Smack-tivism

Today I got harangued by three people in a row walking down Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena. Here's my issue with most street activists: they ask a question to draw you in that is so manipulative that it backs you into a corner. "Do you want to help suffering rhinos?" They ask the question in such a way that if you say "no", be it from disinterest, disagreement with their issue, or just from being in a hurry, you sound like an uncaring ass. So I may or may not agree with what you are trying to get support for, but you've already put me off by being manipulative, so right away I'm on the defensive and I don't want to help whoever you are. If you said something like "Are you interested in taking a moment to sign a petition about x?" That allows me to say "No, I'm not interested" and still get away without you making me feel like crap. When one of the people asked me her question today and I said "No, thank you" her face visibly dropped and I saw her judging me, thinking that I didn't agree with her in her fight to support X, but what she didn't realize is that I mainly just objected to her manner. Last November a woman approached my brother outside of Target and asked something about registering to vote. He was already registered, so he said no. The woman retorted sarcastically "Well, that's real patriotic." What she didn't know is that my brother had just come from leaving his child in the hospital. When I heard the story I wanted to give her a piece of my mind. But that would be bad because I'm struggling to remember things with what's left of my mind already and I have no business giving away any of it. But I'm getting off track here. My brother was fuming. And I was fuming for him. I mean, these people don't know anything about the people they are approaching. I want to bring a little smackdown when these things happen. I wonder if it would make any difference in how they do things if I kindly pointed out a better way of phrasing their introductory greetings...