Not to be outdone by the Do Not Call list, the town of Woodbridge, New Jersey has enacted what might be the first Do Not Knock list. Similar in operation to the national Do Not Call list, the town plans to set up a registry where residents can sign up to ban unwelcome knockers from their doorsteps. Solicitors are required to avoid the doors of homes registered on the list (I wonder how they intend to distribute this list?). Violations will result in fines of between $50 and $100.
The list goes into effect on October 28, 2004.
According to the Woodbridge Sentinel, which ran coverage of the ordinance when it was first proposed:
If it were up to Mary Alice Diaz of Woodbridge, no one would knock on her door unless that person called first.
“I don?t want anyone knocking on my door unless they call and ask permission,” Diaz said from her home last Thursday. “I think it?s rude. My own dad had to call first before coming over.”
Wow, quite the shut-ins we’ve got in Woodbridge, eh? What happens if you’re also on the Do Not Call list? No visits from dear ol’ Dad for you, then. 🙂
In theory, this sounds like a good idea to prevent door to door solicitors and religious zealots from harrassing folks, but with nuggets of wisdom like that spewed from ol’ Mary Alice there, I’ll be sure never to find myself in an emergency in Woodbridge. The shut-ins might want to fine me if I need to knock on a door for help.
The Home News Tribune also has additional coverage.
The summer before my soph year in college, I worked for a local environmental group. . We canvased. We walked door to door and asked people for money. People were so awesome about it. Yes, we’d interrupt them at home, but we had permission from the town to go door to door from 4-9pm. And most people thought what we were doing was wonderful and they were more than happy to plunk down $10 or more for the cause. I was good at it, mean
ing, I didn’t sound canned and people tended to like me. It was wonderful
and fun. It opened me up to ask strangers for things… not only money, but
a glass of water, to use their bathroom, and to give me tips of whose door
I shouldn’t walk on. Honestly, it was a great thing, most days I had not
problems reaching quota and had great stories about who I met… I kind of made
history because I was the 1st person to get a significant contrib from
Jehovah’s witnesses! 🙂
EXCEPT WOODBRIDGE! The people in Woodbridge were completely rude and mean to us
apparently there was an article in the paper about not trusting us. I had
the cops called on me X in the same week, but our permits were valid.
We pulled out of Woodbridge in about a week & a half when no one was
bringing in our quotas.
If our organization had this problem, I’m sure others had too and I’d
think that others didn’t want to go back there again.
ps. I wasn’t able to see the entire comment field as I was typing this
so please excuse any weird spaces and typos