On Monday at 8:30 am on the campus of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC I was approached by a bland-looking 20-something man who held up a book and asked, “Free book?”. Coming from the US, my knee jerk reaction was to glare at this man who I assumed to be an Evangelical creep. Continuing forth, I was approached by another man 20 paces away from the first, who had the same book and the same question. After my glare, I heard him say to the back of my head, “Come on, it’s Charles Darwin. It’s a good book.”
Exhibit A: Was this lamb duped?
After another 20 paces or so, I reached an intersection of two main campus roads which featured 3 more of these book givers. It occurred to me that there had recently been various celebrations and educational events on UBC’s campus commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the publication of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. Feeling like I had allowed the American Jesus nuts to harden me into an irrevocably cynical person, I approached one of the book people and asked, “What book is that?” To which she replied “Darwin’s On the Origin of Species“. I asked her why they were giving it away and she said “Because it’s a great book and people should read it.”
I said, “Oh” and accepted a book from her, which I examined on the way to where I was going. It appeared like a cheap, paperback edition of Darwin’s book with the words “150th Anniversary Edition” under the title. It was the kind of paperback that an organization would purchase if it wanted to give out copies of a book by the wheelbarrowful. I showed up to my destination on campus feeling like I had learned a valuable lesson about trust. I noticed other people had the book and I chatted with them about how cool it was that a group of Vancouverites decided to take it upon themselves to spread the ideas of one of the 19th Century’s greatest thinkers.
I felt ashamed that I had allowed my heart to harden to a point of not being able to trust anybody — even like-minded thinkers. I thought, “I’m in Canada — a place that appreciates the scientific method and freethinkers and not so much the blind religious zealotry. It’s okay to trust people here.”
Later that night, when I had returned home, I pulled out the copy of Darwin’s most famous work, and decided I would read the introduction. Guess what? Yep, you guessed it: there are assholes everywhere, even in Canada. I had been the victim of a classic bait and switch. These nuts had published an edition of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species with an introduction that flouts Intelligent Design and instructs the reader to give his or her soul to Jesus, lest he or she burn in hell forever.
Contemplating our next scheme, are we? Hmm?
The lesson, as always: keep your hearts hard and don’t accept free books on the street.
This close encounter happens to correspond with a very entertaining recent episode of This American Life, an NPR show that never ceases to titillate. The episode is called “Bait and Switch” and it even features an interview with an ex-Evangelical discussing bait and switch tactics employed in the name of Jesus that are very similar to those I fell victim to recently on the campus of UBC.
I’m sorry, but if you need to trick people into listening to what you have to say, perhaps there’s a problem with what you’re saying. Also, the last time I checked, lying was a sin. You know, a falsehood, as in when one portrays Jesus (an African man) as white-skinned.
You can stream the “Bait and Switch” episode of This American Life by clicking here. Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving!
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