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Nice Plant #7: Get me off of this planet

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Re: Nice Plant #7: Get me off of this planet

I don't care what would give him satisfaction.

Remember, this guy is not a troll. He's an evangelist in the literal sense of the world -- his goal isn't to get his jollies, it's to pass his poison on. To do that he drapes it in the garb of Christianity. Those kids showed him what real Christianity is. Of course he can never see that -- whatever bizarre life path / personal insecurities / mental illness led him to devote his life to the preaching of this bile make it impossible for him to understand that the evil he sees everywhere is really just his reflection in the mirror.

Ideally, yes, the goal is to let these creeps hang themselves with their own words. That's why God made the internet. But sometimes the idiocy is just too much. What the kids did was truly inspired mockery, since their very response showed everybody the contrast between the guy's ravings and the actual message of peace.

I tried to troll the guy who does this at MSU once. Went up to him last year and asked him if he had seen Cosmos the night before. He asked what it was, I told him it was a documentary series. Then he told me he didn't watch TV because it doesn't glorify God. I was stunned. I didn't know what to do. I had been reverse trolled. Never did I think there were people that extreme still out there.

The sad thing is he has like four kids, all under five years old, and brings them when he "preaches" and makes them hold those "Sin=Hell" type signs. I feel so bad for them, they have absolutely no chance in the world. Probably will be home schooled while receiving the absolute minimum teaching required so they can spend most of their time "glorifying God" like Daddy does.

The guy also seems to have a couple interns this year, they aren't very good. I'll hand it to him, he is a great public speaker and has definitely perfected his craft over time, because the new guys he lets yell/preach sometimes are just awkward to listen to.
 
Re: Nice Plant #7: Get me off of this planet

We had one at Tech. "Purple Vest Guy", because he wore his titular piece of attire every time. He was pretty much ignored, though some tried to debate/troll him. That was in 2006 or 2007, I wonder if he still shows up.
 
Re: Nice Plant #7: Get me off of this planet

I tried to troll the guy who does this at MSU once. Went up to him last year and asked him if he had seen Cosmos the night before. He asked what it was, I told him it was a documentary series. Then he told me he didn't watch TV because it doesn't glorify God. I was stunned. I didn't know what to do. I had been reverse trolled. Never did I think there were people that extreme still out there.

The sad thing is he has like four kids, all under five years old, and brings them when he "preaches" and makes them hold those "Sin=Hell" type signs. I feel so bad for them, they have absolutely no chance in the world. Probably will be home schooled while receiving the absolute minimum teaching required so they can spend most of their time "glorifying God" like Daddy does.

The guy also seems to have a couple interns this year, they aren't very good. I'll hand it to him, he is a great public speaker and has definitely perfected his craft over time, because the new guys he lets yell/preach sometimes are just awkward to listen to.

A few years back CNN did a story about two young brothers who were "street preachers." They would stand outside of their grade school calling the little girls whores and condemning them to hell. The whole nine yards. IIRC school officials (appropriately) put a hitch in their getalongs and made them take their act off campus. I also recall seeing a piece about a church in Charleston that taught people to be street preachers. Periodically they'd decamp to street corners throughout downtown to yell at the shoppers on Saturdays. Imagine running a gantlet of these people as you walked down the street. Don't remember how that one was worked out.

Every right is limited in some way. Yelling "fire" in a crowded theatre is the classic limitation on the First Amendment. You'll recall a number of years ago every airport in the country was overrun with Hare Krishnas who attacked travelers on their way to their flights. Big First Amendment arguments ensued. Ultimately it was decided to require these people to stay in one location and preach to travelers who approached them. Otherwise, they had to leave people alone.

Two stories about that: one was the USO at O'Hare, littered with the unreadable books these clowns had sold to unsuspecting young GI's. These "free" books always cost something. One morning in St. Louis (I was traveling with a minor league football team) the smallest guy on the club decided to entertain us while we waited by pretending to be a Krishna and peddling the books they'd left on the floor. Couple of Krishnas sized this guy up and got chesty with him. Until a defensive end we called Sasquatch asked if there was a problem. Turns out, no, there was no problem. Those a*sholes could have beaten Carl Lewis in getting their behinds out of Dodge.

As far as WBC is concerned, the problem is they want to noisily demonstrate at funerals and memorial services. But the people who attend such events also have rights. And a workable, though not perfect, solution, is to require the WBC to demonstrate away from the service.

There were several occasions when Bill Clinton was POTUS of veterans demonstrating their contempt for his draft dodging. At one event at the Vietnam Wall I recall their plan was to turn their backs as he spoke. That's permissible, IMHO. But some of them began to heckle, which is not. The solution in these matters has to be worked out on a case by case basis.

I recall seeing David Duke (as an undergraduate) marching around the LSU campus in his full SA uniform. It always surprised me that a couple of big dudes from ZBT didn't turn him into a grease spot. But as vile as his message was and is he has a right to express himself.

Those with whom I've been arguing have repeatedly expressed the notion that some people don't have a right to express themselves. And if those who disagree with them take steps to keep them from being heard, it's okay. Well, it's not okay. In the case at hand, those who disagreed with the goofy street preacher could have set up shop across the street and gathered a presumably much larger crowd to croon "What a Friend We Have in Jesus." Instead, they surrounded the guy and effectively shut him up.

Can you imagine a mirror image situation? Campus atheist surrounded and shouted down by Christians and what the reaction would be from our "liberal" friends. Just a WAG, but I'm guessing they wouldn't approve. And they'd have some reason for not approving. A reason other than "I agree with the campus atheist and don't agree with the campus street preacher." That explanation, of course, would be total bull sh*t.
 
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Re: Nice Plant #7: Get me off of this planet

A few years back CNN did a story about two young brothers who were "street preachers." They would stand outside of their grade school calling the little girls whores and condemning them to hell. The whole nine yards. IIRC school officials (appropriately) put a hitch in their getalongs and made them take their act off campus. I also recall seeing a piece about a church in Charleston that taught people to be street preachers. Periodically they'd decamp to street corners throughout downtown to yell at the shoppers on Saturdays. Imagine running a gantlet of these people as you walked down the street. Don't remember how that one was worked out.

Every right is limited in some way. Yelling "fire" in a crowded theatre is the classic limitation on the First Amendment. You'll recall a number of years ago every airport in the country was overrun with Hare Krishnas who attacked travelers on their way to their flights. Big First Amendment arguments ensued. Ultimately it was decided to require these people to stay in one location and preach to travelers who approached them. Otherwise, they had to leave people alone.

Two stories about that: one was the military lounge at O'Hare, littered with the unreadable books these clowns had sold to unsuspecting young GI's. These "free" books always cost something. One morning in St. Louis (I was traveling with a minor league football team) the smallest guy on the club decided to entertain us while we waited by pretending to be a Krishna and peddling the books they'd left on the floor. Couple of Krishnas sized this guy up and got chesty with him. Until a defensive end we called Sasquatch asked if there was a problem. Turns out, no, there was no problem. Those a*sholes could have beaten Carl Lewis in getting their behinds out of Dodge.

As far as WBC is concerned, the problem is they want to noisily demonstrate at funerals and memorial services. But the people who attend such events also have rights. And a workable, though not perfect, solution, is to require the WBC to demonstrate away from the service.

There were several occasions when Bill Clinton was POTUS of veterans demonstrating their contempt for his draft dodging. At one event at the Vietnam Wall I recall their plan was to turn their backs as he spoke. That's permissible, IMHO. But some of them began to heckle, which is not permissible. The solution in these matters has to be worked out on a case by case basis.

I've only ran into one of these "super preachers" in my lifetime, thank goodness. I was at a stoplight, at an intersection, cranking some hair metal. The guy approached me, and said, "That's the devil's music, here's a pamphlet to correct your ways. Jesus loves you." My reply? "I love touching little boys. Does Jesus still love me?" The look on his face... :D :D :D He quickly dismissed himself.
 
Re: Nice Plant #7: Get me off of this planet

I've only ran into one of these "super preachers" in my lifetime, thank goodness. I was at a stoplight, at an intersection, cranking some hair metal. The guy approached me, and said, "That's the devil's music, here's a pamphlet to correct your ways. Jesus loves you." My reply? "I love touching little boys. Does Jesus still love me?" The look on his face... :D :D :D He quickly dismissed himself.

They're all over the place downtown. A couple weeks ago there was a group that setup on the sidewalk outside St. Olaf's Catholic Church, preaching something about sin and denouncing the Catholics as idolaters. There's a black church that has some weird message, it sets up shop on the corner of Marquette Ave and 7th St S, just outside of Macy's where the Mary Tyler Moore statue is. Another one sets up a block south of there, at the other end of Macy's, and there are a few that change up their locations. Only once have I ever walked by to see someone listening to one of these curbside prophets. Mostly they're just in people's ways.
 
Re: Nice Plant #7: Get me off of this planet

They're all over the place downtown. A couple weeks ago there was a group that setup on the sidewalk outside St. Olaf's Catholic Church, preaching something about sin and denouncing the Catholics as idolaters. There's a black church that has some weird message, it sets up shop on the corner of Marquette Ave and 7th St S, just outside of Macy's where the Mary Tyler Moore statue is. Another one sets up a block south of there, at the other end of Macy's, and there are a few that change up their locations. Only once have I ever walked by to see someone listening to one of these curbside prophets. Mostly they're just in people's ways.


Funny thing is, I work with some true Bible Thumpers (we're talking the "Footloose" variety), and they are cool as hell. I even was asked to do an interview for a school (Bible college) project by one of them. Hey, if you ask? No prob. Sure, I'll talk. If you just walk up and start preaching? Nope. You're in for it. That's the way it goes.
 
Re: Nice Plant #7: Get me off of this planet

I've only ran into one of these "super preachers" in my lifetime, thank goodness. I was at a stoplight, at an intersection, cranking some hair metal. The guy approached me, and said, "That's the devil's music, here's a pamphlet to correct your ways. Jesus loves you." My reply? "I love touching little boys. Does Jesus still love me?" The look on his face... :D :D :D He quickly dismissed himself.

I wish I'd thought of that. I had one approach me in a fast food place once and after the obligatory, polite, "please leave me alone," he said "I'm not a Moonie." I explained rather loudly that the particular flavor of a*swipe he was wasn't the issue.

That defensive end I referred to earlier looked and was built like Hacksaw Jim Duggan, and for some unfathomable reason the Krishnas wanted no part of him.
 
Re: Nice Plant #7: Get me off of this planet

I wish I'd thought of that. I had one approach me in a fast food place once and after the obligatory, polite, "please leave me alone," he said "I'm not a Moonie." I explained rather loudly that the particular flavor of a*swipe he was wasn't the issue.

That defensive end I referred to earlier looked and was built like Hacksaw Jim Duggan, and for some unfathomable reason the Krishnas wanted no part of him.

There was one time at Mall Of America I was approached by a Bible student (IIRC he was studying to be a priest, so he might have been from a monastery of some sort) and he politely asked if he could ask me and my buddy a few questions about religion. I obliged since he was polite about it. He was not intrusive whatsoever. He listened to my answers, didn't try and "convert" me, etc. Really nice guy.
 
Re: Nice Plant #7: Get me off of this planet

They're all over the place downtown. A couple weeks ago there was a group that setup on the sidewalk outside St. Olaf's Catholic Church, preaching something about sin and denouncing the Catholics as idolaters. There's a black church that has some weird message, it sets up shop on the corner of Marquette Ave and 7th St S, just outside of Macy's where the Mary Tyler Moore statue is. Another one sets up a block south of there, at the other end of Macy's, and there are a few that change up their locations. Only once have I ever walked by to see someone listening to one of these curbside prophets. Mostly they're just in people's ways.

What's the park in London where various people with loose screws yammer all day long? I wonder what the businessmen in Minneapolis think of these street preachers and whether they have a negative impact on the trade. Or maybe people treat them like the homeless, simply totally ignored.
 
Re: Nice Plant #7: Get me off of this planet

There was one time at Mall Of America I was approached by a Bible student (IIRC he was studying to be a priest, so he might have been from a monastery of some sort) and he politely asked if he could ask me and my buddy a few questions about religion. I obliged since he was polite about it. He was not intrusive whatsoever. He listened to my answers, didn't try and "convert" me, etc. Really nice guy.

We shouldn't paint religious people with an overly broad brush. Many of them are just as you described. The Krishnas, on the other hand, were like thugs. One of the funniest scenes in Airplane is when Robert Stack is running the gantlet of the various religious fanatics, punching them out as he goes. "Jews for Jesus?" Blam.

However, the right of these people to preach is limited by my right to be left alone.
 
Re: Nice Plant #7: Get me off of this planet

I remember talking to one of the preachers who visited the Minnesota campus often. Brother Mike is what we called him. He was a really nice guy when he wasn't doing his bit. Loved to talk cars. Whenever he was around I'd wait until he was wrapping up and talk with him.

He died a year or so ago from a heart attack. :(
 
Re: Nice Plant #7: Get me off of this planet

I remember talking to one of the preachers who visited the Minnesota campus often. Brother Mike is what we called him. He was a really nice guy when he wasn't doing his bit. Loved to talk cars. Whenever he was around I'd wait until he was wrapping up and talk with him.

He died a year or so ago from a heart attack. :(

We'd occasionally have Black Muslims peddling Elijah Speaks outside the DU bookstore. Nobody paid much attention. Except for the guilt ridden, credulous, upper middle class white kids who's fork over a buck or two to show how "open minded" they were.
 
What's the park in London where various people with loose screws yammer all day long? I wonder what the businessmen in Minneapolis think of these street preachers and whether they have a negative impact on the trade. Or maybe people treat them like the homeless, simply totally ignored.

Hyde Park. I love Hyde Park. But as I've posted, some idiots you ignore, some you can debate
 
Re: Nice Plant #7: Get me off of this planet

I remember talking to one of the preachers who visited the Minnesota campus often. Brother Mike is what we called him. He was a really nice guy when he wasn't doing his bit. Loved to talk cars. Whenever he was around I'd wait until he was wrapping up and talk with him.

He died a year or so ago from a heart attack. :(

Are you sure it wasnt "Brother Jed"? He was there every spring in the late 90s and early 2000s. He was a real piece of work and had a whole crew with him including his daughter. I got a signed copy of his book for being a smartass :D

Jed was notorious...now that I think of it he might have had a follower named Mike who came in the fall by himself. Those guys owned the Mall when the weather was nice...
 
Re: Nice Plant #7: Get me off of this planet

What's the park in London where various people with loose screws yammer all day long? I wonder what the businessmen in Minneapolis think of these street preachers and whether they have a negative impact on the trade. Or maybe people treat them like the homeless, simply totally ignored.

The businesses in Minneapolis won't care, for the most part. Due to our harsh winters, the city built a pretty extensive skyway system, so most businesses are located there. As to the ones that are located on the streets, it's mostly food trucks, and those are located off of Marquette Ave due to city ordinance. So it's rare that these street preachers even bother them.
 
Re: Nice Plant #7: Get me off of this planet

Are you sure it wasnt "Brother Jed"? He was there every spring in the late 90s and early 2000s. He was a real piece of work and had a whole crew with him including his daughter. I got a signed copy of his book for being a smartass :D

Jed was notorious...now that I think of it he might have had a follower named Mike who came in the fall by himself. Those guys owned the Mall when the weather was nice...

Nope. Brother Mike. Jed was another guy.
 
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