Venturing behind enemy lines?
For the past week or so, I've been seeing signs all over my neighborhood for what would appear to be an upcoming old-timey christian-themed tent rally quite near to where I lived. I gave it almost no thought whatsoever, as this is really not a very christian neighborhood - according to the last census data, over 30% of the local population chose "no religion", and were the largest single segment of the population - and figured it would come and go with no consequence whatsoever.
While I still feel this is essentially the case, I saw, this morning, a big white van parked a block away from my place which was plastered with crudely-rendered signs advertising this event, and moreover, some weird imagery. It had, in place of your usual christian imagery which involves either a tortured and suffering or else meek and mild Jesus... a sword, surrounded by swirling flames. This momentarily arrested me. This was not the sort of vibe or imagery I was expecting at all. These were apparently not merely christians: These were Freaky Weirdo Brand Deluxe Christians.
And at that moment, I became curious. I spend a good amount of time discussing this religion on my blog here, and a part of the reason that I do so is that I have no other outlet for it. I don't know any christians. I never get to interact with them in a situation where discussing their religion is appropriate, much less Freaky Weirdo Brand Deluxe Christians. And it occurred to me, it might be interesting to try to delve into the belly of the beast here a bit.
My aim here is not antagonism PER SE. I think I would like to show up, be conspicuously out of place (this is inevitable, given the way I dress, groom myself and carry myself), and, should anyone strike up a conversation with me, just be 100% honest, and see where the discussion takes us.
And it occurs to me, this might be a fun little outing.
And so I put it to Vancouver-area people: Is anyone interested in joining me in this expedition behind enemy lines? It should be an entertaining and enlightening experience, and, in the hopefully-unlikely event that these Freaky Weirdo Brand Deluxe Christians (which I emphatically do not intend to refer to as such to their faces) should turn ugly on me, a bit of backup might not be a bad thing either.