Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
> On 4/16/2023 2:24 PM, anim8rfsk wrote:
>> shawn <nanoflower@notforg.m.a.i.l.com> wrote:
>>> On Sun, 16 Apr 2023 10:33:30 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
>>> <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 4/15/2023 11:30 PM, The Horny Goat wrote:
>>>>> On Sat, 15 Apr 2023 17:58:56 -0000 (UTC), "Blueshirt"
>>>>> <blueshirt@indigo.news> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> They stopped calling here during the Covid lock-down and there's not
>>>>>> been a peep out of them since. So maybe they have changed their
>>>>>> strategy? Or maybe they've just no copies of "The Watchtower" to sell?
>>>>>> <shrugs>
>>>>>
>>>>> During the lockdown I was getting handwritten invites from them in my
>>>>> mailbox. I haven't really had contact with them during the past year.
>>>>
>>>> I can't remember the last time I saw a JW. Certainly many years before
>>>> COVID.
>>>
>>> I've never seen them around here. Ever.
>>>
>>
>> The ones that came repeatedly to mom’s house, one of them was so tall that
>> his head was entirely above the door frame. It was like lurch had come to
>> ask for money.
>>
> How much did you give him? :D
>

😂

For once it was my turn to say “you rang?”

--
The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it is still on my list.

BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com> wrote:
> On Apr 16, 2023 at 2:24:51 PM PDT, "anim8rfsk" <anim8rfsk@cox.net> wrote:
>
>> shawn <nanoflower@notforg.m.a.i.l.com> wrote:
>>> On Sun, 16 Apr 2023 10:33:30 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
>>> <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 4/15/2023 11:30 PM, The Horny Goat wrote:
>>>>> On Sat, 15 Apr 2023 17:58:56 -0000 (UTC), "Blueshirt"
>>>>> <blueshirt@indigo.news> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> They stopped calling here during the Covid lock-down and there's not
>>>>>> been a peep out of them since. So maybe they have changed their
>>>>>> strategy? Or maybe they've just no copies of "The Watchtower" to sell?
>>>>>> <shrugs>
>>>>>
>>>>> During the lockdown I was getting handwritten invites from them in my
>>>>> mailbox. I haven't really had contact with them during the past year.
>>>>
>>>> I can't remember the last time I saw a JW. Certainly many years before
>>>> COVID.
>>>
>>> I've never seen them around here. Ever.
>>>
>>
>> The ones that came repeatedly to mom’s house, one of them was so tall that
>> his head was entirely above the door frame. It was like lurch had come to
>> ask for money.
>
> Just answer the door naked. They'll leave and never return.
>

If they don’t, I’d be in even worse trouble.

--
The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it is still on my list.

Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:

>>. . .

>I have two stories of encounters. One was an encounter I had with them
>who got stubborn/desperate and when it was clear I was about to shut my
>door in their faces one asked me my views on religion. I told them
>religion had started more wars than peace and firmly closed the door.

>The second was one a former friend told. When he was you he and his
>father were watching TV while eating snacks and had a big block of
>cheese that they were cutting with a large knife. (Note for later, the
>father was in a recliner with big pockets on the side for TV remotes and
>such.) A pair of JW's knocked on the door, my friend answered and was
>about to close the door on them when his father told him to let them in.
> He was confused by this because he knew his father hated them but did
>as asked. There is some discussion and my friend's father tells them he
>and my friend will participate in their rituals if in return they will
>participate in his. Somewhere along the way my friend realizes he can't
>find the cheese knife. So the four of them prey and when they are done
>the JW's ask about the father's religious ceremonies. The father
>reaches into one of the recliner pockets, whips out the knife and
>brandishing it over his head yells "CASTRATION!"

>The Witnesses left, rapidly. :D

He was a fan of Sweet Bird of Youth by Tennessee Williams.

Adam H. Kerman wrote:
> So, the Minneapolis city council has lifted the ordinance banning noise.
> The purpose is to allow loudspeakers to be set up to sound the Muslim
> call to prayer.
>
> That would be five times a day. They've already been allowing them but
> not before 7 am, which isn't early enough for dawn, and not necessarily
> late enough for the beginning of night.
>
> There are these things called alarm clocks that faithful worshippers can
> set, but then, they wouldn't be able to presume upon their neighbors.

A moral response would be to blast the following playlist over a
different loudspeaker:

'Serbia Strong'
'The British Grenadiers Fife and Drum'
'Grün ist unser Fallschirm Remix'
'The Crazy World of Arthur Brown - Fire'
'Manuel - Gas Gas Gas'

On 4/16/2023 7:28 PM, Adam H. Kerman wrote:
> Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
>
>>> . . .
>
>> I have two stories of encounters. One was an encounter I had with them
>> who got stubborn/desperate and when it was clear I was about to shut my
>> door in their faces one asked me my views on religion. I told them
>> religion had started more wars than peace and firmly closed the door.
>
>> The second was one a former friend told. When he was you he and his
>> father were watching TV while eating snacks and had a big block of
>> cheese that they were cutting with a large knife. (Note for later, the
>> father was in a recliner with big pockets on the side for TV remotes and
>> such.) A pair of JW's knocked on the door, my friend answered and was
>> about to close the door on them when his father told him to let them in.
>> He was confused by this because he knew his father hated them but did
>> as asked. There is some discussion and my friend's father tells them he
>> and my friend will participate in their rituals if in return they will
>> participate in his. Somewhere along the way my friend realizes he can't
>> find the cheese knife. So the four of them prey and when they are done
>> the JW's ask about the father's religious ceremonies. The father
>> reaches into one of the recliner pockets, whips out the knife and
>> brandishing it over his head yells "CASTRATION!"
>
>> The Witnesses left, rapidly. :D
>
> He was a fan of Sweet Bird of Youth by Tennessee Williams.

You've whooshed me.

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

On 4/16/2023 8:38 PM, Anonymous wrote:
> Adam H. Kerman wrote:
>> So, the Minneapolis city council has lifted the ordinance banning noise.
>> The purpose is to allow loudspeakers to be set up to sound the Muslim
>> call to prayer.
>>
>> That would be five times a day. They've already been allowing them but
>> not before 7 am, which isn't early enough for dawn, and not necessarily
>> late enough for the beginning of night.
>>
>> There are these things called alarm clocks that faithful worshippers can
>> set, but then, they wouldn't be able to presume upon their neighbors.
>
> A moral response would be to blast the following playlist over a
> different loudspeaker:
>
> 'Serbia Strong'
> 'The British Grenadiers Fife and Drum'
> 'Grün ist unser Fallschirm Remix'
> 'The Crazy World of Arthur Brown - Fire'
> 'Manuel - Gas Gas Gas'
Rock the Casbah - The Clash

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

On Sun, 16 Apr 2023 14:24:49 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
wrote:

>The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca> wrote:
>> On Sun, 16 Apr 2023 07:27:03 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>> The JWs I've met exit pretty quickly when you say "thanks but no
>>>> thanks"
>>>
>>> But they come back, endlessly, no matter how many times you ask them to
>>> stop. At least that?s been my experience ever since they built a hive on
>>> the next block over.
>>
>> Really? I don't think I've heard from them in a little over a year.
>> That's bearable to me.
>>
>
>They are the primary reason I don’t answer my door anymore. But they leave
>their evil watchtower pamphlets anyway.

OK I believe you said you were about 3 blocks from a Kingdom Hall so
that probably explais it - I'm about 3 miles away (and to get to my
place from the Kingdom Hall nearly all of it is uphill and I'm near
the top of the hill)

But no question, the last I heard from them was a handwritten letter
in my mailbox with a stamp on it. That took a lot more work on their
part (even if transcribed from a script) than a computer printed
letter done with mailmerge for the addresses.

I don't believe I've ever done anything to encourage them and I'm sure
they wouldn't know that my late wife left me a copy of the JW "New
World Translation" (which as far as I can tell is basically the King
James with certain passages they don't like editted) of the Bible.) My
late wife was a church librarian so she kept rarities like that.

On Sun, 16 Apr 2023 15:29:15 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
wrote:

>I used to get lots of Mormons. One time I told them that one of my very
>best friends is Mormon and I had already promised him my soul. They stopped
>coming back!
>
Interesting - there's a Mormon church about the same distance (3
miles) from me as the Kingdom Hall and I drive by both regularly
(there are two major roads leading to my place running parallel to
each other and one is on each road) and I've only once in 30 years
living here heard from the LDS folks. I even parked in their parking
lot once when watching a junior league hockey game (the rink is
adjacent to the LDS and since it wasn't Sunday they used their lot for
overflow parking)

On Sun, 16 Apr 2023 15:29:30 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
<dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:

>The second was one a former friend told. When he was you he and his
>father were watching TV while eating snacks and had a big block of
>cheese that they were cutting with a large knife. (Note for later, the
>father was in a recliner with big pockets on the side for TV remotes and
>such.) A pair of JW's knocked on the door, my friend answered and was
>about to close the door on them when his father told him to let them in.
> He was confused by this because he knew his father hated them but did
>as asked. There is some discussion and my friend's father tells them he
>and my friend will participate in their rituals if in return they will
>participate in his. Somewhere along the way my friend realizes he can't
>find the cheese knife. So the four of them prey and when they are done
>the JW's ask about the father's religious ceremonies. The father
>reaches into one of the recliner pockets, whips out the knife and
>brandishing it over his head yells "CASTRATION!"

I can't match that but did once vomit into the bushes at the Mormon
Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii that my parents insisted on
taking us to in my teens. Cross my heart it really WAS the unripe
pineapple I ate.....

On Sun, 16 Apr 2023 18:29:30 -0000 (UTC), "Adam H. Kerman"
<ahk@chinet.com> wrote:

>Dear Hurt: My theory is that the global-scaled grief and sadness brought
>on during the pandemic has also inspired lots of thoughts and feelings
>about funerals. And yes, many people are traumatized by previous
>experiences with funerals, sometimes going back to their childhoods.
>
>I am genuinely shocked and sorry that you endured this particular
>cruelty after your partner's death.

Absolutely! You didn't say how long ago this way but I lost my wife
March 2022 and I didn't tell the priest until after the service that
the coroner had done a post mortem COVID test on her (without my OK)
and she tested positive so they scored it as a COVID death even though
my GP has said that the symptoms I described to him was a heart attack
and "COVID simply doesn't kill people the way you described to me"

What an appalling thing to do at a funeral!

The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca> wrote:
> On Sat, 15 Apr 2023 13:49:24 -0400, Rhino
> <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:
>
>> It might be hard to label this as prosyletizing; if I was a Muslim, I'd
>> insist it was just a community service for existing Muslims, not an
>> attempt to recruit others.
>>
>> Besides, if prosyletizing was illegal, I would expect the Jehovah's
>> Witnesses to adopt new recruiting methods. Mind you, I haven't had one
>> at my door in some years now so maybe they finally get that people do
>> NOT want to hear their spiels....
>>
>>
> Using amplifiers to get your message out is a lot different than an
> encounter at the front door (though my most recent encounters have
> been via my outdoor mailbox).
>
> The JWs I've met exit pretty quickly when you say "thanks but no
> thanks"

But they come back, endlessly, no matter how many times you ask them to
stop. At least that’s been my experience ever since they built a hive on
the next block over.

--
The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it is still on my list.

On 4/16/23 5:42 PM, BTR1701 wrote:
> On Apr 16, 2023 at 2:24:51 PM PDT, "anim8rfsk" <anim8rfsk@cox.net> wrote:
>
>> shawn <nanoflower@notforg.m.a.i.l.com> wrote:
>>> On Sun, 16 Apr 2023 10:33:30 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
>>> <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 4/15/2023 11:30 PM, The Horny Goat wrote:
>>>>> On Sat, 15 Apr 2023 17:58:56 -0000 (UTC), "Blueshirt"
>>>>> <blueshirt@indigo.news> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> They stopped calling here during the Covid lock-down and there's not
>>>>>> been a peep out of them since. So maybe they have changed their
>>>>>> strategy? Or maybe they've just no copies of "The Watchtower" to sell?
>>>>>> <shrugs>
>>>>>
>>>>> During the lockdown I was getting handwritten invites from them in my
>>>>> mailbox. I haven't really had contact with them during the past year.
>>>>
>>>> I can't remember the last time I saw a JW. Certainly many years before
>>>> COVID.
>>>
>>> I've never seen them around here. Ever.
>>>
>>
>> The ones that came repeatedly to mom’s house, one of them was so tall that
>> his head was entirely above the door frame. It was like lurch had come to
>> ask for money.
>
> Just answer the door naked. They'll leave and never return.

Oh sure, as if he doesn't do that already when men are involved.

super70s <super70s@super70s.invalid> wrote:

>>. . .

>CNN's Michael Smerconish had a story on Saturday about a case in
>California when a woman was arrested for honking her horn during a
>political protest.

You made a misstatement. She wasn't arrested.

She was issued a ticket, a citation for violating the Vehicle Code. A
driver is not permitted to honk the horn except as a warning to avoid a
dangerous situation. She could have been cited for honking at another
driver for driving dangerously after the fact. That's expressing an
opinion -- protected speech -- but would meet a strict scrutiny test.

>"Is honking your horn a First Amendment right?"

>https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2023/04/15/smr-is-honking-horn-first-amendment-right.cnn

suzeeq <suzee@imbris.com> wrote:
>On 4/16/2023 7:27 AM, anim8rfsk wrote:
>>The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca> wrote:
>>>Sat, 15 Apr 2023 13:49:24 -0400, Rhino <no_offline_contact@example.com>:

>>>>It might be hard to label this as prosyletizing; if I was a Muslim, I'd
>>>>insist it was just a community service for existing Muslims, not an
>>>>attempt to recruit others.

>>>>Besides, if prosyletizing was illegal, I would expect the Jehovah's
>>>>Witnesses to adopt new recruiting methods. Mind you, I haven't had one
>>>>at my door in some years now so maybe they finally get that people do
>>>>NOT want to hear their spiels....

>>>Using amplifiers to get your message out is a lot different than an
>>>encounter at the front door (though my most recent encounters have
>>>been via my outdoor mailbox).

>>>The JWs I've met exit pretty quickly when you say "thanks but no
>>>thanks"

>>But they come back, endlessly, no matter how many times you ask them to
>>stop. At least that's been my experience ever since they built a hive on
>>the next block over.

>Tell them you've been disfellowshipped and they won't bother you ever again.

Is that like unfriending?

The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca> wrote:
>Sun, 16 Apr 2023 18:29:30 -0000 (UTC), Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.com>:

>>Dear Hurt: My theory is that the global-scaled grief and sadness brought
>>on during the pandemic has also inspired lots of thoughts and feelings
>>about funerals. And yes, many people are traumatized by previous
>>experiences with funerals, sometimes going back to their childhoods.

>>I am genuinely shocked and sorry that you endured this particular
>>cruelty after your partner's death.

>Absolutely! You didn't say how long ago this way

I'm sure the letter writer to Ask Amy was remembering an event from the
early to mid '80s.

>but I lost my wife
>March 2022 and I didn't tell the priest until after the service that
>the coroner had done a post mortem COVID test on her (without my OK)
>and she tested positive so they scored it as a COVID death even though
>my GP has said that the symptoms I described to him was a heart attack
>and "COVID simply doesn't kill people the way you described to me"

>What an appalling thing to do at a funeral!

Yes it was.

On 4/16/2023 8:18 AM, Adam H. Kerman wrote:
> suzeeq <suzee@imbris.com> wrote:
>> On 4/16/2023 7:27 AM, anim8rfsk wrote:
>>> The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca> wrote:
>>>> Sat, 15 Apr 2023 13:49:24 -0400, Rhino <no_offline_contact@example.com>:
>
>>>>> It might be hard to label this as prosyletizing; if I was a Muslim, I'd
>>>>> insist it was just a community service for existing Muslims, not an
>>>>> attempt to recruit others.
>
>>>>> Besides, if prosyletizing was illegal, I would expect the Jehovah's
>>>>> Witnesses to adopt new recruiting methods. Mind you, I haven't had one
>>>>> at my door in some years now so maybe they finally get that people do
>>>>> NOT want to hear their spiels....
>
>>>> Using amplifiers to get your message out is a lot different than an
>>>> encounter at the front door (though my most recent encounters have
>>>> been via my outdoor mailbox).
>
>>>> The JWs I've met exit pretty quickly when you say "thanks but no
>>>> thanks"
>
>>> But they come back, endlessly, no matter how many times you ask them to
>>> stop. At least that's been my experience ever since they built a hive on
>>> the next block over.
>
>> Tell them you've been disfellowshipped and they won't bother you ever again.
>
> Is that like unfriending?

Only for Quakers. It's like excommunicatiion in a real religion. I don't
know what Jews call it when they kick out someone.

On Sun, 16 Apr 2023 07:27:03 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
wrote:

>> Using amplifiers to get your message out is a lot different than an
>> encounter at the front door (though my most recent encounters have
>> been via my outdoor mailbox).
>>
>> The JWs I've met exit pretty quickly when you say "thanks but no
>> thanks"
>
>But they come back, endlessly, no matter how many times you ask them to
>stop. At least that’s been my experience ever since they built a hive on
>the next block over.

Really? I don't think I've heard from them in a little over a year.
That's bearable to me.

In article <u1fi17$216eq$14@dont-email.me>,
Rhino <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:

> On 2023-04-15 4:40 PM, BTR1701 wrote:

> > At least Minneapolis isn't allowing the Muslims to interrupt all the TV
> > broadcasts with the daily prayer. They did that in Saudi Arabia when I
> > lived there.
> >
> Oh my god! I'd lose my mind (or, more likely, just turn off the TV).
>
> > Maybe that'll be next-- they'll give the Muslims access to the same system
> > that completely hijacks my DVR during weather alerts and won't let me
> > change channels, watch recorded programs, or even turn the TV off.
> >
> Last year, my boss told me that HER boss, in Toronto, was managing over
> 900 school bus drivers in that area and some of them were devout
> Muslims. Apparently, they had at least one troubling practice: they
> would pull the bus over in the middle of a run, get out of the bus, and
> pray for however long they are supposed to pray at prayer time.
> Apparently, there was nothing that could be done to stop this due to
> human rights laws.
>
> It is my understanding that if I get off the bus with students still on
> the bus, *I* would be in deep trouble due to concerns that a student
> could slip into the driver's seat, release the parking brake, start the
> engine and potentially drive away (or crash trying) causing death and/or
> destruction in the process. But this is apparently not an issue if the
> driver worships Allah....

Isn't it amazing how all the inviolable and super-important "safety"
rules they use to control us go right out the window when a minority
prized by 'progressives' is involved?

In article <u1ffrb$216eq$8@dont-email.me>,
Rhino <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:

> On 2023-04-15 4:33 PM, BTR1701 wrote:
> > On Apr 15, 2023 at 9:41:58 AM PDT, ""Adam H. Kerman"" <ahk@chinet.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> >> Rhino <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:
> >>
> >>> It's going to be interesting to see how the non-Muslim community
> >>> responds to the calls to prayer!
> >>
> >> The vote on the city council was unanimous (the one absent member said
> >> he favored it), so clearly the voters want this. Don't ask me why.
> >
> > Yes, and the votes on the L.A. City Council to allow the vagrants to
> > foul the city are also unanimous, yet the polls show people are
> > overwhelmingly sick of the vagrant encampments.
> >
> > If you have a better explanation than Helsinki Syndrome as to why people
> > who hate something keep voting for the people who are imposing it on
> > them, I'm all ears.
> >
> How about the strong likelihood that the politicians are
> virtue-signallers who think that those signals are going to win them
> mass approval and help insure their re-election and even help pave the
> way to higher offices?
>
> How many of the LA councillors who voted to allow the homeless
> encampments got re-elected in the last elections?

Um... all of them. Well, except a few who were termed out, but they were
replaced by "Democratic Socialists" which is just a cleaned-up term for
communist, so the situation in those districts got even worse, if you
can imagine it.

> And how's the new mayor working out?

We're already calling her Karen Bassetti. She's just a warmed-over
version of Mayor Yoga Pants. She declared a "homeless emergency" her
first week in office and since then... nothing.

> Adam H. Kerman
>
> Minneapolis becomes first major U.S. city to allow all five Muslim daily
> prayer calls
> A change to the city's noise ordinance ensures that the call to prayer,
> or adhan, can be broadcast from speakers year-round, five times a day.

> Minneapolis becomes first major U.S. city to allow all five Muslim daily
> prayer calls

While not a major city, the enclave city of Hamtramck within Detroit tried
to go to court to stop the Muslim prayer calls blasting out via loudspeakers
but the Obama administration threatened to sic the Department of Justice
on them, so they backed down.

Hamtramck nowadays is almost wholly Muslim, so I guess it no longer matters.

In article <55e4166d-1158-4476-988b-a8e136ea54b6n@googlegroups.com>, Ed
Stasiak <edstasiak1067@gmail.com> wrote:

> > Adam H. Kerman
> >
> > Minneapolis becomes first major U.S. city to allow all five Muslim daily
> > prayer calls
> > A change to the city's noise ordinance ensures that the call to prayer,
> > or adhan, can be broadcast from speakers year-round, five times a day.
>
> > Minneapolis becomes first major U.S. city to allow all five Muslim daily
> > prayer calls
>
> While not a major city, the enclave city of Hamtramck within Detroit tried
> to go to court to stop the Muslim prayer calls blasting out via loudspeakers
> but the Obama administration threatened to sic the Department of Justice
> on them, so they backed down.
>
> Hamtramck nowadays is almost wholly Muslim, so I guess it no longer matters.

We have a Muslim house of worship about a mile from me, all of it open
country and farmland. Can't hear anything from there.

It got ugly around here when a group of Christians tried to have the
place closed down because terrorism. We did have a Christian church
toll its bells 24/7 for a week. That did upset people, especially the
ones with school-age kids.

On 4/15/2023 11:30 PM, The Horny Goat wrote:
> On Sat, 15 Apr 2023 17:58:56 -0000 (UTC), "Blueshirt"
> <blueshirt@indigo.news> wrote:
>
>> They stopped calling here during the Covid lock-down and there's not
>> been a peep out of them since. So maybe they have changed their
>> strategy? Or maybe they've just no copies of "The Watchtower" to sell?
>> <shrugs>
>
> During the lockdown I was getting handwritten invites from them in my
> mailbox. I haven't really had contact with them during the past year.

I can't remember the last time I saw a JW. Certainly many years before
COVID.

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

On Sun, 16 Apr 2023 10:33:30 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
<dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:

>On 4/15/2023 11:30 PM, The Horny Goat wrote:
>> On Sat, 15 Apr 2023 17:58:56 -0000 (UTC), "Blueshirt"
>> <blueshirt@indigo.news> wrote:
>>
>>> They stopped calling here during the Covid lock-down and there's not
>>> been a peep out of them since. So maybe they have changed their
>>> strategy? Or maybe they've just no copies of "The Watchtower" to sell?
>>> <shrugs>
>>
>> During the lockdown I was getting handwritten invites from them in my
>> mailbox. I haven't really had contact with them during the past year.
>
>I can't remember the last time I saw a JW. Certainly many years before
>COVID.

I've never seen them around here. Ever.

I'm not just blaming Muslims. This is more typical.

Ask Amy: I lost my partner to AIDS and the funeral officiant said he was
going to hell
By Amy Dickinson
Chicago Tribune
Apr 16, 2023 at 3:30 am
https://www.chicagotribune.com/advice/ask-amy-20230416-s2pzfsgr5neyxfcqtgwymssmom-story.html

Lesson: Don't hire the Westboro Baptist Church to officiate at a
funeral. It's the second letter. Oh, I'll just violate copyright.

Dear Amy: I appreciate the conversation in your column about funerals.

While I understand that these events can be healing for family members,
they can also be traumatic for some.

Many years ago, I lost my partner to AIDS.

He came from a very religious family who had always treated me kindly.
My partner had requested that his parents be allowed to handle the
funeral service, as it was important to them, and I agreed.

I flew to his childhood home with my mother and several of our mutual
friends, and was welcomed warmly by the family at the viewing and
treated as the grieving widower that I was.

However, at the funeral the next day, the officiant went on and on about
how my partner would be going to Hell and would remain there until his
mother passed and "redeemed" him for his sinful "life choices," along
with many other remarks about his "lifestyle."

Many of our mutual friends walked out.

Sitting in the front pews with my mother, I simply sat in shock. I was
horrified and devastated, but the family seemed to simply accept it.

I have been unable to attend a funeral since. I just can't bear to.

- Still Hurt

Dear Hurt: My theory is that the global-scaled grief and sadness brought
on during the pandemic has also inspired lots of thoughts and feelings
about funerals. And yes, many people are traumatized by previous
experiences with funerals, sometimes going back to their childhoods.

I am genuinely shocked and sorry that you endured this particular
cruelty after your partner's death.

The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca> wrote:
> On Sun, 16 Apr 2023 14:24:49 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
> wrote:
>
>> The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca> wrote:
>>> On Sun, 16 Apr 2023 07:27:03 -0700, anim8rfsk <anim8rfsk@cox.net>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>>> The JWs I've met exit pretty quickly when you say "thanks but no
>>>>> thanks"
>>>>
>>>> But they come back, endlessly, no matter how many times you ask them to
>>>> stop. At least that?s been my experience ever since they built a hive on
>>>> the next block over.
>>>
>>> Really? I don't think I've heard from them in a little over a year.
>>> That's bearable to me.
>>>
>>
>> They are the primary reason I don’t answer my door anymore. But they leave
>> their evil watchtower pamphlets anyway.
>
> OK I believe you said you were about 3 blocks from a Kingdom Hall so
> that probably explais it - I'm about 3 miles away (and to get to my
> place from the Kingdom Hall nearly all of it is uphill and I'm near
> the top of the hill)

Google maps says it’s a quarter-mile (all flat).
..2 miles south, 400 feet east.
One minute in a car.
Two minutes in a Lyft.
Six minutes on foot.
Two minutes on a bicycle.
Can’t take a train or a plane.

>
> But no question, the last I heard from them was a handwritten letter
> in my mailbox with a stamp on it. That took a lot more work on their
> part (even if transcribed from a script) than a computer printed
> letter done with mailmerge for the addresses.
>
> I don't believe I've ever done anything to encourage them and I'm sure
> they wouldn't know that my late wife left me a copy of the JW "New
> World Translation" (which as far as I can tell is basically the King
> James with certain passages they don't like editted) of the Bible.) My
> late wife was a church librarian so she kept rarities like that.
>

--
The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it is still on my list.