Anyone who lives in the magical state of Utah will understand what I am talking about.
Mormons here have no sense of personal boundaries. They watch what you do, who you do it with, and how long you spend doing it. Then... they report it to their bishop in the hopes of saving you.
Here are a couple stories I read on PostMormon.org today that share my thoughts:
A person related this story to me recently about a neighbor across the street . She said the neighbor was a woman in her ward. Every morning the milkman would stop at her house and stay for an extended period of time. She said finally someone in the ward called the bishop and turned her in-exposed her. The bishop being very concerned called the woman in and asked her to explain to him why this man was stopping and spending time with her while her husband was away at work. She replied "It's my Dad...Is there a problem with him seeing me?"
True story. Swear.
Happened to me some years ago. My identical twin brother and wife (Catholics) moved to within a block of my house. My bishop lived a block in the other direction. One evening the bishop and wife dropped by. He encouraged me out into my yard and said something like, "Strangite, I see you all other town, especially up on Juniper Street." It took me a minute to figure him out and then I said, "Oh, you've seen my twin brother at his new place." He didn't believe me until I brought out photos! Of course, I sometimes fooled my nieces too, they would call me Dad until they looked real close... funny.
These stories are funny, but they are also sad.
Whose business is it if a lady is friends with a milk man? Why must people assume something bad is going on?
No boundaries at all.
February 22, 2009 at 12:00 AM
I think you need to stop generalising the 'Mormons' of Utah out to those others around the world. I certainly would never ever do something like that in any environment, nor think its appropriate to jump to early conclusions on these matters.
And I have a significant group of friends who would agree with me.