One item in my mailbox was an envelope with no return address. It piqued my interest as the writing looked like it came from a little old lady and I thought maybe someone in my building sent me a card or something as next month is the two year anniversary of my Mom's passing away.
Instead, the envelope had five religious pamphlets in it. Nothing else.
So I get into my apartment, check my clothing for ants, throw all the clothing in a bathtub full of water and take a shower. I still feel dirty. Strangely, not from having ants all over me, but the anonymous religious literature. I don't feel good. Have this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach. Like I'm being watched/monitored.
Just wondering if people had thoughts on this. I'm not really vocal about being an atheist, or gay for that matter. But if the subject comes up, I will be honest. I just find this anonymous mail to be both weird and rather upsetting.
I am with you!
I had a sign on my front door for a long time, it stated “No Soliciting: Religious, Commercial, Political”. When people ignored them, I took out water hose, and used it few times. They stopped. I now took the signs down.
- If you’re worried about privacy/identity, don’t! Many firms and institutions buy mailing lists and data bases from other companies, based on what they consider “target audience”. Then they hire people or use bunch of volunteers to hand-address each envelop. They think it is better marketing and looks more personal and people are more likely to respond or at least open the envelope. It often backfires, for same reasons as it did with you. But they do it anyway. Don’t worry! It looks “personalized” but it probably is not.
- I am very happy to know that people are free to practice their religions in the privacy of their homes, clubs, religious institutions and private locations. Hooray for freedom of religion. But also Hooray for the right not be part of any religion!
- I accept the fact that in public spaces, given there is freedom of speech, which is a good thing, one can stand on a “soap box” and offer products, goods, services, ideas, philosophies, politics, etc…. and hand out materials, religious, commercial, political, etc. AS LONG as they don’t shove it in my face, insist that I take it, or chase after me.
- What I do NOT accept is when some-one’s desire to sell me a product, to influence my political or religious beliefs enters MY PRIVATE SPACE without my consent!
- When I turn on commercial TV, I expect advertisements of all sorts! I am provided a service of an interesting programme, and my payment is to watch advertisements. Same for commercial publications. I open newspaper/magazine, I get information, I pay by looking at the adverts. It is part of the deal. I can turn off TV and close the printed material. I “enter” such “realms” willingly.
- But when “such mail” (religious, political, commercial) is put through the hole in my mail box, falls into my corridor, or worst yet, a canvasser walks up my entry way and knocks on my door, that is INVASION OF PRIVACY!
- Also, while I am annoyed with commercial materials, such are far less offensive to me than religious and political materials. Commercial materials are very straight forward – we offer you goods/services, we want you to get the benefit of them and to get paid for it. They get the money and I get the benefit of goods or services. There is a real “consideration” at hand.
- I don’t like to receive ANY political information in the mail, from ANY party. What ever I need to know, I will find myself. But I do understand why people want to influence your vote; in many cases their finances and personal safety depends on elections.
- I absolutely do NOT accept any attempts to influence me through religion or my involvement with religion. I see it as “trying to get into my head and mind”! and that is not acceptable. My choice of religion or rejection of religion is of NO financial or physical consequences to the messenger! All they want to do is “make me think and live like them” and to share “same values” in the PRIVACY OF MY OWN HEAD, LIFE AND TERRITORY. It has NO practical affect on their lives other than their selfish satisfaction of knowing "the other person lives like me and has the same values".
That is not their business how I think and live in the privacy of my head and territory, GIVEN we all act civilized and respectful in common and public places.
- I understand and know that active proselytisation is part of Islam and Christianity. All such activities should be confined to their private territories, public/common areas in an non-abusive form, or to paid media where audience know in advance that with “benefit of using this media” they will get advertisements, perhaps about religion.
- Just because some activity is “part of someone’s religion” does not mean “this activity” should infringe on my private space and territory.
What if I revoke ancient pagan religious rites and start soliciting and inciting public orgies in the local park, and claim it is part of my religion?
That said, if i had my "rathers", i rather get "christian mail" which i can dump into the garbage can, then see cases when Muslims insisting to implement Sharia law into general law of the western countries.
