Shunned by a child

[Draka]

Are all you heathens this whiny?

Seriously, she's 11. Hopefully she gets a little wiser later in life.

It's not so much that it just comes from an 11y/o. Lots of inane stuff comes from kids and they usually learn it from each other. But something like this, religious discrimination or confusion or what-have-you, most assuredly is something taught by an adult. Which only makes me wonder about where or whom she's learned it from. Just who have I been living next to for these many months?

Now, they haven't been there all that very long. If they had, I'm sure someone there might have seen me outside in the middle of the night in my yard having a ritual. I haven't held one outside for quite sometime and I'm rarely up very late anymore anyway. Makes me wonder though, if anyone over there ever were to see me in my casting circle, white shift wearing, candle burning, sword bearing, witchy glory though...just what would I be subject to? My neighbor that resides in the other half of the duplex I rent knows and has no issue. The one across the alley is cool and isn't the type to care. But the one with the adjoining yard...should I start expecting Jesus pamphlets to start littering my doorway?

 

[Wirey]

It's not so much that it just comes from an 11y/o. Lots of inane stuff comes from kids and they usually learn it from each other. But something like this, religious discrimination or confusion or what-have-you, most assuredly is something taught by an adult. Which only makes me wonder about where or whom she's learned it from. Just who have I been living next to for these many months?

Now, they haven't been there all that very long. If they had, I'm sure someone there might have seen me outside in the middle of the night in my yard having a ritual. I haven't held one outside for quite sometime and I'm rarely up very late anymore anyway. Makes me wonder though, if anyone over there ever were to see me in my casting circle, white shift wearing, candle burning, sword bearing, witchy glory though...just what would I be subject to? My neighbor that resides in the other half of the duplex I rent knows and has no issue. The one across the alley is cool and isn't the type to care. But the one with the adjoining yard...should I start expecting Jesus pamphlets to start littering my doorway?

Videotape that. I smell $10,000!

 

[Willamena]

There is an 11y/o girl who lives next door that I have chatted with from time to time while my kids and her younger brother and sister have played outside. Quite talkative and bubbly and nice, I have never had issue with her wanting to chat with me while the others have played. Today, she started asking about exactly what ages my kids were because she thought they would be a good fit for her brother and sister's youth bible group. She talked up the group for a bit and I smiled and told her while it sounded nice it wasn't something we would be interested in. She tried again, saying how fun it was, and I told her it did sound fun, that wasn't the issue, I just wouldn't be comfortable with the bible study itself. She gave me a weird look and I stated in an almost apologetic way that we weren't Christian. She turned around and walked away and went back to sitting on her back porch steps with her brother and hasn't spoken a word to me since. Shunned,...by an 11y/o...for not being a Christian. Wow. Up until then I was interesting and nice and whenever she saw me outside she made a direct line to me to chat with me. Suddenly...I have the plague. Imagine that.

Of course I don't know the whole story, but I can imagine a scenario where she was stimied because her parents gave her what amounts to an assignment to befriend the neighbour kids by bringing them into Bible study, as may be habit elsewhere, and now she doesn't know how to proceed. Her assignment is fail. I wonder what happened next.

 

[Draka]

Videotape that. I smell $10,000!

One place I lived, myself and a couple friends were holding a ritual outside and a few neighbors had gathered across the street to murmur and point. Finally tired of their glaring I hopped up, pointed over at them and yelled "I'll get you my pretty, and your little dog too!" at which point my friends and I just started laughing. The people dispersed though.

 

[Astravalon]

Of course I don't know the whole story, but I can imagine a scenario where she was stimied because her parents gave her what amounts to an assignment to befriend the neighbour kids by bringing them into Bible study, as may be habit elsewhere, and now she doesn't know how to proceed. Her assignment is fail. I wonder what happened next.

I think that is one of the strategies churches apply -- lasso 'em in through their kids.

Since we stopped attending church, we've gotten that on occasion with friends who end up not speaking to us when the attempts repeatedly fail.

 

[Draka]

Okay, yesterday the younger sister came out by herself and came over to the fence while I was out with my kids and my son was asking her if she would come over and play with them on their swingset. This is the first time any of the kids has been out while any of us have been out since the incident. She said she had one page of math homework to do first and started to settle down on a little chair next to the fence to do it when her sister (the 11y/o) came to their backdoor and started screaming for her to get inside and do her homework. The younger one said she was doing it and the older one was screaming that she had to come inside to do it NOW! In went the younger one.

Today, the boy came home, and was trying to get in his backdoor, which was locked, but he just kind of stared at us for a while, watching us, before slipping around his house to the front to get in.

I have no clue what is going on over there now but this is just weird. Those kids use to be outside playing all the freaking time.

 

[Alceste]

Boo. I was hoping for a more heart warming update on this situation. your neighbors suck.

 

[Draka]

I would like to know what's up. My neighbor in the duplex I share occasionally talks to the mom over there. I'm thinking about talking to her and see if she's heard anything.

 

[Father Heathen]

Unless they start to harass or spread misinformation about you, I wouldn't worry about those backward bumpkins.

 

[Old Scratch]

I would like to know what's up. My neighbor in the duplex I share occasionally talks to the mom over there. I'm thinking about talking to her and see if she's heard anything.

Perhaps to your house I should visit? Patch things up with your neighbor I might.
Very, very persuasive I can be! Booowhwhahhahaha ahahhahahahahahhahah, etc!

 

[Draka]

Unless they start to harass or spread misinformation about you, I wouldn't worry about those backward bumpkins.

Well, that would be one reason to talk to my duplex neighbor right there. It would at least give me some idea if they at least went to her and said something.

Plus, it was rather sad that the little girl obviously wanted to play, my kids wanted to stay outside and wait in case she came back out when she was done with her homework, and all they got was disappointment.

 

[Renji]

This is sad Draka. So judgmental to me. Your neighbors are freaking me out.

 

[Amechania]

What about throwing a party for your children and asking your neighbors directly if their kids would like to be included? They might not even be aware of the situation. Eleven-year-old girls can get pretty caught up in ideas that don't necessarily come from their parents. At any rate, you'll know for sure, and your kids will have fun.

 

[kylixguru]

Draka,

Interesting story. And, indeed a sad one.

For the most part, this is a result of how orthodox Christian children are taught about God and the universal exclusivity they arrogate to their God.

Somehow people have taken something that was specific for a given tribal group as a covenant with them only and taken the cosmic sounding metaphors too literally without deciphering things down to the more practical meaning intended.

Israel wasn't out to spread a global empire and dominate the whole world under their system of law. They had the boundaries of their homeland they were given and they purged and defended them and tended to just be neighborly otherwise.

That's what Christianity on a spiritual level needs to do. If someone is claiming to be Christian but they are distorting and perverting it, then that is something to defend against. But, if someone isn't a Christian, and they aren't trying to attack Christianity, then we should be completely at ease with them and be good neighbors.

Christians need to realize that not everyone living wants to live in a kingdom the way the Father wants to establish it and to respect that. There will likely always be a place on the planet for people who wish to live according to other programs to do so.

Based on what I teach my children: As long as you didn't start telling my child that their faith in and devotion to their God was stupid ,etc. such that they were under attack, I would want them to make friends and have no problem worrying about what choices others make as an adult. They would know it is perfectly your right to choose otherwise.

 

[Draka]

Talked to my duplex neighbor. She seems to think that the girl tends to think that anyone that is not a Christian is automatically a bad person. Like does drugs and harms kids and is a criminal and whatnot. She said she will try to talk to the mother on my behalf and also see what is going on. There is no reason for those children to be afraid of me and my family and no reason for their mother to keep her children out of their own backyard. BTW, my duplex neighbor is a Christian as well and said that she thought it said a lot of me to come to her with the issue. To trust her with it.

 

[Renji]

Talked to my duplex neighbor. She seems to think that the girl tends to think that anyone that is not a Christian is automatically a bad person. Like does drugs and harms kids and is a criminal and whatnot. She said she will try to talk to the mother on my behalf and also see what is going on. There is no reason for those children to be afraid of me and my family and no reason for their mother to keep her children out of their own backyard. BTW, my duplex neighbor is a Christian as well and said that she thought it said a lot of me to come to her with the issue. To trust her with it.

That's so judgemental. As a Christian myself, I think I'll have to appologize to you for such actions like that. So sad. It's just that there are many factors of why your neighbor think like that. Like some preachers teaching that non Christians are *this*,*that* and so on. Hope this will be resolved happily.

 

[Draka]

That's so judgemental. As a Christian myself, I think I'll have to appologize to you for such actions like that. So sad. It's just that there are many factors of why your neighbor think like that. Like some preachers teaching that non Christians are *this*,*that* and so on. Hope this will be resolved happily.

I don't think there is anything for you to apologize for. Unless you have perpetrated something along those lines yourself, unless you have told anyone that non-Christians shouldn't be trusted because they are all bad people who do bad things, then no worries. Right now I have to view this as a confused child who maybe got messages mixed up from church, because I really don't know anything about the reactions or any exchanges of any of the other family members. It may turn out that this is coming from her mother, but I don't know that for sure now. I'm sure I'll find out soon enough.

 

[Renji]

I don't think there is anything for you to apologize for. Unless you have perpetrated something along those lines yourself, unless you have told anyone that non-Christians shouldn't be trusted because they are all bad people who do bad things, then no worries. Right now I have to view this as a confused child who maybe got messages mixed up from church, because I really don't know anything about the reactions or any exchanges of any of the other family members. It may turn out that this is coming from her mother, but I don't know that for sure now. I'm sure I'll find out soon enough.

Tbh, when I was a kid (few years younger than your neighbor, till my early teenage years) I used to think that way; that non christians are "bad" and stuff. Not because my religion teaches me that (RCC teaches to leave the judgement to God with regards to other world religions), but because my friends as well as people surrounding me think that way, and the fact that I don't have non christian friends before. But yeah, as I mature and studied more about my beliefs as well as being exposed to other groups of people, I realized that my judgement isn't good. Hopefully the kid will realize the same thing.

 

[Draka]

I think it has to do with exposure as well. I was never raised in a very strict Christian household to begin with. We didn't go to church or anything. There were bedtime prayers and some stories from a Children's Bible when we were little, but nothing was ever forced or formally taught. Plus, in my school, I was in class with Jewish kids and Greek Orthodox as well. In my own extended family religions varied. Shoot, I still couldn't tell you what my father believes. The fact that other people had different religions and believed different things was just a given in my life growing up. Obviously it hasn't been in hers.

 

[Draka]

Still haven't heard anything. Still haven't seen the kids outside playing either. Such a shame today too. Was really nice out. Stupidity hurts...them. *sigh*