H'mmm, it is almost 11:00 AM on a Wednesday. I wonder if it is a JW.
To the best of my knowledge the following happened, but I did get a little excited during our intial conversation and what transpired later so I may not be recounting the facts correctly.
I went downstairs with my trusty Sharpie in my pocket to answer the door. At the door there was an older (~75 year-old) man in a suit and appeared to be in good health. I wondered if I should invite him in or just write a reputable website on the WTBTS propaganda.
He apologized for sticking an invitation in my door, asked if he could give me an invitation to a Memorial, and continued talking without saying that he was a JW or that he representated the WTBTS.
I felt a little chill blowing through the front door, so I asked the man if he was cold. He said thank you, but that I was the last condo that he was going to stop at because he only had one invitation left. He said something about the WTBTS has been around for 100 years, so I corrected him and said it has been around for about 130 years. He looked like he had the deer-in-the-headlight look, but than used the thought-stopping platitude that he had researched the WTBTS's history. I should have pressed the point, but didn't.
He continued to talk and asked to hand me the invitation. So, I asked him if I could give him something in return. He declined with an excuse that since he was coming to my door to give me something that he was not going to accept anything from me. At this point I knew that it was pointless to continue the conversation, so I said no thank you. He left.
I came upstairs to post my encounter on JWN and then thought about picking up the invitations that had been left on my neighbors doors and leaving them at the Memorial with www.jwfacts.com and www.freedomofmind.com printed on them. I still haven't decided if I will leave them at the Memorial, because I could feed into JWs' persecution complexes.
While going around picking up invitations, the same man asked me if I knew what I was doing. He was in a king-cab truck that was driven by a younger man in his 30's. The old man quoted some scripture to justify that what I was doing was wrong. I asked him why he wasn't following God's greatist commandment. He retorted with what was God's name (another thought-stopping platitude).
The young man asked if I was picking up the invitations. I said that yes I was. The young man said to stop it, and I said no. It was ok for them to belong to a dongerous cult, but I did not want my neighbors to join a dangerous cult.
The old man asked if I knew what was the definition of a cult. I said that I was not talking about a cult. I was talking about a dangerous cult and that he did not know what were the characteristics of a dangerous cult like he did not know that the Watchtower was founded in 1878 when he was at my door.
We talked a little more since the young driver did not appear to want to end the conversation quickly by driving off as much as the old man was trying to roll up his window to end the conversation. After a about 30 seconds of more talking, they drove off to place more invitations on another block.
I will continue to pick-up invitations soon, since I wanted to cool-down and I did not want to cause them any more anxiety.
I know, I screwed up. I am not good at confrontation. I did ask a few questions, but I do need to practise more to maintain my cool. I will never get good at confronting JWs only once a year. I need to do better at pressing topics that cause confusion in JWs and practise overcoming thought-stopping platitudes.
Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,
Robert