Sunday, May 01, 2011

When Jehovah's Witnesses get pushy

Rhonda Kalapach believes Jehovah's Witnesses have no place on her property.

When two of them came to her door, the 60-year-old Monroe County woman asked them to leave. Her husband saw the women from across the street and yelled at them, but they didn’t go.

That’s when her husband, William George Kalapach, came into the home and got his rifle. The women were walking to the car where three other people were waiting, when Kalapach said they weren’t moving fast enough, police said.

Police said he fired four shots into the ground about 11 a.m. Saturday near the car with all five people inside. He is now in county prison, charged with aggravated assault and related charges.

"This is a Catholic home," Rhonda Kalapach said. "This is a devout home."

She said the evangelists ignored repeated demands from her and her husband to leave, forcing her husband to react the way he did.

They were at her door about five to 10 minutes before shots rang out, Rhonda Kalapach said.

"I kept telling them this was a Catholic home," she said. "They were trying to convert me."

She said Jehovah’s Witnesses come to her door about three to four times a year. They visited last winter, she said. Every time they’re told to leave. She said her husband did what he had to do to defend their home, she said.

"He doesn’t think he did anything wrong," she said. "This is private property. If you drive in my driveway, you’re trespassing."
Read the rest here.

Definitely an overreaction.  But yea, I do empathize.

6 comments:

Matushka Anna said...

A pity they didn't just call the police. But I sympathize too.

rabidgandhi said...

Nothing is more likely to convince people that "this is a catholic home" then showing them your gun.

DNY said...

I've found a sure fire way to get both JW's and Mormons to leave you alone. When they turn up, preach the Orthodox faith to them, tell them about the errors their confession embraces, at length, with citations to the decisions of the Ecumenical Councils. After about two rounds of this with each group, I think they put a mark on your door and never come around again.

Brian said...

I've found that having a large icon corner within easy view of the front door cuts most JW's quite short. They awkwardly offer me Awake! while keeping their faces turned away from what's right in front of them. On the other hand, I've had many very irenic and lengthy discussions with Mormons who have generally not been at all perturbed by the icons. Many Mormon missionaries have left our home with Orthodox tracts. I'm sure to some extent they've taken them to be polite, but one never knows when one might be planting a real seed.

Matushka Anna said...

One could always bless them with copious amounts of holy water (keep a container by the door for easy access).

Anonymous said...

I always have a bit of the belt sander on the skin feeling when someone describes themselves as devout. (Yes, others may describe a person as devout, but not a person about oneself.)

Ed Unneland