Continuing with my experience working in a Goodwill Store in 1970 as my two year Conscientious Objector Alternative Service: Continuing with my experience working in a Goodwill Store in 1970 as my two year Conscientious Objector Alternative Service:
A really wide range of people worked at the Goodwill. Of course, most were handicapped in some way, some physically, some mentally, and others emotionally challenged. Most were friendly and good natured, and but some were almost constantly scowling or quiet, others had their “bad days” with loud angry outbursts. Over time, I gradually learned to read many of their moods.
I was not the only Conscientious Objector working at the Goodwill; there were maybe ten other CO’s doing their two years of Alternative Service there too. Most of them with the job of driving the Goodwill trucks. They would pick up the donated items from the drop boxes scattered around the city, and bring them in to be processed, and then once repaired and cleaned, they trucked them from our warehouse to the various stores.
The group of Conscientious Objectors were also a very diverse group. Most of them were very religious, but a few like myself, held beliefs that were moral, rather than religious. Whenever they breached the subject of religion, I was always open with my views.
One of the “religious” CO’s who I will just call John, had nothing in common with me, except that we both worked at Goodwill. While I worked as a “Pricer,” John worked on the maintenance staff, walking around the building all day with a tool belt on his hip .
We did occasionally talk to each other; he was a fundamentalist Christian, a Jehovah Witness, very strait-laced and conservative, while I was a free-thinking hippie. I was open to John about my beliefs, so he was aware that I was an atheist.
One year as Christmas approached, I was approached by a member of Goodwill’s management staff and asked if I would play the part of one of the Three Wisemen in the upcoming Goodwill Christmas pageant. This request had nothing to do with my religious beliefs, but was made because I looked “biblical” with my beard and long hair.
I was happy to help out, “Sure,” I replied after given the request, “I’ll be one of your Wiseman.”
When John heard that I had been asked to be one of the Three Kings in the Christmas pageant, he was outraged that an atheist was going to be featured in such a holy story. He confronted me and said “I hope that God strikes you dead,” and then walked away. That didn’t seem very Christian-like to me, but I let it stand. I assumed that he felt like he should have been offered the part, since he was more “holy” than I was.
Although the pageant itself has totally disappeared from my memory, I do remember that I was in the Nativity play, as forgettable as it was, and I am happy to announce that God didn’t strike me dead for doing it.
For John however, it was a different story.
Several months later, I was informed by the Goodwill grapevine that John lay in the hospital in serious condition. I don’t remember what had happened to him, maybe it was an automobile accident. He needed a blood transfusion, but because of his Jehovah Witness religious beliefs, he refused to allow that to happen. A few days later he died; true to his beliefs to the end, but dead because of them, when his life could have been saved.
I was of course really sorry to hear about John’s death, but also very angry. I couldn’t understand any justification for a religion to cause the unnecessary death of a young person, when it could have been avoided. If getting a blood transfusion was such a major sin, John could have easily just asked to be forgiven for it, after he recovered. I was pretty sure that one of the main pillars of Christianity was that you could always be forgiven, no matter how horrendous the sin.
The photo shows my “Biblical” look at the time.
You can see my paintings at: davidmarchant2.ca
No comments:
Post a Comment