Thursday, January 26, 2012

Episode 1221: Campus Encounter

So on my way to yet another experiment (for which I made £7 and a packet of crisps), I was accosted by two people whom I thought were about to ask for directions, but whom I subsequently realised were Jehovah's Witnesses, after glancing at the leaflet they took out to give to me. Thing is, while I was talking to them, nothing gave them away. Nothing theologically controversial came up in the discussion, although reflecting on their comments about the fulfilment of the kingdom of God on this current Earth and how it will 'crush' all other kingdoms/governments, I realise now that the phrasing is quite particular to Jehovah's Witnesses. They initially tried to engage me in conversation in Chinese, but within a few sentences, I told them to switch to English. There was something vaguely condescending/racist in their surprise at how good my English was, considering that the first thing they asked me in English was whether I spoke Chinese, and of course, they assumed that I was from China based on my skin colour, which is one of the things that seriously ticks me off. (Not to mention that when he was taking out the flyer at the end of our conversation, the older man still took out one that was written in Chinese.) Surprised they were actively recruiting people on campus itself though, as I was walking along Scarman Road at the time. Is that actually allowed?

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