When the religious folk knock on the door I tell them I'm a confirmed atheist so there's no point in them wasting their time or mine trying to convince me of whatever it is they believe in. Charity people get told they can leave a card if they like and I'll consider it when I sort out my annual charity donations. Sales people get told no thank you. The ones who say they are a tree surgeon and my purple-leaved plum needs pruning get asked what about the risk of silver leaf disease/disturbing nesting birds depending on time of year, at which point they realise that I probably know more about it than they do (not difficult, a proper qualified tree surgeon has no need to be door-knocking for work) and clear off.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
@Winston_The_Gravity_Man she certainly had cojones and she knew if my Dad answered the door he would be out there arguing pointlessly for hours. He was an atheist and loved to debate religious matters.
I just politely say I am not interested if I do bother to answer the door, it’s glass and the living room window enables me to see anyone in the porch so mostly I don’t trouble myself with them.
Me, @debs64 when people knock at the front I go out of the back door and suddenly appear next to them. Doesn't half put the willies up most people and completely wrong-foots them.
I try to be unfailingly polite to cold callers but I can't recall even one occasion when any of them have been successful. "We've already got one" or "they've just been done a few months ago" works every time, I find, but on one occasion when I was in a rush I absentmindedly said to a double-glazing seller "Sorry mate, we don't have any windows" and shut the door on him.
When there's always biscuits in the tin, where's the fun in biscuits ?
I'm a Christian, so always have a Bible to hand to make my point, whether with JW's or Mormons. They soon realize that they are not going to make any headway.
Mormons soon got the message, and gave up. JW's were a bit more persistent, but my wife knows I can talk for England when I get going. They were polite, even interested to hear my views to begin with. I've not seen any stop here for a few years now, so I guess they feel they can have more success elsewhere.
I've even seen them visit neighbours on both sides of us, but tactfully avoid our house.
... but on one occasion when I was in a rush I absentmindedly said to a double-glazing seller "Sorry mate, we don't have any windows" and shut the door on him.
My brother-in-law told them, completely deadpan, that he'd just had double glazing put in. He watched the chap look round and focus on their in-need-of-a-coat-of-paint 50 year old wooden framed windows, look puzzled, make an internal decision not to challenge him and back slowly away.
'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.'
I don’t answer the door to anyone I don’t know, unless I’m really in the mood for an argument. Our bungalow has a slightly odd layout, being built on the side of a hill. It means that instead of answering the front door when I see people plodding up the drive from the road, I can just open the bedroom window and shout down to them. Very hard for anyone to deliver a decent sales pitch, or an attempted conversion, while leaning over backwards.
My Mum’s four sisters - my aunts - were nuns and quite often one or more would be staying with us. There is no better JW repellent than a nun answering the door.
A friend had a different approach. Before engaging in conversation about what God expects of us, he would say he was perfectly happy to talk about this but could he first show them his collection of motorbike and woodworking magazines from the 1950s which were stored in the attic. “I’ll lead the way.”
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It takes some 'cojones' to appear at the front door in a state of undress 😁
I'd rather have Mormons.
Mormons soon got the message, and gave up. JW's were a bit more persistent, but my wife knows I can talk for England when I get going. They were polite, even interested to hear my views to begin with. I've not seen any stop here for a few years now, so I guess they feel they can have more success elsewhere.
I've even seen them visit neighbours on both sides of us, but tactfully avoid our house.
A friend had a different approach. Before engaging in conversation about what God expects of us, he would say he was perfectly happy to talk about this but could he first show them his collection of motorbike and woodworking magazines from the 1950s which were stored in the attic. “I’ll lead the way.”