When is Fanatic?
The other day I saw this guy close to the bus stop and he was trying to hand out a little booklet – Watch Tower or something, but nobody would take it from him. That made me think back to the Jehovah Witnesses who kept leaving stuff at my doorway because they came one day when my daughter was there and had a big long conversation with her.
Anyway, that got me to thinking about fanatacism and wondering just when somebody jumps from being religious to being a zealot or fanatic.
A woman I know, added me as a friend on Facebook. I don’t know her that well, but I knew her enough to say, “oh, ok, nice to see you here”, rather than me just adding all kinds of strangers who play the same games I play.
It was only a few days later that I saw she had posted something like “Thank Jesus for everything”, or “only through God do we… yada yada”, can’t remember. But it was stuff like that and my first though was, ‘holy shit, I didn’t know she was a jeezus freak’.
So I’m thinking I should ‘unfriend’ her, just because I’m not into that kinda stuff or the people espousing it, but I suppose I could also leave her there and just hide her posts or something. If I hide her posts though, maybe I won’t see it if she ever writes anything to me and she’ll wonder why. But if I unfriend her, and she doesn’t have a lot of friends, she’ll probably notice that I’m not showing up in her friend list.
Why is it that jeezus freaks have to become freaks? Why can’t they just be religious to themselves, and adoring God and thanking him for everything good in their lives (and everything bad cuz it gives them strength). I think in some religions (maybe it’s all, I dunno) you’re supposed to try to help people see the light – and get them to sign on the dotted line. I don’t know if that’s why these people become so verbal about their religion.
Whatever the reason, I just want them to leave me alone, and believe whatever they want quietly. I’ll do the same thing and not shove my beliefs down anyone’s throat.
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Comments
You may be right, Matt. I just hope it’s not going to turn into something more. For now I’ll leave her there but if every post starts being something religious, I’ll have to do something – while wondering why she wanted me on her FB (perhaps to convert?)
I don’t think that because
-someone posts “thank god for whatever” that they’re necessarily fanatical.
-Sharing their religion/beliefs..also not fanatical (hey..we may learn about culture and diversity and maybe grow a brain cell or two!). 
However, I dont want to be your friend if you don’t believe as I do..or believe differently or express yoursel– that’s fanatical.
Guess that this would qualify YOU as a fanatic.
Michelle, I think you missed the whole point here. It has nothing to do with ‘I don’t want to be your friend if you don’t have the same beliefs as I do’ – I don’t give a flying farg what her beliefs are. I’m worried that I’ll now be inundated with posts about our Lord and how everything comes from God, and whatever other spiritual beliefs she believes are all the result of God being everywhere.
I don’t want Jesus in my facebook or even in my conversations. My religion is nobody’s business and I don’t want to know hers.
I don’t think that not wanting to listen/read that makes me fanatical, it makes me someone who doesn’t want to speak to Jehovah witnesses when they show up at my door.
I’ll take my religion where I want it, not have it forced upon me by someone who doesn’t know where or when. In that way, I know ‘she’s’ a jeezus freak… because it seems that her life revolves around religion.
jafer
Fuhq
Leticia
Matt
Sunny
Female, taken, fire, Sagittarius, Monkey, Toronto, two kids, one grandson, IT.
55
is the new 30. I want the world to close their mouths when they’re eating or chewing gum. If they don’t, I want to elbow them in the face.
If you unfriend her, that’s tantamount to judging her on based on her convictions, and then you’re no better than a zealot, no?