the preacherman

I had a truly American experience the other day. I was on the bus on my way to work, when a man got on and stood right next to me. When the bus moved off he started preaching. Very loudly. The usual Jesus loves you kind of stuff, with some hell, fire and brimstone thrown in for good measure. I don't think he had thought about what to say beforehand, but just shouted out whatever random thoughts came into his head. He seemed particularly keen on the idea that we might all get killed in an earthquake next year, and was really thrilled that his prayers were working, because look he wasn't in a wheelchair yet. (At which point I was far too intimidated to point out that being an agnostic for many years hasn't done me much harm either!) The response from the passengers on the bus was pretty unanimous. A few smiles at first turned into some uncomfortable looks, and when he still didn't get off people started moving to the other end of the bus. But more seriously, I do get mildly offended when people try to convert me to their religion. I am quite capable of deciding for myself whether or not to believe in God, thank you very much, and no amount of yelling at me on a bus is going to make me change my mind.