sillytrippy ([info]sillytrippy) wrote,
@ 2008-09-19 10:48:00
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Dear Jehovah's Witnesses,
You would not believe just how much less I would disrespect you if you didn't bring small children around with you on your rounds.

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Small children
[info]pammyblue
2008-09-20 05:22 am UTC (link)
Why is it objectionable? I ask that sincerely and not to be all in your face. Most little kids LOVE ringing the doorbells and are delighted when someone takes a tract that they hold up. Some of them say a word or two, and they feel so big. We don't make them stay out for hours. Probably an hour, sometimes two. But they get breaks and treats to keep them refreshed.

I'll never forget my 30-year-old son Josh's first time at someone's door. He was about 4 years old, and he said, "Would you like a Bible study?" The people in the apartment all smiled and were gentle with him, though they said, "No thank you." Josh just beamed. He felt so big to be talking to someone at their door. (He is now a full-time minister; we call them 'Pioneers.')

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Re: Small children
[info]sillytrippy
2008-09-20 09:35 am UTC (link)
A combination of discomfort with having a proper discussion about such matters with the child there, and suspicion over the motives for it.

Yesterday's visit came when I needed to leave for work. I explained that, took a pamphlet, and they left. Had they come at another time without a child, I may well have invited them in for a chat. Such discussions can be interesting, if fruitless. While I don't share the beliefs of Jehovah's, I do have some degree of admiration for their stamina at being out there spreading them, despite the opposition they encounter.

Bring a child into it, and those discussions are more difficult. The child believes that God is there, and loves him very much. I don't. Do I want to be the one trying to shatter that belief? Would I want to discuss your apparent belief that death is preferable to a blood transfusion in front of a young child (I know someone who specifically directs that one *at* the child, not something I could agree with)? Less emotive, can I discuss Descartes "proof" of the existence of a God, and why I feel it actually shows that you can't prove one way or another? These are somewhat more advanced conversations than I feel I can bring a 4-year-old into. If you say something I find completely ridiculous, can I really say how crazy I think mummy/daddy is for saying that?

Onto the suspicion... what *is* the reason you bring them along? Is it not having someone to leave them with? (I don't mean to be flippant or insulting with that, it just may be the reason in some cases) Is it because, as you say, they enjoy it so much?

Or is it to defuse people? I imagine you can get a fair bit of abuse from people on the doorstep, the presence of a child most likely tames that to some degree. While I wouldn't condone that abuse, if the child is being brought along to defuse it, that's manipulative, both to the child and to the person being visited.

Those are the only reasons that I can think of right now. The problem is that while (as I've said) I admire your stamina, I'm wary of your methods, the feeling that you manipulate people is always present. Maybe that's unfair, but as a result actions like bringing the child will arouse suspicion in me, and I don't believe I'm alone in that.

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Re: Small children
[info]pammyblue
2008-09-20 11:08 am UTC (link)
I understand where you're coming from. I respect that. Maybe in the future, if you feel inclined to talk a bit, you could say, "Come back at another time when the little guy is otherwise occupied," or something like that.

As to your suspicion about our motives for having the child along.....believe me, it's not to "defuse" people. As a matter of fact, we've gotten a chewing out on occasion for bringing the kids because they should be playing! I think that's the way alot of people look at it. It's a form of child abuse. So we haven't defused anything.

Anyway, we take our kids along because it is a part of our worship to witness to people. We are training our kids to worship God & the witnessing work is an important part. Some religions train their children to kneel down flat on their faces five times a day and pray toward Mecca. As I said, it's all on how you worship and want to train your kids. And most of our kids really do like it, especially because they get to go to MacDonald's. And they do feel like they're doing something for Jehovah and they feel big like Daddy or Mommy.

Thank you for your candid post.

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Re: Small children
(Anonymous)
2008-09-23 12:41 pm UTC (link)
Oh stop it. If the Jehovah's bring their children with them, you complain. If they leave them home you will accuse them of neglect and abandonment. To me, it's like telling parents, 'Don't take your kids food shopping with you because it's mean when you tell them no they can't have every candy and cookie they see' or 'Don't take your children out to dinner because they'll get bored and make a mess at the table' or 'Don't ever take your children to the movies because...' Stop telling parents how to raise thier kids!!

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Re: Small children
[info]sillytrippy
2008-09-23 10:04 pm UTC (link)
My complaint was about two things. Firstly, I don't feel comfortable getting into an in depth religious discussion with a small child present, particularly one that's likely to involve me flatly disagreeing with their parents. Secondly, (perhaps wrongly) I was suspicious of what the motives were for having the child along.

Neither of those had *anything* to do with telling parents how to raise their children. If you want to discuss that, I'm open to it. I'd have to sit down and consider what I thought about it though, because it's really not the context I had in mind.

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