Visit-The-Infidel-With-Explanatory-Pamphlets

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Constable Visit
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Name Visit-The-Infidel-With-Explanatory-Pamphlets
Race Human
Age
Occupation Constable in the Ankh-Morpork City Watch
Physical appearance Foreign-looking, coming from the desert-like Omnia
Residence Ankh-Morpork
Death
Parents
Relatives
Children
Marital Status
Appearances
Books Feet of Clay, Jingo, Hogfather, The Fifth Elephant, Thud!
Cameos Night Watch


One of the few mentioned human members of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. Visit is a modern Omnian and therefore an evangelical preacher. His full name is Visit-The-Infidel-With-Explanatory-Pamphlets, which is a mouthful in Ankh-Morporkian (it is reputedly much simpler to say in the Omnian language), and describes an action that annoys his neighbors and colleagues. This approach is, however, much more peaceful than the traditional `visit-the-infidel-with-swords-and thunderbolts' approach.

His nickname amongst fellow coppers appears to be "Washpot". He is referred to by Pratchett as follows: "There's one in every station, and Constable Visit was enough for two".

He is an Omnian of a gentle but determined proselytising nature. He can clear a large crowd in seconds, just by talking to them about religion and threatening them with pamphlets (principally Unadorned Facts, Battle Cry and Battle Call - whose names bear a curious resemblance to the Roundworld publications Plain Truth and War Cry). He spends all his wages on them and has even his own printing press. In off-duty moments he goes door to door with his fellow Omnian, Smite-the-Unbeliever-With-Cunning-Arguments. Samuel Vimes says he is a good copper, his highest form of personal praise. Entire pubs have been known to draw the curtains, turn off the lights and lie on the floor whimpering at news of his coming down the street.

During Fred Colon's short reign as the Captain of the Watch (in The Fifth Elephant), Visit retreated to the safety of the carrier-pigeon loft. He sang them hymns and handed out some pamphlets, which the pigeons used as nesting material, but it was a start.


Annotation

Visit has his parallels with many Roundworld religions and various religious sects, from the Seventh Day Adventists to Jehovah's Witnesses, who go from door to door ringing doorbells, leaving pamphlets and generally annoying the hell out of people in a way which suggests the demon Anthony Crowley had a lot to do with getting their religions up and running. The most reliable source in these matters explains that even the Devil may quote scripture for his own purposes; using agents of religion to spread a patina of low-level annoyance and irritation across the greatest number of people must surely appeal to Crowley...