A thrift shop in Connecticut has recently become the subject of controversy for many local Christians, because it’s a witch-themed shop. Hence, during a market event, several Evangelical Christians stormed the shop and even held a mini-protest outside, while a couple of them tried to change the owner’s beliefs, leading to a lengthy and now-viral debate.
The thrift shop, called Witch [expletive] Thrift or WBT in New Haven, Connecticut, posted the interaction on their official Instagram page. In the video, the owner can be seen recording the incident as she argues with an Evangelical couple who went into her store. The owner welcomes them by announcing that she has a background of “11 years of Catholic School,” meaning she’s very much familiar with Jesus Christ.
She then introduces the Christian couple to Aphrodite and Hecate, along with other deities. The couple, however, seems to want her to worship only Jesus Christ, something the shop owner replied to with, “I think that we’re good on that. Everybody has the right to believe what they want. There are many gods out there beyond Jesus.”
“I don’t mind if you believe in what you believe in. It doesn’t mean anybody else has to,” adds the shop owner. At that point, the shop owner brushed them off after realizing they were trying to re-convert her back to Christianity, “We should not be imposing on each other,” she rebuffs the Evangelical couple.
It appears the witch shop owner got the Christians to leave, but not before “They cornered our vendors, accosted our customers, and stood in front of our place with protest signs.” At the end of her caption, the witch shop owner also claimed, “Jesus Christ would have hated these people, and I bet he’d hang out at WBT.”
People Online Learned About Boundaries
WBT’s video has since gone viral with millions of views across multiple social media platforms. Many commenters have even praised how she handled the Evangelical protesters outside her shop. “GIRL these boundaries embodied in love and respect is beautiful. Thank you for modelling healthy, boundaried communication so beautifully,” commends an Instagram user.
Others, however, found the Evangelical protesters to be somewhat irritating, with certain commenters on Reddit claiming, “Religious people do this on purpose. The higher knows they will get pushback. It’s to force the worldview that ‘everyone out there is out to get you except us.'”
In any case, WBT has recently been enjoying its newfound fame, and with a follow-up video, the shop owner added how having boundaries about religion and beliefs, and respecting them, is just as important as spreading the word of your god. Many people online have since learned a thing or two about how to approach people they want in their belief system.
