"Once upon a morning dreary, while I slacked off weak and weary,Over many a TV show about history's forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some dude gently rapping, rapping at my house's door."
With all due respect to Mr. Edgar Allen Poe, I couldn't resist writing the above simply because I was able to see the Charleston Stage presentation of 'Nevermore' last night. It was absolutely glorious!!! It even had the screaching violin sound effects like they do in movies like 'The Exorcist'.
But, I digress. Indeed, there was a rapping on my front door this morning. I opened it to find a gentlemen dressed to the hilt (in a rather shocking electric-blue dress shirt and black tie). He said that he was delivering a "public service message" to the neighborhood.
So, at this point, I'm thinking "Oh lord....please, oh please, dear god....don't let this guy be on some politician's payrool. I have no desire to deal with that quagmire at the moment." The guy hands me a little pamphlet face-down and then proceeds to walk away (a tad more hastily than one would think).
I turned over the pamphlet only to find, to my greatest horror, that it was entitled "The End Is Near For False Religions".
I then let out a sigh and found myself thinking...."Why couldn't it have just been a politician."
So....before the gentleman had a chance to exit my property, I promptly call him back and ask him to take his pamphlet with him with the polite understanding that I wasn't interested. He thanked me for my time and wished me a good day. I wasn't trying to be rude by returning the material, but I wanted to negatively reinforce this guy's assumption that people don't mind propoganda visits at their residence.
Have you ever noticed how propoganda artists and solicitors almost ALWAYS try on the weekends? Granted...it wasn't that early in the morning, but I do recall many occasions where I'll get the 8am call from some dumb company wanting to sell me something on a Saturday morning. I mean....after getting up at 6am ever work day, why would I POSSIBLY want to sleep in on the weekends?!?!
But, again, I digress. As always, I respect this guy his right to his beliefs. I also respect his right to buy space on a billboard or a TV commercial. Is there a reason that it HAS to be a personal visitation? It's almost as if they don't want to GIVE you the chance to ignore the billboard or fast-forward your Tivo through the TV commercial. I get the distinct impression that "Our message will be delivered whether you like it or not!"
Sigh.
I wonder how large of an army their group had out there scouring the neighborhoods this morning. Who knows...they might be in YOUR neighborhood as we speak! Lock your doors and keep both eyes on your kids at all times! They're coming!!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAH!!!!
Update: I went out to check the mail the same day and found a flier attached to my door from some guy who wants to be mayor. Ugh!
6 comments:
I would use the words "propaganda artists" and "solicitors" to talk about people who waste your time trying to talk to you about whatever they are handing out. This guy didn't seem too bad as he just gave you some paper and left. I think you need to give people like that a break.
I can definately see your point. But, at the same time, I would consider it wasted time to have to get up and answer the door to entertain this guy's introduction. What if I was in bed or in the bathroom taking care of some business? That would have been a tad more than just a minor inconvenience for something that I wouldn't want to answer the door for anyway.
When people leave fliers on the windshield of my car, I consider that to be somewhat analogous. They just put the flier on my windshield...they didn't actually spend any time talking to me. But, at the same time, I now have a piece of litter on my car that it is now my responsibility to deal with.
I give these people as much of a break as I think I should give them. I didn't yell at this guy...I didn't chastise him...I simply asked him to take his material back and was very polite about it. It would have been a much different experience had I voiced my opinions to this gentleman. So, when you say that "I need to give people like that a break", I simply answer that by saying "I am".
During my sophomore and junior years at college, my roommates and I lived in a house on campus. One fine Saturday morning, there was a knock on the door. Too tired to get up me and another roommate of mine just ignored it and agreed they would come back later. We heard the door open, someone walking around and then the door shut again. One of our other roommates must have left the door unlocked. About an hour later, I get up and walk into the other room. On everyone's desk is a pamphlet similar to your "The End..." pamphlet. There was some in the kitchen too. That is some scary shit.
Yep. Like I said....you WILL listen to their message whether YOU like it or not. :)
I still think you need to go easy on these guys - they obviously have strong beliefs and are just trying to share their point of view...much like you are trying to do on this blog. They have pamphlets, you have the web. You don't have to read their stuff, just like they don't have to read yours if they don't want to. Since when is it a big deal to just take a piece of paper, close the door, and throw it away? What you do with it is your business, but by handing it back to the guy you are telling him that what he believes isn't important and it is a waste of time. How would you feel if someone said that to you when you were talking about or introducing someone to something that you are truly passionate about?!? Just becuase you don't understand or agree with it doesn't mean you get to insult someone. Next time, just take the paper and close the door. Burn it for all I care. Just let the poor guy believe he just might make a difference to one person - even if that person isn't you.
Please don't get me wrong...I can definately see where you're coming from. And I definately agree that he is simply expressing his views as I am doing on this blog. However, that's where the similarities end.
He BROUGHT his views to me. I never TOOK my blog to him (as example). The valid analogy to my blog would be to GO to his place of worship and make inquiries. So no...they are not the same. People don't HAVE to go to my blog at all. It's purely voluntary whether they go there or not. It most certainly was NOT voluntary having that dude show up on my front doorstep handing me his material.
The gentleman, like anyone else, is definately free to voice his opinion. However, I would condone his use of passive methods (such as my blog) over active ones (seeking people out and distributing material). What he did is the exact equivalent of spam. Can you honestly tell me that you endorse spam? If so, please send me your e-mail address and I'll make sure that you get e-mailed some wonderful material from a bunch of people who just "want you to hear their opinions".
As I mentioned before, I can definately understand your turn-the-other-cheek attitude. It is a very important component of the golden rule. HOWEVER.....
I wasn't just denying his material....I was trying to affect change. If he handed it to me and I gingerly thanked him and closed the door and threw it away, it would be a positive reinforcement for his methods. He would think that I didn't mind. Personally, I really wish that more people WOULDN'T turn the other cheek in such situations. Maybe these folks would get the idea that lots of people just don't like it and would in turn re-think their approach. It's kinda like voting in America. It's one single vote that doesn't matter at all by itself, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to vote. I'm simply trying to affect change in a courteous way. Anybody who knows me knows that I can be abrasive if I want to be. I extended this man every courtesy he deserved and thanked him for his time with a genuine smile on my face. If his sensibilities are too fragile to survive an encounter like that, then he obviously missed a huge phase of the maturation process (and, likewise, one has to wonder how he made it through high school).
For example...say you're in a movie theater. The lady behind you is talking obnoxiously. She's just going to go right on thinking that nobody minds that she's talking in the middle of a movie that everyone paid good money to see unless someone informs her. I'd like to see someone just turn the other cheek during THAT movie. :)
A guy lights up in the non-smoking section of a restaurant. For whatever reason, the staff doesn't notice it. That dude's going to go right on thinking that he's good-to-go unless someone tells him that he needs to put his cigarette out. If you're a non-smoker and you're in the seat next to him...would YOU turn the other cheek?
Please don't get me wrong. I value your opionion. I'm not telling you that you're wrong. I'm simply telling you that I respectfully disagree with your view. Doesn't mean that I'm right...doesn't mean that you're right either. It's all good. Besides...if you end up being right by some cosmic and unseen law, then you can laugh at me from above while I'm burning in the pits of hades. :)
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