What Would You Do?

[Guest Tristan]

Suppose there is a middle-age woman, who never married or had kids. Due to disability she cannot get out to meet men, and is often tired and in pain so she doesn't really like a lot of company anyway. She lives a normally relaxed and quiet life, taking joy in simple hobbies.

 

One spring day near Easter she is out in a small area that is a tiny flower bed at her apartment. She is planting seeds, taking a break and just stopping to enjoy the sound of birds singing, the warmth of the spring air, and the hope that the seeds will make flowers as the summer approaches. She sees her neighbor come in and a cheerful hello is exchanged. An elderly woman comes up the walkway to her building and she immediately jumps up, wincing slightly in pain from her condition but then immediately has a smile as she greets the lady. "Hi! How are you doing today? Hey, let me help you with those bags." She offers "Oh no... that's ok. I got it." The kindly lady says. So instead she opens the door for her neighbor. Her neighbor stops and talks awhile, as usual. Then she helps her carry the groceries up the flight of stairs, taking her time as well as her neighbor takes her time too. They talk some more. Afterwards the woman comes back downstairs to plant more seeds. She's happy. She is absorbed in her happy work when two men approach her. "Excuse me, Miss?" She looks up and sees two well-dressed men in black suits and white ties staring down at her. She sees they have Bibles in their hands. She asks "What?"

 

One of the Men: "We would like to talk to you about Jesus."

 

Woman: "Uh. No thanks. I already have my beliefs."

 

One of the Men: "Oh? and what would that be?"

 

Woman (now going back to her seeding and hoping to ignore them, but they stay anyway): "None of your business. I would like it if you would please leave me alone."

 

(She hears them start to chuckle.)

 

One of the Men: "Well, God sent me to you because He knows you need help. We have a tract for you to read. It's a message from God."

 

(The man bends down and throws the tract right in front of her. She sees it's about hell and asks if she'd going to burn in hell.)

 

Woman: "That was rude."

 

One of the Men: "There is nothing rude about the word of God. You might not like it but it's for your own good."

 

Woman (She looks up at them from the ground.) "I believe I told you to leave. And take this with you, I'm not interested."

 

(She tries to hand the tract back.)

 

One of the Men: "We can't take it back. That is for you to read."

 

Woman: "Well, I'm not going to read it. I'm throwing it out."

 

(She puts it in with a pile of dead leaves and stuff for the garbage.)

 

One of the Men: "Then if you don't want to read it, won't you at least give it to your husband to read?"

 

Woman: "I'm not married"

 

One of the Men: "Oh, I'm so sorry."

 

Woman: "I'm not."

 

One of the Men: "Well, you should be, if you divorced. It's against God."

 

Woman: "I never married nor had kids."

 

One of the Men: "You NEED to find a man and marry because it's God's will that you submit yourself to a man."

 

Woman: "Now you listen here, I cannot marry because I am too ill to even go out and date to find someone. And I'm a FREE American! I do not have to obey or submit to anyone!"

 

One of the Men: "You are talking the words of Satan! You are Satan! SATAN! GO AWAY! BEGONE!"

 

Woman: "YOU GO AWAY OR I'LL CALL THE COPS!"

 

(She tries to get up and stumbles.)

 

One of the Men: "You stay down! You submit to God!"

 

(The woman then grabs her cell phone and calls 911. The men start to laugh thinking she's fooling at first but gives her name and address and says that two men are towering over her, telling her to remain on the ground seated and telling her she needs to submit to men. The men start to laugh and then start to leave. As they leave one says "You will not win, Satan! God prevails" but when she asks the 911 operator if they heard it, they said no and that an officer would be on the way.)

 

She manages to get up and throw out the garbage but decides to keep the tract to show the officer.

 

After a lot of waiting in the shade of a tree, the officer arrives. "Can I help you ma'am?"

 

The woman winces a bit as she gets up but this time more from being called "ma'am" than from the pain.

 

Woman: "Two men approached me about religion. I told them no thanks and I wasn't interested. They kept on and one man threw this literally in front of my face."

 

She hands the tract to the officer and he takes it looks at it and looks on the back.

 

Cop: "Well, ma'am. There's nothing illegal about that. They have a right to free speech."

 

Woman: "Then the man said to give it to my husband. I told him I never married or had kids and he said I have to marry as it's God's law that I submit to a man. When I told him again to leave he started calling me 'Satan' and yelling at me. I went to get up and stumbled and the man told me to stay down and submit to God. That's when I called you. They wouldn't leave until I was giving the information on the phone to 911. They were harassing me. They were right over me."

 

Cop: "Well, ma'am, there's nothing illegal here. They have a right to speak freely."

 

Woman: "This is my home. They haven't any right to talk that way to..."

 

But she never finished the sentence, though she did try to say she has a right to peace and they were told to leave and didn't. But the officer just talked right over her...

 

Cop: "Ma'am? ma'am? ma'am? ma'am? ma'am? ma'am?"....

 

She had no choice but to stop, defeated and humiliated.

 

Cop: "You have to realize that they have a right to speak their mind, just like anyone else."

 

Woman: "But they can't harass people..."

 

Cop: "How were they harassing you, ma'am?" (The officer's voice is starting to sound annoyed.)

 

Woman: "Isn't staying after being told to leave trespassing?"

 

Cop: "This is an apartment complex and people come and go a lot. That would be up to the complex manager."

 

Woman: "What about telling someone to stay down when they try to get up? And not leaving when..."

 

Cop: "Ma'am? ma'am? ma'am? I can't help you ok? They didn't do anything wrong."

 

He hands the tract back to her and she has to take it back.

 

Woman: "There's something wrong here. Harassment and trespassing ARE against the law! And I have a right to not have religion forced down my throat!"

 

Cop: "Ma'am? Are you on any medication?"

 

Woman: "NO!"

 

Cop: "Well, ma'am, I'm sorry I can't help you but I suggest you seek some councelling. ok?"

 

Woman: "Now wait a minute. I am not..."

 

Cop: "Ma'am? ma'am? ma'am? I can't help you, ok?"

 

The cop just walks away leaving the woman humiliated, defeated. She goes to the complex management and all they tell her is to "be rude back" to the religious people if they bother her, but they can't do anything about it.

 

She looked on the back of the tract and there weren't any addresses or phone #s.

 

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*** DISCLAIMER *** This is a ficticious story that has some elements of real-life situations combined along with some ficticious ones, but the idea is basically the same as a real-life situation: A woman is bothered by very rude and overbearing religious people that eventually get really nasty with her. And those in authority of one type or another do not help.

 

Ok, now what would you do if you were the woman? What would be the next step?

[Guest Tristan]

In the above story - supposed to be black suits and white shirts (not ties). I couldn't find where to edit the post.

[Jack]

Hmm, I don't know what I would do. I can imagine feeling so powerless and unprotected. I expect I'd gather myself and meet them next time with counter-arguments, maybe try to take the upper hand, or give it to them to throw them off, admit that I'm a sinner, I need God in my life, etc., then come out with something about how I don't give a flying fuck. It would depend on my mood, really. In any case I'd end up either arguing or screwing around with them.

 

[You can't edit until, I think 25 posts? Something around there.]

[Deva]

If it were me, it would not get beyond this point:

 

One of the Men: "We would like to talk to you about Jesus."

 

Woman: "Uh. No thanks. I already have my beliefs."

 

Except I would not say "I already have my beliefs." It would only be "I am not interested".

 

Then, if they kept on after that, its "I am not interested" If they still kept on after that, its "I am not interested, please leave my yard." I am not interested, please leave." and repeat to whatever they ask, however many times it takes. Its the broken record technique.

 

There is no conversation beyond that point. That was the mistake the hypothetical disabled woman made. Under no circumstances would I say I had beliefs, or discuss them.

 

Actually, just today I saw two Jehovah's Witnesses in the parking lot of the grocery store shopping center. I ought to have reported them to management, but I had my groceries loaded into the car and was backing out. Still, I wonder if anything would have been done.

[PocketAces]

Suppose there is a middle-age woman, who never married or had kids. Due to disability she cannot get out to meet men, and is often tired and in pain so she doesn't really like a lot of company anyway. She lives a normally relaxed and quiet life, taking joy in simple hobbies.

 

One spring day near Easter she is out in a small area that is a tiny flower bed at her apartment. She is planting seeds, taking a break and just stopping to enjoy the sound of birds singing, the warmth of the spring air, and the hope that the seeds will make flowers as the summer approaches. She sees her neighbor come in and a cheerful hello is exchanged. An elderly woman comes up the walkway to her building and she immediately jumps up, wincing slightly in pain from her condition but then immediately has a smile as she greets the lady. "Hi! How are you doing today? Hey, let me help you with those bags." She offers "Oh no... that's ok. I got it." The kindly lady says. So instead she opens the door for her neighbor. Her neighbor stops and talks awhile, as usual. Then she helps her carry the groceries up the flight of stairs, taking her time as well as her neighbor takes her time too. They talk some more. Afterwards the woman comes back downstairs to plant more seeds. She's happy. She is absorbed in her happy work when two men approach her. "Excuse me, Miss?" She looks up and sees two well-dressed men in black suits and white ties staring down at her. She sees they have Bibles in their hands. She asks "What?"

 

One of the Men: "We would like to talk to you about Jesus."

 

Woman: "Uh. No thanks. I already have my beliefs."

 

One of the Men: "Oh? and what would that be?"

 

Woman (now going back to her seeding and hoping to ignore them, but they stay anyway): "None of your business. I would like it if you would please leave me alone."

 

(She hears them start to chuckle.)

 

One of the Men: "Well, God sent me to you because He knows you need help. We have a tract for you to read. It's a message from God."

 

(The man bends down and throws the tract right in front of her. She sees it's about hell and asks if she'd going to burn in hell.)

 

Woman: "That was rude."

 

One of the Men: "There is nothing rude about the word of God. You might not like it but it's for your own good."

 

Woman (She looks up at them from the ground.) "I believe I told you to leave. And take this with you, I'm not interested."

 

(She tries to hand the tract back.)

 

One of the Men: "We can't take it back. That is for you to read."

 

Woman: "Well, I'm not going to read it. I'm throwing it out."

 

(She puts it in with a pile of dead leaves and stuff for the garbage.)

 

One of the Men: "Then if you don't want to read it, won't you at least give it to your husband to read?"

 

Woman: "I'm not married"

 

One of the Men: "Oh, I'm so sorry."

 

Woman: "I'm not."

 

One of the Men: "Well, you should be, if you divorced. It's against God."

 

Woman: "I never married nor had kids."

 

One of the Men: "You NEED to find a man and marry because it's God's will that you submit yourself to a man."

 

Woman: "Now you listen here, I cannot marry because I am too ill to even go out and date to find someone. And I'm a FREE American! I do not have to obey or submit to anyone!"

 

One of the Men: "You are talking the words of Satan! You are Satan! SATAN! GO AWAY! BEGONE!"

 

Woman: "YOU GO AWAY OR I'LL CALL THE COPS!"

 

(She tries to get up and stumbles.)

 

One of the Men: "You stay down! You submit to God!"

 

(The woman then grabs her cell phone and calls 911. The men start to laugh thinking she's fooling at first but gives her name and address and says that two men are towering over her, telling her to remain on the ground seated and telling her she needs to submit to men. The men start to laugh and then start to leave. As they leave one says "You will not win, Satan! God prevails" but when she asks the 911 operator if they heard it, they said no and that an officer would be on the way.)

 

She manages to get up and throw out the garbage but decides to keep the tract to show the officer.

 

After a lot of waiting in the shade of a tree, the officer arrives. "Can I help you ma'am?"

 

The woman winces a bit as she gets up but this time more from being called "ma'am" than from the pain.

 

Woman: "Two men approached me about religion. I told them no thanks and I wasn't interested. They kept on and one man threw this literally in front of my face."

 

She hands the tract to the officer and he takes it looks at it and looks on the back.

 

Cop: "Well, ma'am. There's nothing illegal about that. They have a right to free speech."

 

Woman: "Then the man said to give it to my husband. I told him I never married or had kids and he said I have to marry as it's God's law that I submit to a man. When I told him again to leave he started calling me 'Satan' and yelling at me. I went to get up and stumbled and the man told me to stay down and submit to God. That's when I called you. They wouldn't leave until I was giving the information on the phone to 911. They were harassing me. They were right over me."

 

Cop: "Well, ma'am, there's nothing illegal here. They have a right to speak freely."

 

Woman: "This is my home. They haven't any right to talk that way to..."

 

But she never finished the sentence, though she did try to say she has a right to peace and they were told to leave and didn't. But the officer just talked right over her...

 

Cop: "Ma'am? ma'am? ma'am? ma'am? ma'am? ma'am?"....

 

She had no choice but to stop, defeated and humiliated.

 

Cop: "You have to realize that they have a right to speak their mind, just like anyone else."

 

Woman: "But they can't harass people..."

 

Cop: "How were they harassing you, ma'am?" (The officer's voice is starting to sound annoyed.)

 

Woman: "Isn't staying after being told to leave trespassing?"

 

Cop: "This is an apartment complex and people come and go a lot. That would be up to the complex manager."

 

Woman: "What about telling someone to stay down when they try to get up? And not leaving when..."

 

Cop: "Ma'am? ma'am? ma'am? I can't help you ok? They didn't do anything wrong."

 

He hands the tract back to her and she has to take it back.

 

Woman: "There's something wrong here. Harassment and trespassing ARE against the law! And I have a right to not have religion forced down my throat!"

 

Cop: "Ma'am? Are you on any medication?"

 

Woman: "NO!"

 

Cop: "Well, ma'am, I'm sorry I can't help you but I suggest you seek some councelling. ok?"

 

Woman: "Now wait a minute. I am not..."

 

Cop: "Ma'am? ma'am? ma'am? I can't help you, ok?"

 

The cop just walks away leaving the woman humiliated, defeated. She goes to the complex management and all they tell her is to "be rude back" to the religious people if they bother her, but they can't do anything about it.

 

She looked on the back of the tract and there weren't any addresses or phone #s.

 

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

 

*** DISCLAIMER *** This is a ficticious story that has some elements of real-life situations combined along with some ficticious ones, but the idea is basically the same as a real-life situation: A woman is bothered by very rude and overbearing religious people that eventually get really nasty with her. And those in authority of one type or another do not help.

 

Ok, now what would you do if you were the woman? What would be the next step?

 

go and take joy in simple hobbies as i always did before.

i've got more to worry about in life than the black suited guy with the bible shoving his view of religion on me, and the cop who couldn't do anything legally. life is what it is.

[par4dcourse]

I'd show 'em what demonic possession really looked like. A cane upside the head and all the profanity I could muster, handfuls of dirt, flyer would have been in pieces from the start. Two walking dildoes are no matched for a pissed off old atheist.

[Guest Tristan]

LOL! You guys are cool!

 

I'm with par4dcourse. Knowing me, I would have been in jail because I would have punched them BOTH in the mouth! LOL!

 

It interested me though because I do have a chronic illness. I can walk though and I get tired easily. Reminded me of the time I went for a walk and two stupid women came along and oh boy they thought I was 'nice'. It was like I was picking up some stray branches and leaves and putting them aside for my neighbor who used to live there and had problems walking. So this dumb lady says "Do you work here or are you just being nice?" Just by the airheadedness I could tell. Well, they kept at it and I thought I'd screw with them a bit. Then I found they were JW. Then they kept trying to get at me as they found where I lived (following me in the house and all that). So last I heard from them was I yelled I wasn't interested and they had better leave. They yelled something back nasty at me and we never heard from them again. LOL!

 

I've had cops go off on me like that for reasons other than religion (like being harassed by a complex manager which gladly I no longer live at that complex).

 

So it was a combination of things in a story.

 

Yeah, I do some gardening.

 

But yeah, not talking to them in the first place beyond "no interest" is nice. I just hate though when they leave their satanic tracts on my doorstep denouncing I'm going to hell. But Thinker is right - there's more important things in life than idiots. Though we have to be careful of those in power, of course.

 

I'll be interested in other comments/ideas as well on this. So keep them coming.

 

I'm not exactly an athiest, but I don't believe in the things Christians do nor do I believe in an organized religion. If I did it'd probably be more Unitarian Universalist if it's anything at all. And then I don't think it's that because I don't believe in some of their ideas anyway! And I don't think the Bible is really all that true. Just some men got together and wrote books to scare the masses into submission. Nice try. Didn't work on some of us, thankfully!

 

I should I guess state my own beliefs but I'll save it for another thread.

[Neon Genesis]

If it was just a one time thing, I would just go back to my hobbies as usual. If they kept coming back to threaten you with hellfire and wouldn't leave no matter how many times you told them to stop harassing them, couldn't you possibly have them placed on a restraining order? If I couldn't do that and I had the ability to, I would organize my own protesters and join up with the No On Prop 8 campaign to protest at the Mormon headquarters in Utah. It pisses me off that Mormons will go around proselytizing on other people's private property, but when people go to protest in front of their church's headquarters, suddenly people are acting "violent."

[OpheliaGinger]

This scenario sound like it would be me in the future except I would be sewing instead of gardening. If they refuse to leave the first time around, then I will give them something to stay for: pretend I am possessed, but instead of your normal shouting possession I will be extra violent (think Emily Rose).

[Amethyst]

I'd pretend to be deaf or speak a foreign language.