How do you deal with people who try and give you pamphlets?

[Sini X]

@ Looney Bin: The lawn-mowing-type of christians don't move around in my neighbourhood. Once there was this woman with a little boy. The boy rang our doorbell, handed the pamphlets and did the talking. His mom was just standing at the background looking oh so saint-ish. I felt really sorry for the boy when I just closed the door. I felt like punching the mother REALLY hard for doing that to her son. I mean making him do all the "hard work".
I heard from my friend that his cousins mom had once did this to some jehovas that came by: She had some gooseberry bushes to plant, but her back was hurting so she couldn't do it by herself. Jehovas show'd up and asked if she'd go to this some tent-festival they had. She said that she couldn't because she had to plant the gooseberries, so these guys went and planted the bushes. She didn't go to the festival though lol  

[fhbnfghnbfgbsnbg]

Awhile ago, these Jehovah's Witness fellows kept coming to our house.
Repeatedly, even when told we were not interested.
We used to own rotweilers.
So when they come by, my mother opens the door with the rottweiler sitting beside her.
The Jehovah's Witness people never came back.  

[Goddess of the Coulee]

Honestly i've never recieved a pamphlet... the mormons go door to door sometimes, i just don't answer the door.  

[EggNoggStick]

My suggestion: Always keep handy a few informational documents of your own and exchange.

When I went to school it was pretty common to get tons of hand outs from people who wanted to do all manner of saving. Eventually I just found a few bits of info online, created my own handout and started to exchange. People tend to get the message pretty quick.  

[Xiporah]

EggNoggStick

My suggestion: Always keep handy a few informational documents of your own and exchange.

When I went to school it was pretty common to get tons of hand outs from people who wanted to do all manner of saving. Eventually I just found a few bits of info online, created my own handout and started to exchange. People tend to get the message pretty quick.

I don't care to convert people or have long diatribes about any religion. Being an atheist is not something that is important enough to me to want to carry around documentation about it. It is not what defines me as a person, it's a small aspect of my life. I rarely even give it thought.

I mostly just want them to accept that I've said no and leave me alone.

 

[gallows humour]

I usually try to avoid them, but sometimes they do force pamphlets upon me. Then I will certainly argue with them. Not necessarily in a mean way. A fairly recent one which sticks out in my mind at the current was when I walking up the drag in Austin (near where I live, trying to go about my business) when an old man was at it. I tried to get him to answer tough and unsatisfactorily handled questions of Christianity such as the problem of evil. "Just read the pamphlet. It's all in there." He insisted, shoving it into my hands, clearly wanting to be done with me. I glanced at it (it was the typical bullshit) then tore it up into pieces and probably ate some of those pieces.  

[Prince Rilian]

My mother deals with all solicitors in the same way. She shouted, "NOT INTERESTED!" and keeps her hands at her side and walks really fast. If they keep talking, she keeps saying, "I'M NOT INTERESTED."

Sometimes I take whatever their handing out. Sometimes I then proceed to drop it on the ground or back on their table or in the trash right next to them.

One time, when I was working at Wendy's, someone ordered a frosty and then said, "Aaand, when you get a chance ... I'd like you to read this." He was handing me something, and I was too busy following the rules of saying, "Thank you, have a nice day," to look at it until he walked out the door. And then I looked down and laughed. It was a small pamphlet on how to get to heaven. I showed it to my coworkers and we all laughed.

If someone is really intent on handing me something, I will probably take it and then throw it away. But, it depends on where I am, who I am with, and what kind of mood I am in.  

[gallows humour]

Craig and I were at a research fair out on the west mall and right on the drag and 21st one of those Christians was standing up on some bricks or a platform or something, perhaps it was a trashcan, holding up signs and shouting through a megaphone at people how they needed to get saved or face eternal damnation (complete with magic marker/poster board representation of what eternal damnation looks like, (an angry campfire, apparently)).

Craig said, "Consider science instead, we're quiet." heart smile  

[Missuhs Bunneh]

Well, I've never had a pamphlet forced upon me (RAPE, RAPE!) but I'd probably ignore them or think they were talking to someone else. I think I'm a little scatterbrained when it comes to paying attention, haha.

But I really hate having religion forced down my throat (again, more rape).
So I'd be pissed if they didn't take no for an answer the first time.

I got a call from an AC repair shop or whatever, and I told them I wasn't interested, but they kept talking and I said 'Excuse. I said I'm not interested.'
They shut up, but that probably won't work with door to door people, huh?  

[bandtwink145]

I got it, and used it as a book marker when i was reading the god delusion.  

[Sanguvixen]

Quote:

It also doesn't hurt to take the pamphlet. I know at least I will recycle it, while someone else they gave it to might simply toss it in the trash. Heh. Oh, and Chick Tracts are always an amusing read.

I found out something recently about taking the materials. Some door to door religious salesman keep a list of the houses they visit where the person accepts the pamphlets or what ever it is they are handing out.

They use that list to determine which houses to keep coming back to.

So if you are at home, and people show up to hand out religious stuff in order to try to "Sell you on their religion" the best thing to do is to say no, and refuse the pamphlets. Otherwise you might find them appearing again and again at your home.  

[x__Death-Of-Glitter__x]

With pamphlets and obviously religious things being offred, I'm fine to say no politely, and I will yell at them if they don't leave me alone. And I don't feel the least bit uncomfortable about it.

But sometimes, people will have me in a conversation, before I realise they have the intentions of converting me, I start to feel uncomfortable, and less bold about it. I remember a Christian group asked me if I wanted to do a survey. I agreed, after they asked what music I was listening to, and we discussed the band before the survey.
And the whole thing, was like, preaching, disguised as a survey. All the questions were more like an attempt to "save" people, then a way of getting data or information. I was pissed off, but I was actually uncomfortable, and found it difficult, because I kept having to re-justify my atheism, over and over again. I was extremely diplomatic that day.  

[Niveous]

.No.Use.Fo. A.Name.

With pamphlets and obviously religious things being offred, I'm fine to say no politely, and I will yell at them if they don't leave me alone. And I don't feel the least bit uncomfortable about it.

But sometimes, people will have me in a conversation, before I realise they have the intentions of converting me, I start to feel uncomfortable, and less bold about it. I remember a Christian group asked me if I wanted to do a survey. I agreed, after they asked what music I was listening to, and we discussed the band before the survey.
And the whole thing, was like, preaching, disguised as a survey. All the questions were more like an attempt to "save" people, then a way of getting data or information. I was pissed off, but I was actually uncomfortable, and found it difficult, because I kept having to re-justify my atheism, over and over again. I was extremely diplomatic that day.

Being surrounded by a large group makes it harder to get your own thoughts across without feeling at least a little intimidated.

I also noticed JW come in pairs. Probably safety in numbers.

But I had fun when they came to my door. I quietly listened to wat they had to say and then stated,

"Have you read the Good Book of Nietzsche?" And proceeded to tell them about the concept of over man and to value and respect independent thought.

They were nice enough to listen at least.  

[Jackbedead]

I take the pamphlet, then stand in front of them and eat it piece by piece as they try to explain what its about.

fun times whee  

[x__Death-Of-Glitter__x]

Niveous

.No.Use.Fo. A.Name.

With pamphlets and obviously religious things being offred, I'm fine to say no politely, and I will yell at them if they don't leave me alone. And I don't feel the least bit uncomfortable about it.

But sometimes, people will have me in a conversation, before I realise they have the intentions of converting me, I start to feel uncomfortable, and less bold about it. I remember a Christian group asked me if I wanted to do a survey. I agreed, after they asked what music I was listening to, and we discussed the band before the survey.
And the whole thing, was like, preaching, disguised as a survey. All the questions were more like an attempt to "save" people, then a way of getting data or information. I was pissed off, but I was actually uncomfortable, and found it difficult, because I kept having to re-justify my atheism, over and over again. I was extremely diplomatic that day.

Being surrounded by a large group makes it harder to get your own thoughts across without feeling at least a little intimidated.

I also noticed JW come in pairs. Probably safety in numbers.

But I had fun when they came to my door. I quietly listened to wat they had to say and then stated,

"Have you read the Good Book of Nietzsche?" And proceeded to tell them about the concept of over man and to value and respect independent thought.

They were nice enough to listen at least.

Maybe so, but I wasn't intimidated the day my cousin and eight of her friends (most of them were leaders of a Christian youth group) were asking me questons about why I "lost faith".

That explains why they go around in pairs.

That's a good idea, I've always just gotten annoyed with them, I never turned it back the other way and told them about what I believe. At least they were nice enough to listen.

I think I was actually reading about Friedrich Nietzsche the other day, and his statement "God is Dead". Isn't he a nihilist? I've just started finding out about nihilism, it's interesting, but I don't completely understand it.