Date: 2012-03-04 04:53 pm (UTC)
inamac: (Default)
From: [personal profile] inamac
We actually refer to our router as 'the cat's bum warmer'. Never thought of asking BT for a decoy, though the first company that starts making pyramid-shaped or spiked bum warmers routers will clean up in the feline ownership market.

Date: 2012-03-04 12:36 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bart-calendar.livejournal.com
We don't get Jehova's Witnesses here but we do get Mormons. As soon as they buzz and I realize who they are I pull up one of the gay porn sites I do marketing work for on my screen.

Then I invite them up, offer them water or lemonade (I know they've been walking a while and can't have caffeinated beverages)ask them where they are from and how long they've been in France, etc...

Eventually they ask me what I do for a living and then I say "Oh, I do marketing writing for alternative sites, let me show you..." and then let them look at the screen.

They almost always thank me for my hospitality and leave fairly quickly.

Date: 2012-03-04 12:48 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bart-calendar.livejournal.com
The mormon kids are actually nice and friendly and not too pushy, so I tend to try to be friendly to them in return - hell we are both Americans living in France and at least they make an effort to dress nicely and be polite to people (which is more than I can say for the average American tourist who shows up here.)

I can also imagine that going door to door eight hours a day must be very hard and discouraging work (particularly in a secular country like France and in a city with a huge gay population like Montpellier) so I figure offering them a cold drink and letting them play with my cat for a few minutes is the least I can do.

While showing them bareback.com probably does gross them out I figure it probably also gives them a story to tell when they go back home and is a more interesting part of their day than the 80 or 90 people a day that just tell them some variation of "fuck off."

I'm also aware that it's not like they choose to go around and knock on doors, it's essentially an obligation and their family would be sort of shamed if they didn't do it - and I can't fault 18 and 19 year old kids for doing something that will make their mom proud. Plus, at least unlike the majority of Americans they are seeing the world and learning about other cultures - and being incredibly respectful.

When I was in the states however and had Jehova's Witnesses coming to my door I was less nice because they were much, much more pushy and very judgmental.

The mormons are not rude or judgmental at all. They just have a crappy job to do and just want to spend a few minutes sharing how they see the world with other people, which is not really a bad thing.

Date: 2012-03-05 09:42 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] nmg.livejournal.com
I was approached by a couple of Mormon missionaries last week while walking the boys home from school, and ended up being polite but firm when they asked if I knew where they could find out about local family history (quote: "it would be unethical for me to assist you, because I disagree with the fundamental principles of your organisation"). Thankfully they left it at that, otherwise I would have had to give a blow-by-blow account of why I thought that posthumous baptism was quite such an insult.

Odd. I consider myself to be an atheist, but it takes something like this to bring out my Protestant upbringing.

Date: 2012-03-07 03:59 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ashnistrike.livejournal.com
I totally agree with you. I also misread that at first as "posthuman baptism." There's probably a story in that.

Date: 2012-03-07 03:58 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ashnistrike.livejournal.com
Glad you liked! And thank you for the tech support link--that made me smile on a day when I needed it.

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