Garage Sale Aggression

[TheJefe817]

OK, so I've chilled a bit to try to not be an angry atheist, but this got to me.  I had a garage sale (not sure what those outside the US call this - basically a purging of useless shit at a low price via a 1/2 day sale in your front yard).  At the end of a particular transaction, a man I had never met, in my driveway, handed me a coin.  It was a US penny with a die-cut in the middle of a cross.  His message was something to the effect of "Pennies are only worth a penny, but Jesus was the one sent" (cent - homonym cleverness).  I just smirked and said thanks, after which I got the standard "Have a blessed day", which I now basically (I think correctly) interpret as "have a good day unless you don't believe like me, because then, fuck off."

I don't care.  I live in fucking Texas.  To say people wear religion on their sleeves is like saying it gets hotter in August.  And I know he wasn't being malicious.  It's just the entitlement of it.  Granted, he was there for a sale I was holding for the public, but this was still in my yard, someone he does not know.  There are, in fact, hints this would be unwelcome, such at the "believe science" and "women's rights are human rights" signs in the yard.  Still, he was bold, unapologetic and rather brash in delivering this message.

Suppose I canvassed the neighborhood (as I assume he did with his particular message) with a pocketful of Baphomet-die-cut nickels (since only Xians would be cheap enough to use pennies), since I am a member of TsT.  The police would almost certainly be called.  Even if it was Buddha, Vishnu, Allah or Joe Biden - here in Texas that doesn't work.  Hell, I would probably be taken to jail overnight for soliciting for the wrong BBQ restaurant.  But Jesus?  Preach a-fucking-way.

Rant over.  But I do have a question, which I apologize for, since it has probably been beaten to death here before - how do you respond to "Have a blessed day"?  I'm thinking I may adopt (since I get it at work, stores, venues, restaurants, etc) something like "I'm not sure what blessed means, but you have a good day too!"  Too much?

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

OK, so I've chilled a bit to try to not be an angry atheist, but this got to me.  I had a garage sale (not sure what those outside the US call this - basically a purging of useless shit at a low price via a 1/2 day sale in your front yard).  At the end of a particular transaction, a man I had never met, in my driveway, handed me a coin.  It was a US penny with a die-cut in the middle of a cross.  His message was something to the effect of "Pennies are only worth a penny, but Jesus was the one sent" (cent - homonym cleverness).  I just smirked and said thanks, after which I got the standard "Have a blessed day", which I now basically (I think correctly) interpret as "have a good day unless you don't believe like me, because then, fuck off."

I don't care.  I live in fucking Texas.  To say people wear religion on their sleeves is like saying it gets hotter in August.  And I know he wasn't being malicious.  It's just the entitlement of it.  Granted, he was there for a sale I was holding for the public, but this was still in my yard, someone he does not know.  There are, in fact, hints this would be unwelcome, such at the "believe science" and "women's rights are human rights" signs in the yard.  Still, he was bold, unapologetic and rather brash in delivering this message.

Suppose I canvassed the neighborhood (as I assume he did with his particular message) with a pocketful of Baphomet-die-cut nickels (since only Xians would be cheap enough to use pennies), since I am a member of TsT.  The police would almost certainly be called.  Even if it was Buddha, Vishnu, Allah or Joe Biden - here in Texas that doesn't work.  Hell, I would probably be taken to jail overnight for soliciting for the wrong BBQ restaurant.  But Jesus?  Preach a-fucking-way.

Rant over.  But I do have a question, which I apologize for, since it has probably been beaten to death here before - how do you respond to "Have a blessed day"?  I'm thinking I may adopt (since I get it at work, stores, venues, restaurants, etc) something like "I'm not sure what blessed means, but you have a good day too!"  Too much?

I usually just say, ‘Thank you.’ It’s not enough to get in a kerfuffle over. I also don’t get worked up when people say, ‘Bless you’ after I sneeze.

Boru

[arewethereyet]

I am also in TX and came here from SC. I just move along when the 'have a blessed day' comes along. If on the phone, an eyeroll is my reaction. It does no good to confront or try to say or do anything about it. It's ingrained. Bless their hearts.

Speaking of sales, I got a chuckle today scrolling through the local FB page where people offer things for sale or free or advertise their garage/yard sales. One listing was for a please take all offering of a King James Bible and a set of queso and salsa bowls. Couldn't have been more Texas unless they also offered a TX star or a big, gaudy cross.

[TheJefe817]

Bless their hearts.

I had to laugh when I saw this, since it made me think of Seth Andrews and his assessment of it is appropriate to my point:  
"Oh, poor Seth, he just doesn’t understand, he just doesn’t get it, he’s missed the whole point… bless his heart… bless his pea-pickin heart… Mmm, what the hell is this supposed to mean? And the faith we used to say this a lot, “Bless their heart, bless your heart, bless his heart,” it is in fact a multi-purpose piece of sanctimony, you can do anything with it. It’s a multi-tool: you can pity someone, you can love them, you can build them up, you can tear them down. In fact that internet meme is absolutely true, when it says, “You know, inside every ‘bless your heart’ is a teeny tiny ‘fuck you’.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

"Jesus loves you!

"So he loved your mother?"

[Ravenshire]

I'm thinking I may adopt (since I get it at work, stores, venues, restaurants, etc) something like "I'm not sure what blessed means, but you have a good day too!"  Too much?

I've always liked "May the blessings of Ra shine upon you." as a response to that silliness. Unfortunately, I rarely hear it, even from devout christers, around here.

[Gwaithmir]

@TheJefe817

I think the best revenge would be to simply put the penny with your other loose change and spend it. It has no more value than any other penny. Let it become an item of curiosity to other people who would find it in their change. 

[Thumpalumpacus]

But I do have a question, which I apologize for, since it has probably been beaten to death here before - how do you respond to "Have a blessed day"?  I'm thinking I may adopt (since I get it at work, stores, venues, restaurants, etc) something like "I'm not sure what blessed means, but you have a good day too!"  Too much?

"Thanks, you have a good'un".

[The Grand Nudger]

Rant over.  But I do have a question, which I apologize for, since it has probably been beaten to death here before - how do you respond to "Have a blessed day"?  I'm thinking I may adopt (since I get it at work, stores, venues, restaurants, etc) something like "I'm not sure what blessed means, but you have a good day too!"  Too much?

If you wanna tell em to have a good day there's no need for the snark, and if you wanna tell em to fuck off there's no need to be nice about it.

[TheJefe817]

Rant over.  But I do have a question, which I apologize for, since it has probably been beaten to death here before - how do you respond to "Have a blessed day"?  I'm thinking I may adopt (since I get it at work, stores, venues, restaurants, etc) something like "I'm not sure what blessed means, but you have a good day too!"  Too much?

If you wanna tell em to have a good day there's no need for the snark, and if you wanna tell em to fuck off there's no need to be nice about it.

I think that's the line I'm trying to walk.  I don't want to tell a lunatic with my address to fuck off (as much as I would like to), but I want them to know the message they are giving is unwlecome in its implications.  Maybe I'm just too sensitive about this at this point in my journey.