can't fault them for trying...

[brightlotusmoon]

Last night around eight or so, we got a knock on the door. Two young children, with an older man, stood there holding fliers. The younger child, probably no more than eight, started reading haltingly from the flier, about a community meeting taking place on Thursday to talk about "how sex before marriage is wrong and what you can do to stop people from having sex before marriage." During the speech, the man turned around and walked out the gate, leaving the little boys to stand there looking lost and worried. I was biting my cheek. I smiled politely, held out my hand, and said kindly, "Well, I don't agree with your beliefs, but I will take a flier." (just to show them the effort wasn't totally wasted). They left immediately, in a hurry, with no outward expression showing what they thought about my comment. After I shut the door, I crumpled up the flier and threw it in the trash. I was shaking my head and sighing.
I really don't believe that it's a good idea for people with a message to use children to spread a religious or moral opinion to the masses. I feel it's like cowardice -- and I'm sure this wasn't the only time an adult ushered kids up to a stranger's door and then turned and walked away to let the kids do it themselves. But I guess they think people will be less insulting and scathing to kids or something...

Either way, I told Danny about it and he was still giggling an hour later. I'm glad he wasn't the one who opened the door. Danny's list of premarital sex escapades is, shall we say, quite long. I'm not sure he would have been so polite.

Comments

[ncalrod.livejournal.com]

" I feel it's like cowardice -- "

It is cowardly. Its also blatantly manipulative which irritates me almost as much as the message. Its pretty clear that the adult in question thought it would be harder to say no to a cute kid than to a self righteous holier than thou such as him self.

I think I fall on the same side of the fence as your friend. I really doubt I would have been as polite. Of course I'm often impolite to people I don't care for but that's just me.

[greenwillow27.livejournal.com]

Depending on the age of the children, that borders on child sexual abuse-- exposing children to adult issues they can't understand and may be frightened by.

I had a similar incident happen with two little kids at my door and the cowardly mother in the car idling in my driveway. I wanted to chase after her and explain how that was child endangerment cuz if I had been some kind of a perv there's no way she could have prevented her kids from being snatched, but instead I ranted about it in lj. =op

[brightlotusmoon.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I got a very creeped-out feeling. The kids were younger than ten, both boys, and the man must have been around seventy. I wanted to call him to come back and watch the damn kids. It was late at night, in very cold weather (the kids were wearing faux-fur lined coats with hoods), and for gods' sakes, these kids were not only very young, but their English wasn't that great (this is a very Hispanic commmunity).
There are four churches in the immediate area. One of them, Covenant Life, is truly massive and needs two or three parking lots. I think the kids are members. And if they were going around talking about sex and marriage, where the hell were the parents? The man was obviously not the father, or related, because he told me, "These boys have something to talk to you about." And then he just walked away. Seriously. I almost wanted to call the authorities. Now that I really think about it, the angrier I get.
What bothers me more so is that these boys probably have no clue what sex is about, and the adults around them are obviously forcing a rigid belief down their throats, instead of letting them decide for themselves. They probably won't even have girlfriends for another six years!

[morningstar4.livejournal.com]

I was going to point out GW's recent experience, but she's already done that. ;) I think it's wrong to use children for that too. They're not old enough to have formed their own beliefs and opinions on serious topics like that, let alone to even know what sex is all about. It's a very cowardly thing to do. If you believe that strongly in something that you'll go door to door with it, then be a man (or woman) and stand up for those issues yourself--don't get your kids to do it for you.

[brightlotusmoon.livejournal.com]

Exactly. I didn't care about what they believed and wanted me to believe or assumed what believed), I cared that the guy was using the kids and hiding behind them to make his point. Gah. People like that make me less idealistic about humanity.

[thiswaste.livejournal.com]

silly gimmicks. I really hate them.

[brightlotusmoon.livejournal.com]

Especially when they involve innocent children. Fucking idiot people.

It can destroy a childs spiritual growth

[rainbowatdawn.livejournal.com]

Michael had a step-father who all the sudden turned Jehovah Witness, Michael was forced to go to meetings. He was also forced to go door to door with his step father to pass out material. When Michael at 12 called his step father out on all the inconsistencies of his fathers faith his step- father basically said "I don't care what you think only what the people at the church think". These experiences have scarred Michael for life, he has no spiritual direction and believes in very little. The small amount of spirituality he has developed has been from my gentle words of the peace and beauty that comes from my beliefs.

I on the other hand was raised in a very Christian home. But NO hell fire or damnation. My Mom read from "Beautiful Bible Stories" everynight. I LOVED going to church. I LOVED Jesus, still do. Because he was always explained as my friend that I could talk to if I had problems, never that he was going to judge me. I am not even a Christian now in the traditional sense. But my parents respect my beliefs because they know I am on a path of light not darkness.

It makes me so sad to hear these experiences. I also think that the parent that came to your door probably really beleived he was doing the right thing. *sigh*

Re: It can destroy a childs spiritual growth

[brightlotusmoon.livejournal.com]

I wish I had been introduced to Jesus that way. It would have alleviated my feelings of bitterness toward Christianity later on...
One of my favorite books as a child was Judy Blume's "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret." The young girl who had her own personal, non-religious relationship with the entity she called God was so touching. It was a good friendship.

The scary thing about last night was I don't think that man was the kids' parents. I had an intuition that he was a member of the church.

Re: It can destroy a childs spiritual growth

[rainbowatdawn.livejournal.com]

I read that book as a pre-teen too and loved it.

I hear so many horror stories about people growing up with tyrany guiding their spiritual life. I feel so sad for them. My parents where "hippies" hard working hippies. My father is a Metalurigist for the govt. my mother a nurse, but they always taught me No ONE has it right. I loved Jesus as an old relative who was wise. People who do not know me think I am a Christian because I have pictures of Jesus around the house. If they only knew it is like having a picture of my great great .... grandfather who's face soothes me on the wall.

That poor child who came to your house, and we wonder why we war in the name of God.

[sidheblessed.livejournal.com]

I'm quite appalled that they'd exploit children like that. Poor kids.