This morning, I was enjoying a delightful danish with my husband in the local bakery. This random guy walks up and asks if we're from the area. Thinking he may want directions, we confirm. He proceeds to explain that he is the minister at a nearby church and invited us to a service. A thousand replies, none of which would have been nice or necessary, pop into my head. The result of keeping those thoughts to myself is that I start laughing. My more disciplined, military husband was able to keep a straight face and politely nod as the man finished his spiel. After the man walked away, my husband scolded me for my response. I asked him if he would have felt obligated to be polite if our breakfast had been interrupted by someone selling insurance or vacuums. Of course not. But he still didn't see why I was offended. Here's why:
If I had interrupted his breakfast with an invitation to the upcoming
Reason Rally , or a gay pride event, or a Planned Parenthood fundraiser, he would have been offended and outlined his convictions. (While this is conjecture regarding this specific individual, I have found this to be the general reaction.) Why should I be expected to keep quiet when someone imposes on my time and space?
It's like those Jehovah Witness people...who thought knocking on the doors of busy people, expecting them to drop everything and listen, was a good idea? What would they think if I showed up on their doorstep while they were trying to make dinner and handed them a copy of a Richard Dawkins book?
Bottom line: Don't bother me when I have a danish.
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