On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 17:23:58 +0100, Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@schestowitz.com>
wrote:
>altheim wrote:
>
>> As you are sure to know, if you are reading this in the UK,
>> we are nearing the end of Wimbledon fortnight (that is tennis
>> to US ignoramusses) and today (Tuesday) was the Ladies
>> quarter finals. Among the qualifiers was Venus Williams
>> (Serena was knocked out earlier in the tournament). During
>> a break, one of the BBC presenters interviewed Richard
>> Williams, Venus's father. He remarked that tennis was not
>> the most important thing in the Williams household (yeah right).
>> "What is the most important thing then"?, the interviewer asked.
>>
>> "God, Jehova is No. 1"
>>
>> If an English person said that s/he'd get funny looks.
It's not that uncommon to get religious types saying that to you, even in the
secular UK. Jonathan Edwards, the World Champion triple-jumper, is likely to
say similar, as is Sir Cliff Richard, a well-known UK pop-star and amateur
tennis player.
Go to any city with a large Asian (from the Indian sub-continent) population
such as Bradford, Leicester or Southall, and you will no doubt get similar
responses about Allah or some other Indian god or guru being the most important
person/thing in the household.
What I do find shocking is when I meet a Jehovah's Witness. We have one where I
work and I find it difficult to speak to him, even though he is a nice enough
guy. I keep thinking of all the kids they allow to die, the creationist
beliefs, the appalling treatment of disfellowshipped JWs, and their silly
prophecies which never come true.
>
>I am not entirely sure that's true. If someone said that to me, I would
>definitely not mind. So why would a more observant person respond with a
>funny look?
>
>In this particular case I might say "whatever rocks your boat".
Followed by, "just don't expect me to believe in it"
JPG.
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