How To Repel Mormons?

[Dan02]

You know every time I open the forum i read this thread as "How to repel Morons?"

Makes me laugh every time.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by krazycanuck

I tell telemarketers to put me on their no call list.

I tell them that but they still call anyway.

If it is such a hinderance to have religious groups put up a no soliciting/religious groups sign up on your door.

I shouldn't have to put a sign up. They know full well that people don't like them knocking on thier doors but they do it anyway. If people are rude to them then they have no one to blame but themselves.

If they ring your doorbell and tell you to go f*** yourself, then by all means tell them it back. They honestly believe what they are trying to tell you, they're not doing it to try and piss off as many people as possible. They're doing it, because they in their own wacky little way think they can help your life.

What they fail to realise is that they turn a lot of people off to their beliefs by going door to door. I believe in a Christian God but sure as hell don't go around trying to shove my beliefs down the throats of others. It would be a quick way to lose family and friends. If you're sincere in what you believe, show it by the way you live your life and how you treat others.

[Azure]

Come on Dion....you're a good guy.

I'm sure you have no problem with any other organization coming to your door....so I don't see why you just can't either say you're not interested, or just close the door.

[chris lindberg]

I found some of this stuff interesting, maybe I will debate it with them sometime?

http://www.exmormon.org/tract2.htm


2200 BC immigrants settled the uninhabited Americas, fought many wars, the survivors were degenerate unbelievers the ancestors of the American Indians, after his crucifixion Jesus Christ came to America, why is there no trace of their civilization they say lasted for a thousand years covering both North and South America, why no mention of the many civilizations which really did exist at that time in the Americas, the garden of Eden was in Missouri, all humanity before the Great Flood lived in the western hemisphere, dark skin is a curse from God...

[Azure]

^^^who claims that?

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Azure

Come on Dion....you're a good guy.

I'm sure you have no problem with any other organization coming to your door....so I don't see why you just can't either say you're not interested, or just close the door.

It's not that simple. I say to them that i don't believe in their faith and their coming by in the future would be a waste of their time.

Do they leave?

Nope. They want to know what it is about Mormonisn that i don't believe. So i tell them their belief is nothing more than a cult. Then i shut my door.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Dion

It's not that simple. I say to them that i don't believe in their faith and their coming by would be a waste of their time.

Do they leave?

Nope. They want to know what it is about Mormonisn that i don't believe. So i tell them their belief is nothing more than a cult. Then i shut my door.

Thats your problem.

A simple 'not interested'...close the door, and that way you don't even have to get worked up about it, or debate anything either.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Azure

Thats your problem.

A simple 'not interested'...close the door, and that way you don't even have to get worked up about it, or debate anything either.

I try to be polite to people that come to my door. They wanted an answer and they got it. They never came back after that.

[Reggie Dunlop]

I always give them an earful and reduce them to tears.

[4X4]

It's kinda funny when you think about the fact that these guys are spending their own time trying to do something nice for you (their perception, anyway). Yet not a one of us would tell off a girl scout selling cookies or a boy scout asking for bottles, both of whom are there for their own benefit.

I admit that I laughed pretty hard the time my cousin went berserk on some mormons that had the gall to door knock at 830 on a saturday morning. But after reading this thread, especially the posts from KrazyKanuck and the other defenders of civility, I tend to agree with them.

I remember having to do door to door stuff for fundraisers back in school. Nobody wants to knock on a stranger's door. The minute your knuckle makes contact, you're on pins and needles. Being denied is part of the gig. But getting chewed out really sucks.
I know it's not the same thing, but imagine going into an auto parts store to ask a couple of questions on how to fix your car and the guy berating you for being an idiot. It's not much different. It's totally un-called for.

I don't assume to know what these people are thinking after getting told to eff off, but I bet it's another drop in their bucket of belief in their ways. I wouldn't doubt that they figure that if the screamer was a mormon, he wouldn't be such a prick. So, theoretically, you're not helping your cause by going haywire.

[macker]

We haven't had these groups come knocking in our neighborhood for quite a few years now.....I guess they are still knocking.....I often thought that these people would be great sales people as they go door to door and take soo much rejection. I don't think the rejection fazes them. You may not like what they are selling but you have to admire their determination. I am sure these people could write very interesting books just on the different rejections they have endured. Lets just say I can understand why they go in groups of 2+....

[Reggie Dunlop]

I guess the difference is that Girl Guides don't infer that that you're going to hell (albeit in a really, nice, nice unobstrusive way). They're just hawking cookies. Same goes for the chocolate almond crowd.

I quite imagine a missionary being told off is water off their backs. Probably solidifies their beliefs of holding faith as a long, arduous road fraught with unpopularity. All the same, the heretofore unsolicited homeowner -- whose privacy has been breached -- has every right to be offended. It's all about the message, not the method.

[macker]

I am sure it is getting tougher and tougher for them in this do not disturb society. We can opt. out of junk mail, telephone solicitations, flyers to our door steps etc. In the years to come it will likely become illegal to go door to door in this manner unless you are invited onto the premises. But dont' worry we are still being sold ideas 24/7 just turn on the TV, computer, or take a drive down the street and count the signs. There is still something to be said for personal connection in this day and age but these groups should maybe think about the referral approach as it is getting to the point where it could be quite dangerous for them with people being so busy and ill prepared for unexpected interuptions. We will have to tell our grand kids about the good old days when people sold things door to door. As a tangent : how else are these groups going to get their message out there?

[Antithesis]

Originally Posted by onetwo_threefour

Organized religion is my one little sore spot. Faith doesn't disturb me, but dogma does.

They told is that the Mormons had seen them working on Friday afternoon, stopped and offered to help and came on Saturday and Sunday to finish, all for the price of some pizza and pop.

Ah, see, this wouldn't qualify in my mind as taking advantage of the guys - if it was something they offered, then they offered it. What I am talking about is the idea that they would say 'yes' if asked for help ... I don't see what's so cool about taking advantage of that. I mean, let's say that was one of your good friends - neglecting the "well, they wouldn't be, because ..." - how would you want them treated? Would you be angry at some guy telling them to "f*** off" for having the audacity to waste a half-minute of their time?

As for the "tote board" discussion ... I still think that it is taking advantage of them, even if their idea is that they are giving freely. I think it has to do with the spirit in which you are accepting the aid; if you look at the people offering it to you as pathetic, disposable, not worth your time, then it's not appropriate to accept the aid. It would be impossible to be truly grateful for that which you have received.

This thread is not without redeeming qualities though; perhaps the next time these guys knock on my door - and then have never done so in the 2.5 years I've lived in this house - I will offer them a snack and send them on their way with a smile. Thanks to whomever suggested that.

[koop]

Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop

All the same, the heretofore unsolicited homeowner -- whose privacy has been breached -- has every right to be offended. It's all about the message, not the method.

Sure, you can be offended, you can also be a jerk to them. You aren't breaking any laws, but there is a better way to deal with it, rather than treating people like crap, that's all people are saying. If you want to be a miserable person who acts like a jerk because you were interrupted for 30 seconds, go right ahead.

Saying "no thanks" or closing the door saves my time, their time, and doesn't ruin anyones day, So I'll stick with that.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Originally Posted by koop

Sure, you can be offended, you can also be a jerk to them. You aren't breaking any laws, but there is a better way to deal with it, rather than treating people like crap, that's all people are saying. If you want to be a miserable person who acts like a jerk because you were interrupted for 30 seconds, go right ahead.

Saying "no thanks" or closing the door saves my time, their time, and doesn't ruin anyones day, So I'll stick with that.

Well, to tell you the truth, a curt "not interested" usually works. After that, if they persist, then they're fair game. They were jerks first.

[koop]

Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop

Well, to tell you the truth, a curt "not interested" usually works. After that, if they persist, then they're fair game. They were jerks first.

Ok, I agree with that. If they are pushy and persistent it's a different story. I was referring to people who go out of their way to make these people miserable as soon as they see them at the door.

[driveway]

Originally Posted by Azure

A simple 'not interested'...close the door, and that way you don't even have to get worked up about it, or debate anything either.

However, if one is of the opinion that organized religions in general and mormonism in particular are a) dangerous b) ridiculous and c) holding back the potential of the human race, then it behooves one to engage them in discussion in order to perhaps alleviate a tiny fraction of the suffering that religion in general and mormonism in particular is responsible for.

Suffering in this case being used in the existential, as opposed to the physical sense.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Originally Posted by koop

Ok, I agree with that. If they are pushy and persistent it's a different story. I was referring to people who go out of their way to make these people miserable as soon as they see them at the door.

It is, however, cathartic to give 'em the what for. and I don't think they have to be obnoxious either.

[Locke]

I usually try hiding. Seriously, I try not to even answer the door. Its when they show up at the crack of dawn and refuse to leave because "you've got to be in there" that drives me nuts.

Aside from that, hiding is my #1 strategy.