to no avail, why would you now call it a "useful pointer"?

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Those two wise posters advised me to mix a little humour into my "no". That would be a different approach then I have been taken.

My wife and children are far more naive when it comes to these sort of people. Their natuarl politeness has probably encouraged the JW'S.

The language trick wouldn't work in my neighbourhood (near the Jean-Talon market): they have Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Creole and Arabic speaking teams as well as French and English.

I've never had any families with children come; I just told them I was an atheist and I thought religion of any kind was de la foutaise - at least they have never returned.

Now, normally, I'm really good at telling religious proselytizers just plain, "No, I'm not interested." But this time I was in the middle of a phone call, and so when I answered the door and saw the "Watchtower" one of them was holding in his hand, as soon as he said, "Hi, how are you?" I just said before they even started on their spiel, "I'm sorry, I'm on the phone," without thinking.

He said, "Is there a better time to come back?"

I said, "No, I don't think so - I'm not interested, thanks."

He said, politely, "Could I ask why you aren't interested?"

I said, "Because I'm NOT INTERESTED."

He said, "Would you like something to read?"

I said, "No, thanks."

Now, I was kicking myself becaue what I should have said right from the start was, "I'm sorry, I'm not interested," instead of "I'm on the phone."

I've never had a problem with JW's or Mormons (lots of Mormon door-knockers around here too) bothering me again and again after I've told them "No," politely without any hedging or taking their material. But if I did, I think I'd tell them, "Please do not visit again. I've already told several people from your church that I'm not interested and I would like you to respect my request not to be visited any more. I am not interested."

One time when I lived in a "security building", someone knocked on my door. I answered and said, "Do you live in this building?" He said, "No." I said, "The reason I live in a security building is because when I get visitors, they have to call up first if they want to come and visit me. Right now you are violating the security in this building by not calling people from the lobby before you knock on their doors. Please do not visit my home again. I will call building security if you do this again."

quote:

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Originally posted by Sanitary Engineer:

Nowadays, they bring THEIR CHILDREN with them

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quote:

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Originally posted by Hinterland:
I wish they'd stop door-to-door proseltysing (the LSD's as well); I think it does them more harm than good.

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The next time they come to my door, I'm going to say "Hey, you'd be the right guys to ask...How do you spell "proselytising?"

quote:

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Originally posted by fern hill:

Holy moly, what kinda adults do these poor mites grow into?

---

quote:

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Again, you seem to miss the main point: I am not going to their house. They are bothering me, at MY HOUSE.

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quote:

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"One moment, I'll listen to what you have to say if you could give me hand applying my hemroid cream."

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But what if they comply?

And would the religion seem more attractive if they did comply?

quote:

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I wish they'd stop door-to-door proseltysing (the LSD's as well); I think it does them more harm than good.

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I have no wish to ban these people, like Maurice Duplessis did.

I don't like anybody showing up selling anything.

quote:

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Originally posted by koan brothers:
You guy's have door-to-door LSD up there? Why would you want to stop that?

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He was an average dude, a bit lonely he never had a girlfriend. The JW's knocked on his door on day (he was in his early 20's by this point) He was very hungover but invited them in, prolly for his own entertainment.

quote:

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You guy's have door-to-door LSD up there? Why would you want to stop that?

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Last year, a nice-looking young man came to my door, dressed in a fashionable, dark trench coat (it was late fall here). He spoke fairly decent French and identified himself as a member of LDS from California (he pointed to a little badge affixed to his lapel) and told me he was going around the neighbourhood talking to people about the LDS. I smiled and told him I wasn't interested in talking about the LDS. He said that was fine, said good-bye and left.

Maybe the LDS targets special areas (such as heavily but nominaly Catholic areas such as where I live) or maybe this is a training-ground for the LDS's missionaries who are learning French. Who knows.

I want to stop all uninvited intrusions into my house; proselytisers, salespeople, tele-marketers, etc.. I'll put up with local charities, and legitimate business (deliveries, evacuation orders, police inquiries, etc.) but that's it.

[ 07 October 2005: Message edited by: Hinterland ]

Before she left, she always visited the bathroom and when I went in there later, The Watchtower was always on the counter.

quote:

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BTW somebody told me the JWs don't vote.

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They also refuse to say the Pledge Of Allegiance in the United States, or do mandatory military service in countries that require it(though they are not strictly speaking pacifists).

I think there are somewhere in the neighbourhood of a couple of hundred JWs in South Korean jails right now, for refusing military service. A former student of mine was a JW, and when I asked him what he planned to do when he got called up for the army, he replied quite matter-of-factly "oh I will go to jail". He said he had talked to some older JWs, and they told him that the prison experience wasn't that bad. Reports in the Korean press might lead one to believe otherwise, but I really don't know.

http://tinyurl.com/9gjjf

[ 07 October 2005: Message edited by: voice of the damned ]

quote:

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Originally posted by Sharon:
Before she left, she always visited the bathroom and when I went in there later, The Watchtower was always on the counter.

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The most appropriate location for it.

quote:

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Originally posted by RealityBites:

I've known a few Jehovah's Witnesses at work who were also very nice people who didn't talk about religion.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Transplant:
I've also worked with a JW. He, too, was pleasent enough and never, ever talked about it.

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quote:

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It seems to me I read somewhere that the "no voting" thing isn't an offical rule, just something that they're strongly advised to follow, and most of them do.

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quote:

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Originally posted by chubbybear:
Some of my best friends are JW.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Hinterland:

Last year, a nice-looking young man came to my door, dressed in a fashionable, dark trench coat (it was late fall here). He spoke fairly decent French and identified himself as a member of LDS from California

---

His name wasn't Mr. Natural was it?

quote:

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Originally posted by Transplant:
And one of my best friends sells Amway stuff, but he knows better than to try to enlist me in that pyramid scheme.

---

Actually, given what is happening to gas and oil prices right now, I wonder how the fixed-price companies are doing?

quote:

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They also refuse to say the Pledge Of Allegiance in the United States

---

She also referred to her friend Chris a lot. It took me some time to realize that preachy, saintly Chris was really Jesus Christ.

I made the mistake of saying that I went out for my birthday and champagne was imbibed. After that, the pressure was on to convert me because a flute of champagne equals an alcoholic. In both her's and Chris' eyes.

quote:

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They believe that there are 144,000 spots in heaven, and that those spots are pre-ordained for certain people. People can't vie for them, you are either predestined for one of those spots or you aren't.

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Boy are WE gonna feel singed, scorched and blistered!!! We're gonna git it! Had yer chance and held onto a hardened heart. Turned your eyes away from the truth. Too bad for you.

I was thirteen when my mother converted. She's in her grave, waiting to find out if she's one of the 144,000 although she always said she doubted she would be one of the Chosen Few... she felt she wasn't "good" enough or "staunch" enough..my two sisters are practising JW's, one of them hasn't spoken to me for probably 25 years, except at our mother's funeral when she told me she loved me. Her kids are JW and have kids. The other sister and I are very close, she doesn't preach, she is probably saddened that I am an "apostate" who rejected baptism and wouldn't touch "The Truth" with a twelve foot pole (metal tipped but insulated at hte handle in case of electric shock).

Going door to door fulfills their duty to "go thee unto the highways and byways and tell of my work and my truth"...they dont' get "points" for it...

By and large I find them to be the kindest, most gentle and loving bigots on the face of the earth. I have never been insulted by one, I have never been shunned (I wasn't baptised you see so my sinful ways can be forgiven). They would give you shelter, food, clothing, money, whatever they had they would give and give with love.

And all they would hope for in return is your mind.

I can't handle the price tag. It's patrist, it's a pyramid with a few old farts at the top, it's male supremicist and my mind is my own thank you.

quote:

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Originally posted by nuclearfreezone:
I heard that 144,000 people is what's necessary to maintain the gene pool. I'm sure that the JW's wouldn't agree with that but I found it an interesting explanation for that number.

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quote:

---

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by nuclearfreezone:
I heard that 144,000 people is what's necessary to maintain the gene pool. I'm sure that the JW's wouldn't agree with that but I found it an interesting explanation for that number.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nope. It's in one of their tracts - only 144,000 Jehovah's Witnesses go to heaven.

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There is no need to be rude....the first time. If you are not interested, say so. If they come back, tell them politely not to return. If they come back again, shut the door on them without speaking, look up the phone number for the applicable church, and call them. Tell them that you don't wish to have missionaries come to your house anymore. It's highly unlikely that they will come back, but if they do, call the cops.

Even though you might not agree with them, people who come to your house feel that they have a message that is important enough to get them off the couch and on your doorstep. I respect anyone who is willing to give up personal time to go out and do something that they believe will help other people, even if I don't agree with their message.

Personally, I always invite the JW's in and talk to them. I offer to read their literature if they will read the Book of Mormon. I invite them to come back and have a mutual discussion on what we have each been reading. If they agree to come back, I always contact the missionaries from my church and arrange for them to be there when the JW's come back. They never come back again.

quote:

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Originally posted by slimpikins:
I invite them to come back and have a mutual discussion on what we have each been reading. If they agree to come back, I always contact the missionaries from my church and arrange for them to be there when the JW's come back. They never come back again.
.

---

quote:

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Originally posted by slimpikins:
If you are looking for a cheap laugh, you could always tell the JW's that you are busy right now, but set up a time for later. Then call the Mormons and any other church that has missionaries or 'in home bible study' programs. Invite them all over at the same time, mix a cold drink and sit back and watch the fun. Cheaper than a movie, twice as entertaining.

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quote:

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Actually, given what is happening to gas and oil prices right now, I wonder how the fixed-price companies are doing?

---

Two JWs came to the kitchen door. Mom answered the door. "Hello, we're from the Jehovah's Witnesses".

Mom, grabbing a few coins from the saucer by the door (there for sending one of us kids after a quart of milk or paying the paperboy), "Oh my, you poor dears. I do hope this will help you in your terrible afflictions..." pressing the money into a startled hand. And then she shut the door before they got a word out.

quote:

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Originally posted by gopi:

But what if they comply?

lucky me, I get relief. Apply it please!

And would the religion seem more attractive if they did comply?
.

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[ 12 October 2005: Message edited by: TemporalHominid ]

quote:

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Originally posted by voice of the damned:

I believe that number comes from the Book Of Revelation. If my math is on target(never a sure bet) it's some multiplication of the number 12. Twelve tribes and all that.

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Umm.. the math isn't that hard if you learned your times tables in Grade 3. 12 times 12 is 144. So 12 times 12 000 is 144 000.

If you are getting at something more complicated than that, I apologize.

BTW, I have no problem with JW's not speaking the Pledge in the US, (why would I?) or with their aversion to blood transfusion and serving in the military. What frosts my ass, is that they won't sing Happy Birthday...

quote:

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Originally posted by Thrasymachus:
I have to admit, I actually kind of enjoy my time with the Witnesses. We usually end up spending a couple of hours trying to convert each other before they give up. I actually had the reverse experience happen to me. I was canvassing for the NDP and went to a Witness house. Again I tried to convince them why they, of all people, should vote (Duplessis's name came up). Kind of a fun role reversal.

---

LDS lost two members too.

Here in Vancouver, you don’t seem to get them going door-to-door, but I’ve talked with them in the street and my calmly talking to one ended with him screaming at me in the middle of a busy street and storming away.

quote:

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Originally posted by voice of the damned:
I believe that number comes from the Book Of Revelation. If my math is on target(never a sure bet) it's some multiplication of the number 12. Twelve tribes and all that.

---

quote:

---

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by voice of the damned:
I believe that number comes from the Book Of Revelation. If my math is on target(never a sure bet) it's some multiplication of the number 12. Twelve tribes and all that.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It is from Revelations. The number was the highest possible number at the time in that language, but JWs take it literally.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Mr. Magoo:
It would be great to know one such person from each faith, and atheism, who'd simply answer your questions, and not try to convert you.

---

I agree. One of my favorite websites is Religious Tolerance - it describes pretty much every religion you could think of (plus atheism and agnosticism), and does it respectfully (and gets a lot of hate mail from Christian Fundamentalists - that's worth reading too).

I'd be willing to bet they'd be gone before you got the second sentence out.

Meanwhile, my dad has a sign on the door that says, "We do not discuss religion with ignorant strangers."

[ 15 October 2005: Message edited by: Rufus Polson ]

To wit:

Private Message Notification
Subject: Jehovah's Witnesses

Eldeejay just sent you (lagatta) a Private Message at babble.

Here is the message sent by Eldeejay:

--------------------------------------------------

I read your April 2005 post in regard to the Jehovah's Witness child who was forced to take a blood transfusion. You called my faith silly. How would you feel if I said that about something that is close to you, or said it about your faith. I am not silly. I am an intelligent, family-oriented, working, single mother of 2 intelligent children, one with a BSN in Nursing who speaks Russian and Spanish and one who earns straight A's in high school and speaks French. We Jehovah's Witnesses are foot step followers of Jesus Christ. Would you call him silly?

--------------------------------------------------

Needless to say, I responded with a volley of bad language and (feline) copropheliac threats (namely that I would lob the contents of my cat's litter box at her if she or any other goddamned member of that sect sullied my doorstep. And audra is definitely getting a complaint about forum misuse.

quote:

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Originally posted by lagatta:
I just received a most unwelcome PM from one of those Witness bastards

---

Christian sects are a different matter all toghether. "Silly" was not a very strong epithet, after all, and I have a right to be left alone by members of religious sects who are bothering me.

I don't see the two things as similar at all.

By the way, I do have the honour of having been invited to Sun Dances and other ceremonies of different Aboriginal peoples, as I've long been involved in Aboriginal issues.

I've NEVER found Aboriginal people pushy about imposing their beliefs - just insisting on well-deserved respect. It is the pushiness that annoys me to no end among the Witnesses.

[ 31 October 2005: Message edited by: lagatta ]

How can I make this simple? There is no God, there are no Gods, or great bear spirits, or a Devil, etc etc etc. This existence is all we'll ever know. It's precious, because for the briefest amount of time, we as individuals are able to experience the cosmos, then when we die that's it. No after life.

If people truly saw that, and understood it, they would not be so quick to do all manner of horrible things to each other.

Religion IS the opiate of the masses. It's a way for the status quo to be maintained. Sure, things are bad in THIS life, but once you die you'll be in Paradise, so don't bother trying to change things.

Torching synagogues or mosques, anyone?

Moreover, you really should look up the passage from the young Marx about religion being the opiate of the masses, the cry of the oppressed creature, etc and you will find that his outlook was far more subtle. I'm sure I've posted it here before, you can google as well as I can.

How can criticizing one religion be OK, but criticizing another be considered racist? We're not talking about criticizing skin colour, or accent. Religion is something that is so easy to just drop, to just walk away from. But the vast majority of humanity doesn't, they would rather live in a world of comforting illusions.

BTW, I don't believe that I'm a cynic (yet!).

[ 31 October 2005: Message edited by: BATMAN ]

quote:

---

Originally posted by BATMAN:
I should be allowed to say that there is no bear spirit,...

---

I find it somewhat ammusing that just about everyone would laugh at someone who said that he believed in ghosts, but that it's somehow considered bad form to dismiss other non-corporeal entities, like the bear spirit.

Is it logical that ALL religions or belief systems are equally valid? No, it's not. They can't be, because in most cases they're mutually exclusive.

Is it logical that ONE of the thousands of religions that have EVER existed could have been/is the one true faith? Yes, I suppose so, but which one? Maybe the Aztecs had it, and now they're gone. Or maybe it hasn't been founded yet. The point is, unless a supreme being or beings arrive one day, we'll never know.

quote:

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Originally posted by BATMAN:
Maybe the Aztecs had it, and now they're gone.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Makwa:
Gosh, genocide will do that to a civilization, won't it?

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Exactly. The Spanish killed off another, militarily weaker culture because it WASN'T CATHOLIC, and had no desire to convert.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Contrarian:
In your first example, religion was the excuse, gold was the reason. You other examples are not about religious wars.

---

Nazi Germany, and the killing of 7 million Jews, wasn't about religion?

Darfur, where Muslims are killing animists, is not about religion?

quote:

---

Originally posted by Contrarian:
You don't think racism was important? In Darfur you have Arabic Africans killing Black Africans. What religion did the Nazis espouse? You think Hitler was motivated by religion?

---

The Nazis had there own version of Christianity. A very good description of it is in the great book "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich". And yes, Hitler was motivated by religion, as well as by megalomania, paranoia, and anger.

It's true that the genocide being carried out by the Gvt of Sudan against the "Black Africans" in Darfur also contains elements of racism, economics, and political orientation.

Just about every major armed conflict taking place right now involves religion to some degree (I won't try to list every one). You can't say the same thing for racism, economics, or political orientation.

quote:

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Batman, the only way that you could state with certainty that there is no God would be if you were omniscient; in which case you would have to be God. You are not stating facts, you are pushing your personal beliefs;

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Nazi Germany, and the killing of 7 million Jews, wasn't about religion?

[/QUOTE]

As far as I know, Hitler persecuted Jews regardless of whether or not they were religious. For the Nazis, the criteria was blood, not faith.

quote:

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The Nazis had there own version of Christianity.

---

True, they did. But not all the top Nazis were into it, whereas everyone involved in the Spanish Inquistion(let's say) was Catholic. Rosenberg and Himmler, for example, were into neo-paganism and actually quite hostile to Christianity. Hitler I think was just pragmatic: he appealed to Christianity because he was a populist and he thought it expedient to embrace the general religious sentiment in Germany.

None of this of course exonerates Christians for centuries of anti-semitic ideology, which the Nazis appropriated and merged with 19th Century racist pseudo-science to create their own vile concotion.

[ 01 November 2005: Message edited by: voice of the damned ]

quote:

---

side. scroll.

---

Christ, I'm bad for that, eh? My apologies yet again, Heph. I think I need a 12-steps program for side scrollers or something.

quote:

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As far as I know, Hitler persecuted Jews regardless of whether or not they were religious.

---

quote:

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Well, I never thought I'd be sticking up for JWs but I mean c'mon people! Are they really that hateful? And if so, imagine what it feels like to have missionaries descend on your country, usually after a major natural disaster.
By the way, JWs have been the subject of much persecution over the years, contrary to an earlier post, especially in that bastion of tolerance Quebec(See Roncarelli v. Duplessis for starters).

---

Yeah, apart from knocking on your door and asking to speak to you(which is no more intrusive than what political canvassers do), the JWs are hardly forcing their beliefs on anyone.

quote:

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By the way, JWs have been the subject of much persecution over the years, contrary to an earlier post, especially in that bastion of tolerance Quebec(See Roncarelli v. Duplessis for starters).

---

No, the harassment a JW inflicted on me by sending me TWO PMs, although I was deliberately rude to her for sending the first, isn't the Spanish Inquisition, but it is harassment, and an abuse of e-mail, just as trying to convert me when I'm working or relaxing at home is an abuse, and yes, I feel exactly the same way about people selling stuff.

"My solution? I told the local JWs who come to my door that I had heard they don't celebrate Hallowe'en. I expressed full support for that, saying I could understand how annoying it is to have complete strangers hammering on your door and pestering you. That set her back, but she still persisted, although less frequently. One day I finally told her, "look, I'm a sexually active gay man... could you people at least have the decency to have a cute young guy come to this house?"

quote:

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Political parties canvassing is a bit different, as that is a means of ensuring citizen participation in a democratic society. But if they were rude or insisted (they don't dare, usually, or waste their time on obvious opponents) then I'd feel the same about that as well.

---

I used to work as a market researcher, and one of the things we did was political surveys on behalf of various parties, usually by phone. These weren't attmepts to involve people in the political process, because we weren't encouraging them to vote, just trying to find out what they thought about various issues and/or who they were planning to vote for, in order for the parties to run their campigns more effectively. I'm pretty sure the NDP commissons polls like that as well.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sanitary Engineer:
How do you be polite, yet firm to these pests?

It was easier in older times. You just told them to beat it.

Nowadays, they bring THEIR CHILDREN with them, so I find it almost impossible to be as direct with them as I would wish. I don't want to embarass the kids, when I tell their parent to f--k off.

Any advice on how to deal with the JW salesmen/women who bring their children with them?

---

Ban her bleeding arse! That is harassment, and misuse of the Internet.

Guess they assign their brainwashed ranks to hounding people on internet forums. (Trying to be polite here, not for the sake of that "/$%?&*()+ but for fellow babblers)...

quote:

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Voice of the damned: no, I don't think such polling is harassment, although phone solicitiations, even when not selling a God or goods, can be really a pain in the chair end.

---

Yeah, we were never the most popular kids on the proverbial block, I can tell you that.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sanitary Engineer:
How do you be polite, yet firm to these pests?

It was easier in older times. You just told them to beat it.

Nowadays, they bring THEIR CHILDREN with them, so I find it almost impossible to be as direct with them as I would wish. I don't want to embarass the kids, when I tell their parent to f--k off.

Any advice on how to deal with the JW salesmen/women who bring their children with them?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sanitary Engineer:
How do you be polite, yet firm to these pests?

It was easier in older times. You just told them to beat it.

Nowadays, they bring THEIR CHILDREN with them, so I find it almost impossible to be as direct with them as I would wish. I don't want to embarass the kids, when I tell their parent to f--k off.

Any advice on how to deal with the JW salesmen/women who bring their children with them?

---

quote:

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Originally posted by lagatta:
The above is the person who harassed me TWICE by unwanted e-mail in response to a comment I had made on this thread back in May.

Ban her bleeding arse! That is harassment, and misuse of the Internet.

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Judging from your earlier post, I'd say its the person who sent a polite note objecting to your calling their religion "silly".

"What? You don't want to save money on your gas bill?"

"You mean you don't care if you burn in eternal anguish?"

"Wouldn't you like to help some underpriviledged children go to the circus?"

Instead they said, "Oh, what are you working on? Can we help?"

For just a fraction of a second I had a Tom Sawyer vision of giving them each a brush and setting them to work while I did something at the other end of the house... but I didn't. I just said, "Erm, no. I have to do this myself" and closed the door.

It's sort of become a family joke now. Recently I was trying to talk my son into painting my shed because I was having trouble finding the time to do it. He had a pretty full schedule, too, so he remarked, "You can never find a Mormon when you need one!"

[ 02 November 2005: Message edited by: Blondin ]

"Jehovah's Witnesses", they added, and I dropped my wallet and the blanket that was covering my nakedness. "oh", I said. Then my pug trotted over to where we were talking and they got distracted by his ugly cuteness, patting him and commenting on the weird snorting sounds coming out of his nose. They forgot about me, and started asking questions about the pug.

Edited to add
Or my personal favourite
Caesar si viveret, ad remum dareris.

[ 02 November 2005: Message edited by: Bacchus ]

quote:

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Originally posted by Bacchus:
Caesar si viveret, ad remum dareris.

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Jehovah's Witnesses are a classic high demand destructive cult.Jonestown without the kool-aid.

The WatchTower Corporation is a media publishing, real estate development, and convention sponsoring company and their literature all promotes the corporation and those goals.

I have Jehovah's Witnesses family in Naples Florida usa who practice the Watchtower JW enforced ritual shunning that i have not seen or heard from in 15 years.

Yes,you can 'check out anytime you want but you can never leave' they can and will hold your family hostage.
I am not the only one,the 'fraud in the name of God' Jehovah's Witnesses have defrauded MILLIONS of followers.

When the Watchtower corporate racket is held accountable for their misdeeds they scream religious 'persecution'.

To even vocally question the teachings of the Jehovah's Witness organization will result in complete cutting off, with family and friends usually being forbidden to talk to them.
The Watchtower is a truly ORWELLIAN world, in a time when Orwellian societies are nearly obsolete.

In his "Adams Versus God," Melbourne broadcaster Phillip Adams said in 1985 that, according to US studies, "Jehovah's Witnesses are more likely to be admitted to psychiatric hospitals than the general population".

"According to an article in the British Journal of Psychiatry," he said, "they are three times more likely to be diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia and four times more likely to be paranoid schizophrenics.

"As a writer in the American journal Free Inquiry puts it: 'Either the Jehovah's Witness sect tends to attract an excess of pre-psychotic individuals who may then break down, or else being a Jehovah's Witness is itself a stress that may precipitate psychosis. "'Possibly both of these factors operate together ...'"

Are they knocking at your door?

References:

www.freeminds.org
Watchtower information site

www.silentlambs.org
Child advocacy and news on many child abuse lawsuits against the Watchtower

Danny Haszard -expert witness on the Jehovah's Witness

I do wish they'd stop showing up, though.

[ 03 November 2005: Message edited by: Hinterland ]

when they knock and say

"Would you like to let Jesus into your home"

Say "Yes...but you can P*ss off"