What to do about solicitors....

Originally Posted by MuttigreeMom

Sheesh if you don't mind me copying, I'd put that up on my door in a heartbeat! Although I would have to add "... don't eat/buy meat from the back of a pickup truck..."

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Those guys are annoying aren't they!?

I used to work for thier corporate office and people would complain like you wouldn't believe!!!
Now when they try to sell me meat from the truck I tell them I used to work there, the bow thier heads, tuck thier tails and walk away.

Are they in the white trucks or the red?

Originally Posted by Dixie_Darlin

Those guys are annoying aren't they!?

I used to work for thier corporate office and people would complain like you wouldn't believe!!!
Now when they try to sell me meat from the

truck I tell them I used to work there, the bow thier heads, tuck thier tails and walk away.

Are they in the white trucks or the red?

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Oh good god. I made the mistake of opening my door once for them because it was the only way I could find out who was at my door without Boo escaping. He wouldn't leave me alone!

Hmm... the last time they stopped by it was a few weeks ago, but I'm pretty sure it was a red truck.

But the first time I thought it was white.

Is it two different companies?

lol the funnest get rid of them, was back in college, i was dating a exotic dancer. Well one of her friends where there.

When these came over, will i must really be different, cause i like to fight with them. Well my gf and her friend both stripped naked, came to the door, and said something along the liines of "come on dear we need to finish before you leave for work" both started hugging me...

it was mean really i know, and i think the persons eyes just about popped out.
on both of them lol

hmm after that i never had a anther person come to the door from that group.
howver i would not suggest trying this fix.

i have sign on my door, that says

warning this person works nights, is anti social and has several dogs and guns within reach

SO unless you dying(if not you may soon be), or Family, or friend(in which case you better really be sure i like you)
SO i would please think twice before knocking on this door.

lol my door mat also says
who are you
what do you want
why are here
where not home, go away

I live out in the country and a lot of my nearest neighbors work...so I`m here "in the woods" alone a lot.
If someone knocks at my door and I don`t know who it is...I don`t answer it.
If they "catch " me in the yard....and they are "selling or giving" anything away...I just smile and tell them I`m not interested.....if they don`t leave and want to keep selling or giving....I polightly say "You have a nice day now. Bye bye." Then I go in the house and shut the door behind me until they leave.
That`s the only way I know how to handle it. I don`t mean for it to offend people...but if I tell them I`m not interested and they are rude enough to not leave...then I feel it not too rude for me to walk away and shut my own door behind me.
Linda

I have only had JWs come to my house once many moons ago. This was back in my drinking days and the sun had just came up and I had just laid down. When I heard a knock at the door. I tried laying there hoping whoever it was would go away. Didn't happen. Got up slung the door open to 2 JWs wanting to talk to me. I was less then nice at their question about talking to me. I asked them how would they like it if I woke them up at 7am to talk to them at their house about my religion? They said something like they would not be happy or something. I responded Then get the (fill in the blank) off my property and don't come back ever. They left and never came back.

Now tho I live somewhere different and don't have this problem.

If all else fails and they keep coming back after you tell them to stop. Tell them if you see them approaching your door again tell them you will call the police for tresspassing. That should stop them in their tracks.

Originally Posted by gailuvscats

Why aren't they cruising the drug infested, crime ridden ghettos, where people need all the help they can get? No they are busy invading nice quiet neighborhoods.

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Living there, I can tell you they are. There is one guy who stands on our front lawn here, because he can't come in because of the no-trespassing sign and the building manager enforces it. He tries to talk to everyone who walks by, and one day he was talking to my neighbor for a good while before he realized she doesn't speak English well enough to understand what he was talking about.

My dad used to call the cops on solicitors. I'm not sure if you can do that everywhere but back home they needed a license that was... almost impossible to get, so you knew they didn't have one, so the cops would come escort them out of their neighborhood. Then again all the cops back home ever do is write tickets for underage smoking, so they have time to do that.

Sure, put up a sign. it might help

I have always found the direct approach works the best. When it comes to religious solicitation I am polite but firm.."Thank you but I am really not interested."

Salepeople door to door or on the phone I try to be polite with also and will say the same "Thank You I am not interested" However if they are really pushy I will close the door and hang up on them...and if that's being rude well so be it.

We usually will go into hiding if we see two men walking around the neighborhood in white shirts and black ties. That means the Mormons are making their rounds. The JWs haven't been seen for awhile but usually we hide or I just curtly say "thank you, not interested" and close the door.

Three dogs that bark & growl like they might eat you has turned out to be a great deterant. Even the UPS guy just usually puts down package, rings bell, and runs down the driveway. It's very entertaining around Christmas time. With my son's wedding coming up we are ordering alot of things on-line and the delivery man is getting alot of exercise running from door.

Thanks for all the suggesstions!! For now, I've made a nice looking 4x6 sign on Adobe Photoshop and printed it out on photo paper that says "No soliciting, religious or otherwise". I think that's all encompassing, and hopefully should send the message the next time they show up and we're not home. We're going to lock our screendoor too so they can't stick stuff in it.

My husband came home last night and joked that we should have all of our gay and lesbian friends over (we have many) for a dinner party then invite the Jehovah's Witnesses in to join us

Originally Posted by alwaysaangel

I have family who are Jehova's Witnesses, and honestly if you simply tell them exactly what you said "I'm very happy with my religion, I would appreciate it if you would stop coming by" - they will stop.

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I was going to say the same thing. Just tell them (or put a sign out) that says you're happy with your current faith and wish not to seek another.

As harassing as they seem its part of their religion to spend a year going door to door spreading their faith...so I do sort of feel bad for them as they're away from their family that long. However they still can be a nuisance after a while.

Originally Posted by lunasmom

As harassing as they seem its part of their religion to spend a year going door to door spreading their faith...so I do sort of feel bad for them as they're away from their family that long. However they still can be a nuisance after a while.

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Given how many people are annoyed by them coming to our doors and also given that it's necessary to do this for a year... it really makes me wonder how many people they actually convert....

Lately we've been getting a lot of kids showing up with some "please buy this (magazine, candy bar, whatever) so I can earn money for (college, camp, whatever) and those annoy me more than anyone, because they are more persistent about not taking no for an answer.

Now I have a peephole and just don't answer it. I don't care if they know I"m home or not.

Originally Posted by lunasmom

I was going to say the same thing. Just tell them (or put a sign out) that says you're happy with your current faith and wish not to seek another.

As harassing as they seem its part of their religion to spend a year going door to door spreading their faith...so I do sort of feel bad for them as they're away from their family that long. However they still can be a nuisance after a while.

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I thought it was just young mormoms who went on the year-long mission to do this. JWs have the same year-long mission?

Originally Posted by lunasmom

I was going to say the same thing. Just tell them (or put a sign out) that says you're happy with your current faith and wish not to seek another.

As harassing as they seem its part of their religion to spend a year going door to door spreading their faith...so I do sort of feel bad for them as they're away from their family that long. However they still can be a nuisance after a while.

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Yeah, I dont think that JWs do missions, only mormons do.

I just thank them and tell them i have my own faith, and usually their fine with that.

Originally Posted by MuttigreeMom

Given how many people are annoyed by them coming to our doors and also given that it's necessary to do this for a year... it really makes me wonder how many people they actually convert....

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I really do wonder... probably not a whole lot.

Originally Posted by Bonnie1965

I thought it was just young mormoms who went on the year-long mission to do this. JWs have the same year-long mission?

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Originally Posted by Isadora44

Yeah, I dont think that JWs do missions, only mormons do.

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This is just from one JW that I knew 10 years ago. He said that he was required to travel around witnessing door-to-door. They may not be doing this nationally though, from what I just read (double checking) they stay within the region. I do remember as a kid though that the Mormons rarely came around. We mostly hid from the JW's.

Originally Posted by gailuvscats

Well, people peddling their religion, irk me. I do not subscribe to any organized religion, and I certainly don't subscribe to any bible stories, or the fairy tail of the earth being created by G-d in 7 days. Don't believe in the tooth fairy, or the easter bunny.

I find it offensive that some religions have the arrogance and total disregard for others' religious beliefs or lack there of , that they feel entitled to stuff pamphlets, shove them in you face on the street, and have the nerve to disturb you in the privacy of your home.

Why aren't they cruising the drug infested, crime ridden ghettos, where people need all the help they can get? No they are busy invading nice quiet neighborhoods.

They can all go to hell as far as I am concerned.

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Oh my! Gail loves cats, but 'most everybody else better watch out!

I'm sorry, I really don't mean to make fun -- because the truth is, I feel largely the same way you do. But I try to bear in mind that a lot of these people are victims of their religious leaders, manipulated into believing that this is God's will for them. (At least, the sincere ones are -- I'm sure many supposedly religious solicitors are just savvy con artists.)

My point is, most of these people honestly believe they're doing good work. They're doing what they've been taught to believe is right... and as long as they stop short of harrassing women entering clinics where abortions are performed (or murdering the doctors who perform them), I accept that their intentions are good. That doesn't make them any less annoying, but I accept it!

You have such a good point there, that they ought to be witnessing to people in the grip of poverty, violence, and addiction, for whom a little religious inspiration might be genuinely helpful! I wonder if they have such a program.

Finally: I don't even believe in hell, and I gather that you don't, either, but... if it did exist, you wouldn't really wish it on anyone, would you?

Personally, I hope everybody finds what he hopes to find after death -- except for the truly evil people, the ones who know perfectly well what they're doing, know the effect it's having, and continue to do wrong.

Upon those evil people, I wish the curse of Enlightenment -- so they can go through the afterlife fully aware of how monstrously wrong they were, and how much pain they caused. Surely that would be far worse than any hell we might imagine...

My point is, most of these people honestly believe they're doing good work. They're doing what they've been taught to believe is right... and as long as they stop short of harrassing women entering clinics where abortions are performed (or murdering the doctors who perform them), I accept that their intentions are good. That doesn't make them any less annoying, but I accept it!

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The pro-life people believe their intentions are good in their murdering and harrassing. A terroist thinks his intentions are good in his suicide bombing.

My point is, if you are harrassing others in the name of your religion, to any degree, regardless of your intentions, regardless of your limited intelligence, you are a blight on society and most likely a self righteous, self serving, hypocrite, IMO.

Finally: I don't even believe in hell, and I gather that you don't, either, but... if it did exist, you wouldn't really wish it on anyone, would you?

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I use this as a figure of speech, but yes, if it did exist, I would certainly wish it on plenty of people.

Feel free to use these comments to further demonstrate your superiority to me.