In re-reading the OP, I noticed the question “Is this standard procedure for Baptists?” (My apologies for not addressing this before.)
I can’t speak for all Baptists, but in those churches I’ve attended throughout my life there has always been a standard visitation night – usually Tuesdays. On those nights, teams would go into the community and visit those who had expressed an interest in the church (usually by filling out a visitor’s card in the service on Sunday morning). I’ve never been a part of a Baptist church that would just go out and randomly visit people in an attempt to get them to come to the church – that’s counterproductive, to say the least.
I also noticed SanibelMan’s mention of receiving mail from the church at his address with someone else’s name on it. I think Velma has hit on the reason for the visit – they wanted to check on a church member who hasn’t attended in a while. The fact that they weren’t canvassing the neighborhood also indicates they were looking for a particular person, and since (I assume) SanibelMan has no association with Rock Hill Baptist Church, that person likely wasn’t him.
Still doesn’t excuse them opening the mailbox and looking in (or peeking in windows, for that matter), but I think the explanation is probably a lot more mundane than otherwise.
To emphasize the point:
If two guys come up and poke around my house, and I discover that there’s literature on my doorstep explaining how much better life would be if I turned gay, if I opened my heart to gay, then I might write an OP about homosexuals looking in my mailbox.
If two guys come up and poke around my house, and i discover that there’s literature on my door extolling the virtues of Black Panthers, then I might write an OP about black panthers looking in my mailbox.
My dear Watson, the deduction is elementary. Circumstantial evidence may not be sufficient for a court of law, but it surely suffices for a rant.
It depends. Did they leave literature about how great it is to be old? Did they leave literature about how much fun it is to smile?
The OP suggests that the entire purpose of the visit of these two people was to talk about their religion. In such a case, it is perfectly reasonable to identify these two people by their religion. Furthermore, it’s appropriate to question whether this is SOP for members of this religious group, inasmuch as these two people were acting as representatives (official or otherwise) of their church.
There’s hostility toward religious folks in many posts on these boards; I agree that county’s comment about keeping valuable stuff in your mailbox is as offensive and unwarranted as it is inane (who keeps valuables in their mailbox?) But the OP is inoffensive.
Huh. So maybe they were looking in the mailbox to confirm that the right person lived there: if they were looking for Mrs. Henrietta Clyde (for example), they might’ve looked in the mailbox to see if there was any mail addressed to her there. That’s a little weird, but not so much creepy as just slightly clueless. Having had a paycheck stolen from my mailbox once, I’d be very unhappy to see anyone opening my mailbox and looking inside, frankly.
If said Liberal was vandalasing as a Liberal (say - having a go at Nixon’s grave or whatever as a political statement) then it’s a fair call. Just like when Nazi’s vandalise Jewish cemetaries. And if these were Baptists out proselytising then damn right it’s a fair call also.
You mean the “fact” that they opened the storm door, and when he, SanibelMan (not “she”) got to the storm door there was–wedged in the storm door–Baptist literature. Not old people literature. Not smiley people literature. Baptist literature. In the storm door.
Why would I set aside that? Other than if I wanted to go out of my way to bolster some non-existant “arbitrary association” charge, I mean.
[QUOTE=SanibelMan]
Is this standard procedure for Baptists? I don’t know the specifics of the church, but I didn’t know they proselytized like that. QUOTE]
Bwaa haa haa haa! The Baptists are the worst proselytizers in this area. At least the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses go away and don’t return when you ask them to. The Baptists just return with bigger groups. Of course, YMMV.
I’m sure they were just innocently checking to see if they had the right address and/ or person and weren’t up to anything malicious. But I understand the skeevy feeling. I don’t like the thought of someone looking at my mail to see who lives at my address for whatever reason.
I just gave the church a call and told them what happened, that I found their actions unacceptable, and that I don’t want any more visits or mail. I gave them my address and the names written on a card left in the literature and the guy on the other end of the phone said they had been told that was unacceptable and he would pass the word along. I said thank you and consider that the end of it.
Well, if they left stuff in the door, they were there in the capacity of Baptists, not in the capacity of ‘Joe Citizen’. If a group of traveling Atheists had looked in my mailbox, peeped around my house a bit, and then left a bunch of Atheist literature in my door, I think I’d have described the situation very similarly to the way the OP did.
If the Coalition for Big Pink Bunnies had looked in my mailbox, peeped around the house, opened the storm door, stuck their Coalition for Big Pink Bunnies literature inside the door and left, then the title of the OP would probably be ‘Coalition for Big Pink Bunniesers looked through my mailbox today.’
Just a thought, based on Sauron’s theory that they might have been looking for a former church member. Might they have checked the mailbox to see if the mail was addressed to Mr. Former, so as to draw a conclusion as to whether he still lived there?
Still not really acceptable behaviour, but somewhat understandable. Anyways, the theory probably fails, since they shouldn’t really have left the literature if you weren’t who they were after. Probably the “checking if anyone’s home” people have it right.
Well, the remark about the mailbox was no more inane than the OP. And as far as being offensive, you would have to be actually shoppping for something to be offended by to get offended by that remark. You are probably fat and looking for something to get offended about.
You are probably fat and looking for something to get offended about.
sigh Well, if nobody else is going to have a conniption …
drags out Fat Power soapbox
Fat people are the last safe prejudice!!! I can just see the uproar if county said “You are probably gay/Muslim/handicapped and looking for something to get offended about.” Fat people are productive members of society and many of them can’t help being fat because they’ve got messed up thyroids and how dare you help keep the hate alive!!! county is a mean awful person and probably deep fries puppies in his spare time, and probably is indoctrinating his kids to hate fat people, too. Blah blah blah, as a fat woman I am so friggin’ tired of being judged by my appearance, yada yada yada kiss my ass, county, you puppy killer!!!
For the humor impaired: the above is hyperbole. No, really. Although it’s not okay for YOU to make a joke like the above, unless you’re fat. It’s sorta like how you can call your sister a slut, but nobody else can. Only fat people can make fun of other fat people. Them’s the rules.
And BTW, your sister really is a hocake. She must have inherited it from your Momma.
SanibelMan, I apologize for having the wrong sex with you. It’s a shortcoming with which I have been vexed for as long as I can remember. Aside from that, I had recalled, obviously incorrectly, that you had identified yourself in MPSIMS or somewhere like that, as a female. As I can see in this thread, I was mistaken.
FWIW, speaking as one of the resident atheists, I wouldn’t be at all offended by a thread titled “Atheists looked through my mailbox,” if the reasoning was the same as in the OP.
Don’t be silly, Lib. If someone who I SAW POKING THROUGH MY MAILBOX left an athiests-are-great brochure or something else to identify themselves as athiests, I’d have started the exact sort of thread. Nobody is bashing Baptists for being Baptists here. They’re bashing buttheads who poke through your mailbox.
