Tormenting Jehovah's Witnesses.

[Racket_Man]

while the JW's going door to door is annoying I have to say the following:

every year at the end of May for 3 or 4 days the JW's hold their regional convention/get together here in my town at the local big indoor arena. they fill up all 25 hotels in my delivery area. in this context they tend to be the nicest and most generous (tip wise) convention type group. they are polite to a fault, very geniune in their thanks, and are generally happy to see me (as a delivery driver) and do not try the usual JW door-to-door "preaching" thing while in town.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I once had a Jesus Army representative come up to me in town and start lecturing me, apparantly out of thin air. I tried to be polite at first, saying I wasn't interested and I had to be somewhere else, but he wouldn't listen and just talked over me. Eventually, I was forced to tell him to fuck off and leave me alone, which he did.

Afterwards, sitting on a bench smoking a calming cigarette, it occurred to me why the guy had approached me in the first place; I was wearing a "Vote Satan" Marilyn Manson t-shirt. XXD

[Gravekeeper]

This argument can be applied to so many other situations. This can be applied by people against having a Pride Parade in their neighborhood, regardless if it's race, gender, or sexuality based. This first part of this argument can be applied to justify SCs because people choose to work retail or in food service.

No, it can't. Because none of the people you describe are knocking on my door at 7am on a Sunday morning. In order to make it apply, you must twist my argument or unfairly and selectively pick words out of it that fit your point. So no, my argument cannot be applied in the manner you suggest. Please don't do that.

We have to defend a person's right to purposely flaunt their sexuality in front of people that may or may not be offended, but if they flaunt their religion it's OK to grab the pitchforks and torches.

Religion = Choice, Sexuality = Not A Choice. Huge difference. Also, gay people aren't trying to convert you or knocking on your door at 7am with pamphlets. =p

We need to be nice to the people that work in retail or food service, even if they screw up our order, but it's OK to be nasty to collections and telemarketers because they chose that job. They knew what they were getting into.

You're really missing the "invading home space" part of this. A retail or food service worker isn't banging on your door or calling you in the middle of dinner. Intiating contact with a retail or food service worker is your choice.

People get upset when you force yourself into their home, one way or another. They get upset when you confront them about superfluous things without giving them a choice at a time and place they do not want to hear such things.

Just be civil and treat them as a fellow human. If they're pushy, be angry with that individual for being pushy. Not the position or the organization.

It's the organization that's mandating the action. So yes, I will be upset with the organization. If not more upset with the organization than the individual. In the case of a telemarketer, I would totally be upset with the organization. The individual is just trying to do a job.

That said, the individual should be aware of what they're doing and fully expect a backlash. Does it suck? Yes, but it comes with the job. That said I don't yell at them or anything, I simply hang up. Saves us both time.

[daleduke17]

A work collegue gave me a tip to stop JWs coming to your door; just put an "I give blood" sticker on the door or in the window. Problem solved.

Really? I never knew that stopped the JW. Another good one (in this area) is to tell them you're a Missouri Synod Lutheran. They will stop dead in their tracks most times.

[smileyeagle1021]

This can be applied by people against having a Pride Parade in their neighborhood, .

What Pride parades have you been too?
That is a serious question... where have you been that it is in anyone's neighborhood that would object.
Every pride festival I have been to or heard of is either held in a community known for being accepting (think the Castro District) or in a commerical district on a day that isn't likely to have much commerce anyway (we hold ours in Salt Lake in the financial district on Sunday morning... the odds of anyone having to be there are slim).
These events are also advertised in advance, so worst case scenario, you can plan to avoid them.

Religious missionaries knocking on my door do so in a place that I can't truly avoid and have no warning of their eventual presense to avoid (not that I should have to on my own property).
It's something I've told to my future uncle in law, until my fiance and I start knocking on people's doors convincing them the benefit of becoming gay, him and his church (Mormon) have no business in saying we our shoving our lifestyles down their throats.

Now, back to the original topic.
If a polite no, not interested is all it takes to get rid of them, then I am nothing but policte... however, the moment that isn't enough, the politeness ends. If you have come to my door asking for permission to enter or to talk, then it is my decision whether or not to allow it and once I've made it, there is no changing it and the more you try the more blunt and less polite I will be in informing you of the decision.

Mormon missionaries though I have no sympathy for. We have contacted the local mission and asked them to not knock on our door, the local mission president has said that he will inform missionaries to not knock on our door... if they still knock on our door after that, aint my problem that they didn't listen to a reasonable request.

[BlaqueKatt]

It's something I've told to my future uncle in law, until my fiance and I start knocking on people's doors convincing them the benefit of becoming gay, him and his church (Mormon) have no business in saying we our shoving our lifestyles down their throats.

is it wrong that I would probably pay to see that?

[AdminAssistant]

I won't be rude, but I will politely and firmly tell them that I'm not interested. If you don't like something that your church makes you do, don't be a part of that church. Not my problem.

[fireheart17]

I do, however, feel sorry for their children. I've had friends who were JW growing up and some of them force you to do this as a child. Go door to door that is. You have to put in x amount of "missionary" work. Even if you've just barely entered high school. The shame and embarrassment of it was brutal for them. If it was a friend or classmate that showed up at my door back then I would let them in to chat a while. But it wouldn't be about JW. It'd be just to let them have a break and hide from their elders so to speak so they could pretend they were putting in their time with the embarrassment/ridicule factor.

Oy oy oy. I have to wonder if there's labor laws for that sort of thing?

I really truly don't understand why anyone ever joins this so called religion. I don't see anything good about it....it's all just one big pain in the ass after another, and really what do they get out of trying to convert everyone on the planet?

They remind me of a cult in some aspects.

A work collegue gave me a tip to stop JWs coming to your door; just put an "I give blood" sticker on the door or in the window. Problem solved.

Really? I never knew that stopped the JW. Another good one (in this area) is to tell them you're a Missouri Synod Lutheran. They will stop dead in their tracks most times.

Short version is that JW's consider blood transfusion to be "ingesting blood" which apparaently the Bible says is a no-no. If you give blood, it can be seen as you helping someone to "ingest" the blood.

With any door-to-door folk, unless it's a child who's selling stuff for school trips, then I end up not answering the door. They might occasionally be able to SEE me, but that's it.

[Stormraven]

I'm in the 'polite, but disinterested' group. I don't mess with anyone as long as they take 'no' for an answer, and I even give them two or three 'no's before escalating. Not that I've ever had to escalate it. Usually, the second 'no' does the trick if the first didn't. Closing the door on them helps, too.

[gremcint]

I have one friend who used to live in an area where they'd visit regularly, and it got to the point where they'd actually trick people into answering the door by having a little kids knock and then come out when people answer. They apparently would try other tricks well to get people to answer.

[Evandril]

90% of the time, I'm polite to people coming door to door to preach to me...and it's very rare that a JW will fall into the other 10%, it's normally 'xtians'...And the one who decided to attack my son telling him he was going to hell and made him cry? Yeah, HIM I tore into, and never saw again

xtain = idiot who claims to be Christian, but doesn't have a clue about the religion they supplosedly worship, btw...In *my* definitions

[smileyeagle1021]

90% of the time, I'm polite to people coming door to door to preach to me...and it's very rare that a JW will fall into the other 10%, it's normally 'xtians'...And the one who decided to attack my son telling him he was going to hell and made him cry? Yeah, HIM I tore into, and never saw again

This is why Mormons are smart enough to stay away from my Mother's house... she does not give a fuck if they were at all involved in the church's crusade against gay rights, she will tell them quite squarely where they can shove there homophobic literature and what she'd like to do with their nuts if they ever ask her to betray her son by joining an anti-gay hate cult ever again, and that they have 5 seconds to leave her property (it's a 10 second sprint full out) before she reports their sorry asses for tresspassing and harrassment.

She is Scottish, you do not FUCK with a Scott's child, if one member of your clan does, then your entire clan is now their enemy of their entire clan.

Oh, and sister missionaries she just politely reminds that she has a vagina and doesn't wish to give up all her spiritual authority because of it.

[Mishi]

Smiley, your mum is awesome!

[aurelemsrealm]

This argument can be applied to so many other situations. This can be applied by people against having a Pride Parade in their neighborhood, regardless if it's race, gender, or sexuality based. This first part of this argument can be applied to justify SCs because people choose to work retail or in food service.

I agree with Gravekeeper. Invasiveness is the key difference. Retail and food service workers are not coming to our homes to try to pursuade us to buy their products, services, ideas, whatever the case may be. Telemarketers and door-to-door workers show up at often unexpected and undesired times, which is never a good idea if you're trying to make a positive first impression on anyone. People don't like feeling ambushed, especially when they are expected to make important decisions (buying decisions, personal beliefs, etc.).

As I mentioned in my own post previously, I don't treat them rudely as long as they are respectful of my space and privacy. If I have "No Trespassing" or "No Soliciting" signs posted on my property, they are violating my request by setting foot on my property, let along knocking on my door or approaching me if I'm outside. If I say not interested, it's time for them to leave, plain and simple. I don't owe them any explanations for wanting them to leave beyond the standard "I said so. That's why." I am reasonable enough to be polite so long as they respect my wishes. However, I have no obligation to be hospitable when I did not invite them to visit.

[Lace Neil Singer]

There's no way also that I'd invite a stranger into my home, whatever they're selling. Paranoid I may be, but it works for me.