opinios

Crikey, Jehovah's witnesses are getting sly. I have had a few come to the door in the past - the first over a year ago trying to preach the good word in Japanese. Back then, playing dumb with gomen nasai, wakarimasen (Sorry, I don't understand) was enough to baffle them and send them on their way.

Then they started sending witnesses who spoke English. I am not a dismissive person by nature so it would usually take a few minutes of nodding politely and letting them get their spiel out before interrupting, apologizing and wishing them well as I shut the door on them.

This morning I was sitting around with nothing but a towel around my waist using the computer in between getting out of the shower and getting dressed, when I heard a tap tap on the door. I asked in Japanese who was there, and the response, in English, was:

My name is Michiko, I want to have few words with you about something.

I knew that meant they were Jehovah's witnesses. I considered telling them through the door that I wasn't interested, but there's just something in me, the way I've been brought up perhaps, that prevents me from dismissing people rudely. I blame my mum for that one, she has trouble saying no too. So I grumbled that I would be a few minutes, threw on some clothes (slowly) and eventually opened the door.

Michiko had brought a friend with her.

Sabrina must have been about 7 or 8 and was half-Japanese, possible Michiko's daughter. She was a beautiful kid. They were both holding their bibles, open to the same page. I looked up at Michiko.

You know since 9/11 in the America, people have threatened... terror...

She tried to spit it out but struggled so I helped her. People feel threatened. I could see where this was going. Yes, it's terrible, isn't it.

So how do you feel about that?

I sighed. I had been up since 5.30am, spent three hours at work and had only just got home to relax. I was exhausted.

Um, Michiko that's a pretty heavy question for a Saturday morning.

She smiled in empathy. But before I could pre-empt her and profess to not being terribly interested in a discourse on the problems of the world, Michiko asked if she could just read one passage from the bible for me, then be gone. I was about to tell her politely that she needn't bother, when she dropped the clanger:

Sabrina will read for us.

I looked down at Sabrina. She was all innocent smiles. How can you tell a gorgeous little kid that you don't want to hear her read?

Sabrina began to plod through something out about the kingdom of God saving us all, about the coming of the end, and although she mangled a few words she did a pretty decent job of it. I was patient til the end, but it made me furious. This was a new low, using cute kids to preach the word! I didn't let it show - I put on my funny-guy elementary school teacher's face and applauded.

Yaay! Good job Sabrina!

She beamed back at me. I saved my stern response for Michiko. I told her very politely that I appreciated what she was doing, really I did. And that I respected that this was very important for her, but to me religion was a very personal thing, and that I really needed to find out what I believed on my own.

She started to explain herself, No, no, we will not try to convert your religion... but she didn't get it. They never do. They don't understand that people can't be pushed into religion, that while they feel they are going around saving people, most of these people really just don't want to get that philosophical at 10 o'clock on a Saturday morning with a stranger; that they don't know whether they believe in God or not but would rather not think about it too hard because the last time they did it made their brain hurt; that as much bad as good can come out of organized religion, and primarily - that happiness is actually possible without having God in your life. And that even if he is, it doesn't mean that you want to talk about it with a stranger.

I don't think she would have agreed with me and I wasn't interested in getting into an argument with her in front of a young girl in 30 degree heat. I was done. I gave a friendly goodbye wave to Sabrina and backed up.

I wonder how much of the exchange she was able to perceive and whether she will question any of it when she gets older, or whether she'll just blindly believe that continuing on the mission of converting everyone is the only answer...