Hate literature placed in my hotel room by the Gideons....what should I do?

[Paul_in_Qatar]

@Dewey Finn

Actually, do they have any religious texts in Arabic hotel rooms?

Nope, all the rooms have a Meccah Meter (a sign pointing toward the Holy City), but that is about it.

[Frank]

My ex and I stayed in a place in Salida, Colorado that had the Bible opened on the nightstand with a passage highlighted. I don’t know what passage; I just closed it and put it away.

[Lobsang]

@Thudlow Boink

Hmmm. My reaction to the OP (which I found in MPSIMS) was, “Shouldn’t this be in either Great Debates or The Pit?”

If the OP had a point of some sort that he was trying to make, then that contradicts the P of MPSIMS, doesn’t it?

The OP was half tongue-in-cheek.

OP, I say bin it - send the message. Or be as tongue in cheek with them as you’ve been with us - Describe what you’ve just found. When they look shocked - show it to them.

[hajario]

@Noone Special

Imagine, however, the uproar that would ensue if hotel rooms became filled with Korans and/or copies of Dawkins’ “The God Delusion.” Why should **Valteron **take the Bible in his hotel room in stride, when many of those who agree with its placement there would often vehemently disagree to find an equivalent (from a different point of view) book in their hotel room?

Hotels are privately owned businesses and they can put whatever the fuck they want in their rooms. You don’t like it? Too god damned bad. Do you honestly feel like you have the right to dictate to a business owner what they can have in their own business. Your remedy is to refuse to stay in hotel rooms that have books in them that you don’t like (good luck with that) or open your own Gideon free hotel chain.

There have been times in my life where I have extensively traveled for business. Between that and vacations, I have easily stayed in over a thousand hotel rooms. I have probably looked the Gideon Bible fewer than seven or eight times.

[Spoons]

Arthur Hailey’s Hotel describes how a room was prepared for a visiting hotel magnate who was known to be rather religious. Naturally, for such a person, the staff made sure that there was a Gideon Bible–and had to replace the one that had been in the room, since some previous occupant had written the numbers of various local call girls in it. :eek:

[suranyi]

@SP2263

Just don’t look at it. If it really bugs you throw it away in the lobby or place it on the front desk.

Once we stayed in a hotel that had the Bible and The Book of Mormon, now that was interesting reading!

You were probably in a Marriott, or one of their subsidiary brands. J.W. Marriott was a very religious Mormon, so all their hotel rooms have both a bible and a Book of Mormon.

Ed

[Kuboydal]

Gideon pages are quality substitute rolling papers. Or, if you intend to go for a walk in the woods…

[Wendell_Wagner]

If you’re seriously interested in discussing what Leviticus says about homosexuality, you might want to read this:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_bibh.htm

However, I doubt you actually want to seriously discuss this. In fact, I wonder if you actually wrote the OP, Valteron. It sounds to me like some spam E-mails that other people have quoted in their OP’s here. One of them is a long rant in which someone asks someone who believes in the literal truth of the Bible what he should do about various passages from the Old Testament in which killing people who do or believe various things is recommended. Did you actually write the OP, Valteron, or are you quoting some E-mail you got?

[Q.E.D]

@Valteron

After all, I never asked them to put it into my room, now did I?

You probably never specifically asked for a bed, table, chairs, lamps, curtains, air conditioner, toilet, soap or towels, either, did you? And yet, there they are! The solution is clear: you must have them immediately remove anything from the room you didn’t ask for.

[cwthree]

@hajario

You don’t like it? Too god damned bad. Do you honestly feel like you have the right to dictate to a business owner what they can have in their own business.

The OP is what is commonly known in the business world as a “customer.” Most businesses rely on customers to provide something called “income.” It is thus in the business owner’s best interest to not gratuitously piss off the customer.

The business owner wants to proselytize? They can provide a small library in the lobby, or they can keep a carton of Bibles (Qurans, Tanakhs, Books of Mormon, Moosewood Cookbooks, whatever) to distribute to guests upon request.

Yes, I do avoid giving my money to businesses whose practices offend me.

[Dewey_Finn]

So which motels or hotels do you frequent if you object to the practice of leaving bibles in the room? Considering how widespread the custom is, I imagine it would be difficult to find one that didn’t have the Gideon bibles. (And I suspect that any motel or hotel that advertised itself as a bible-free zone would lose more business than it would gain by doing so.)

And another thought. Perhaps the OP might want to red-flag or highlight the passage about Jonathan and David, considering that it can be interpreted as a same-sex relationship (although that’s controversial).

[Contrapuntal]

@Musicat

You haven’t solved the problem, just increased the hassle for a dedicated cult.

I’ve solved the OP’s problem.

[Autolycus]

In keeping with the exaggerated tone of the OP, I think the clear solution is to burn the hotel down.

[ITR_champion]

@Valteron

What should I do with this highly offensive and revolting book? Should I demand that the hotel take it out of our room, which we are paying good money for? Should I leave it in the hallway and let the cleaning staff take it away? Should I just throw it in the trash and let the Hotel get the message?

I would recommend that you not complain. That might be regarded as hypocritical, consider that you’ve devoted your entire life to spreading mindless, vicious hatred. (Assuming that your posts on this message board are a good indicated of what you’ve done with your life.)

[Martin_Hyde]

Assuming this was a genuine OP looking for advice:

1. Ignore it.

2. If you can’t do that, call the front desk and tell them you don’t want a bible in your room. They’ll be fine with you removing it or they’ll remove it themselves.

What you shouldn’t do is:

1. Be mean or rude to staff. They don’t own the hotel and have no say over whether or not the bible is in your room when you check in.

2. Let it ruin your day, if some faux-leather and cheap paper can ruin a trip you’re too easily upset. I could find pictures of traffic accident victims in my hotel drawers–and while I wouldn’t be happy, it certainly wouldn’t ruin a vacation.

As for anyone else, hotels are a business. While I’m sure any hotel would be fine with removing a bible for a specific customer, I doubt very many would ever advertise themselves as “bible free” or make a public stance against the Gideon bibles. In our current culture that would cost the hotel money–so it wouldn’t make sense as a business decision.

[Antinor01]

A number of hotels, mostly of the boutique style are not placing bibles in the rooms or have them available upon request only.

I would suggest making a polite phone call to the manager or owner of the hotel or call the corporate office if it’s a chain and let them know that you will not be staying with them again and why.

[ITR_champion]

That should read indication, not indicated. I apologize for my carelessness.

[Shagnasty]

@Autolycus

In keeping with the exaggerated tone of the OP, I think the clear solution is to burn the hotel down.

That is a good idea but I think animal sacrifice in the hotel lobby among the other Old Testament teachings would also be effective.

[KGS]

Obligatory link: Why Can’t I Own a Canadian?

Though I guess if you live in Canada, you can own all the Canadians you want.

[hajario]

@cwthree

The OP is what is commonly known in the business world as a “customer.” Most businesses rely on customers to provide something called “income.” It is thus in the business owner’s best interest to not gratuitously piss off the customer.

For every one customer pissed off about a Bible in their room, there will be several pissed off that you don’t supply Bibles. Can you possibly have lived your whole life and not realized this?

The business owner wants to proselytize? They can provide a small library in the lobby, or they can keep a carton of Bibles (Qurans, Tanakhs, Books of Mormon, Moosewood Cookbooks, whatever) to distribute to guests upon request.

Having an available Bible in a room is not proselytizing. Don’t like it? Don’t read it. Really don’t like it? Don’t stay in hotel rooms pretty much anywhere on Earth.

Yes, I do avoid giving my money to businesses whose practices offend me.

Me too. If a Gideon Bible in a room offends you, I hope that you enjoy camping when you’re on vacation because no hotels are going to suit you.