Religious preachers shouldn't be shouting and screeching in the street..

[Theblacksheepforever]

I was out with my children today walking down the high street with my two children, reception age DS is autistic and my other DC is a little baby.

A religious preacher with fliers who we hadn't noticed - started shouting at the top of her voice about God and jusgement day as we walked past her. It scared DS stiff and an hour long meltdown ensued. I was annoyed.

My child aside, does anybody else think this shouldn't be allowed? It's antisocial and technicallg illegal given that shouting and screaming in the street is contrary to section 5 of the public order act, so why is this allowed?

AIBU?

how do they think anyone would listen to this, would Jesus have done this (or equivalent god/prophet)? I don't think he would have !!!!

Jesus was listened too by his followers was he not? If everyone just ignored him maybe he would have resorted to shouting in the streets. After all he too was "sent to save us" and there's no way you know for sure that the street preacher isn't telling the truth too.

I have only known one street preacher, he had a day job and was not in the slightest mentally unwell. He gave up his Saturdays to preach on the High Street. He came to work at our house every so often and we would often chat....he'd had a very interesting life and had a great sense of humour. He didn't preach at us or talk about his faith, but once said how sad he was that he had been saved and his wife had not. They had a very happy marriage even though he was worried she was going to hell. Anyway she was OK with him preaching every week......reminded me of the MNetters with DH mysterious "hobby"

Every so often we would walk by him while he was preaching, and always passed the time of day. He would smile and wave then carry on with his speech. I imagine a megaphone would be quite annoying, but he just relied on a carrying voice!

Oh for goodness sake - it happens all around the world. It's a non-event, just walk on by. I'm sorry your child was upset, but the world doesn't revolve around him.

Pressed post too soon. The people who actually scream in public, often with megaphones, get all Christians a bad name and they don't show any consideration for people who are sensitive to shouting/loud noise.

There are plenty of other community outreach projects that churches can do that don't involve yelling at people through a speaker about how they are going to hell.

If that is the main issue in Lewisham now, then the area has improved greatly since I last was there.

OP contact the police with your concerns but you may not get a sympathetic response.

Nobody should be screeching in the street.

There no need to shout and screech if you're preaching. I'd be tempted to raise it directly with their church, advising them of their poor preaching style.

Oh give over, she was entirely responsible. He was perfectly happy until a stranger started shrieking about burning in the hellfire as we passed, making him jump and panic.

I think you need to separate your desire to protect your DS from being confronted by scary sudden noises (and thus leading to meltdown) with your distaste for shouty preachers.

How is he if a fire engine suddenly starts up? do you think they should be banned? Or other unpredictable noises?

Personally, i find it irritating to be preached at, especially loudly, but it's a price I'm prepared to pay for something close to freedom of speech/religion etc. But i also understand that it makes your life difficult.

So what is it really that bothers you? the sudden noise (leading to meltdown) or the actual message? and what is it you actually propose?

[quote Smerk]Not sure why you're getting slated here OP - it is an issue, and you'd think being on the doorstep of the largest police station in London (I believe) someone might have a word? I'm picturing this happening outside Primark/McDonalds, that end of the high street, am I right?

Maybe once they redevelop the high street they'll move elsewhere. www.fromthemurkydepths.co.uk/2022/03/15/lewisham-shopping-centre-demolition-new-consultation-underway/[/quote]
Yep, that's the one.

We was passing McDonald's/primark on our way toward the shopping centre.

They're always there, either shouting through a microphone or without one, playing loud music and shouting over the top of it.

She was still there when I was coming back so we crossed the road to avoid her, even so we could hear her shouting divisive crap about her 'black sisters' not being recognised when they get to the pesrly gates because they've turned 'white'

Whatever she meant by that I don't know, I can only assume she's having a pop at other black women for not acting in a way she deems appropriate.

The last thing anybody needs right now is more division, the BLM movement made waves and it felt as though there was more unity than ever before, then you get wallies like that spouting divisive rubbish.

@SquirrelG

Oh for goodness sake - it happens all around the world. It's a non-event, just walk on by. I'm sorry your child was upset, but the world doesn't revolve around him.

Of course the world doesn't revolve around him, but it's not just him is it? He's a small percentage of a sizable number of the population who has disabilities and vulnerabilities. I don't want disabled women harangued in the street about being sinners, or gay men abused and ridiculed because of their sexuality, any more than I want DS panicked and set into meltdown.

@balalake

If that is the main issue in Lewisham now, then the area has improved greatly since I last was there.

OP contact the police with your concerns but you may not get a sympathetic response.

I'm not actually going to contact the police, it's pointless, free speech and all that.

It's just my opinion, and annoyance.

@Brefugee

Oh give over, she was entirely responsible. He was perfectly happy until a stranger started shrieking about burning in the hellfire as we passed, making him jump and panic.

I think you need to separate your desire to protect your DS from being confronted by scary sudden noises (and thus leading to meltdown) with your distaste for shouty preachers.

How is he if a fire engine suddenly starts up? do you think they should be banned? Or other unpredictable noises?

Personally, i find it irritating to be preached at, especially loudly, but it's a price I'm prepared to pay for something close to freedom of speech/religion etc. But i also understand that it makes your life difficult.

So what is it really that bothers you? the sudden noise (leading to meltdown) or the actual message? and what is it you actually propose?

RE fire engines, no of course not.

I've actually done some work with DS about the emergency services and his sensitivity to sudden noise. He knows that fire engines, ambulances and police cars can make sudden loud noises.

We carry ear defenders with us when we go out, 9 times out of 10 if he sees either of the above in the distance he will put his ear defenders on just incase. He can't tolerate having them on for long so doesn't wear them continuously, but they can be helpful as a last minute thing.

A fire engine putting their sirens on is presumably on its way to save lives. The preachers are just annoying twits (mostly)

YANBU. I'm not religious in the slightest so I find any type of preaching, including doorstep preaching, an utter pain in the arse and I don't appreciate religious organisations waking us up or disturbing us in our own home for no reason other than to try and convert us or 'spread the good word'. If ever I am considering entering into a religion of my own free will, I'll do my research and approach the relevent organisation, church, synagogue, mosque etc myself.

I remember walking past a town-centre preacher when my daughter was a small baby. She was asleep in her pram and his bellowing woke her up. He was talking about suicide and how 'wrong' it is, subjecting the victim to 'eternal hellfire'. Totally unnecessary when people are just going about their daily business and some may be suffering immeasurably in life already.

It's a pain in the arse and I am sick of it too. I'm not surprised a young child, especially one who has autism, got upset and very distressed.

Do you know sod all about autism? It only takes a split second to trigger a meltdown and can take hours to come out of one. You're a very ignorant person aren't you. Educate yourself on autism before you spout any more of that BS.

What on earth has autism got to do with street preachers? If an autistic child is upset by loudness in city centres, don't take them there.

@Musicandcheese

Do you know sod all about autism? It only takes a split second to trigger a meltdown and can take hours to come out of one. You're a very ignorant person aren't you. Educate yourself on autism before you spout any more of that BS.

What on earth has autism got to do with street preachers? If an autistic child is upset by loudness in city centres, don't take them there.

OK. I just won't bother taking him outside at all. Good idea. Let's revert to the good old days when autistic people were confined to institutions.

His therapy appointments are in the city centre you ignorant rude woman.

OK. I just won't bother taking him outside at all. Good idea. Let's revert to the good old days when autistic people were confined to institutions.

His therapy appointments are in the city centre you ignorant rude woman

No need for name calling. If you see street preachers, or other people making loud noises, take a different route and avoid them. If your child becomes distressed at all city noises then there's not much you can do. Maybe change his therapy appointments to a different location?

Maybe change his therapy appointments to a different location?

Why the hell should the OP inconvenience herself and her children just because somebody is standing in the street yelling when they shouldn't be?

@Musicandcheese

OK. I just won't bother taking him outside at all. Good idea. Let's revert to the good old days when autistic people were confined to institutions.

His therapy appointments are in the city centre you ignorant rude woman

No need for name calling. If you see street preachers, or other people making loud noises, take a different route and avoid them. If your child becomes distressed at all city noises then there's not much you can do. Maybe change his therapy appointments to a different location?

I apologise, its just hurtful as his mother to read some of the replies on this thread. There has been alot of ignorance and rude people.

I didn't notice the preacher until she started booming as we walked past, there were alot of people about.

I cant change his appointments to another location, they are an NHS provision and we don't get to pick and choose.

I think you have a particular set of circumstances that make your family overly sensitive to this. I get it, I have PTSD and can’t cope with shouting, inc kids screaming, and various other things.

But I have learned to adapt, because I have long realised that it’s impossible to control everyone else in the world.

It’s not unexpected that people shout in public places. I usually wear headphones maybe your son could try this.

People say a lot worse than street preachers, they’ve been round for millennia

I get that free speech is good, I just wish that electrically amplified free speech was dealt with. I feel sorry for people trying to run city centre businesses who have street preachers parking themselves by their doors. No-one wants to run a gauntlet of frothing, screeching losers telling their clientele that Buddhists and Muslims are ALL WRONG.

@DysmalRadius

I suppose it's similar to someone with mental health issues shouting in the street - I'm sure the police might approach them if they happened to be in the vicinity and otherwise unoccupied, but it's unlikely to be something that they actively seek out. While I can completely understand that it upset your son, I imagine most people would barely give it a second thought and services are so stretched that it would have to be a bigger problem for more people in order to to move up the priority list.

I wouldn't say similar, I would say it literally is someone with mental health problems shouting in the street

[quote Dairymilk50]@NeverDropYourMooncup report it to the must driver in future..[/quote]
Strangely, the bus drivers have noticed somebody shouting on their buses already.

Whether they can do anything about it because they're actually concentrating upon not running over schoolkids or crashing into other vehicles at the time, is a different matter. Often, the people being preached at get off at the next shop, sometimes the shorter gets told to get off by the driver and sometimes you get other passengers - who could well have disabilities of their own - telling them to be quiet.

"Maybe change his therapy appointments to a different location?"

Do you think there is so much provision out there that people get that choice.

Freedom of speech! Same reason protestors are allowed to screech and holler outside abortion clinics. Life isn't always a bed of roses!

@MissMaple82

Freedom of speech! Same reason protestors are allowed to screech and holler outside abortion clinics. Life isn't always a bed of roses!

Nobody should be allowed to screech and holler at women outside of abortion clinics. That's the problem isn't it? People can behave atrociously and get away with it under the guise of free speech.

Back to the street preaching for a second, if I went and knocked on my gay neighbours door and told him he deserves to burn in hell if he doesn't stop being gay I'm definitely getting arrested, but it's OK for religious nuts to shout that to a wide audience.

Free speech is important but shouldn't be used as a catch all excuse for people to behave antisocially.