So I get an email from a former classmate today. That, in itself, is not unusual. This classmate periodically forwards emails to me, thinking that I agree with political viewpoint and will enjoy them. She’s usually fairly correct in that assumption. Unfortunately, she also seems to be one of those people who automatically assume that anything she reads on the internet or that gets forwarded to her from a friend is incontrovertibly true.
On that, we disagree. I’m a big fan of Snopes.com, and a firm believer in checking the flotsam and jetsam of my inbox before sending it on to others. And it irritates me that others don’t do the same.
Usually, I can simply ignore the bazillion forwarded items, but sometimes I just get an itch to do a public service and let folks know that no matter how much they want it to be true, Barack Obama is not the child of the anti-christ (or the devil himself), and the little boy in the UK is not still on his deathbed and trying to set a guinness world record for number of greeting cards received (if, indeed, he ever was). When this itch strikes, it’s usually not enough for me to simply reply to the individual who forwarded the email to me and her 5000 closest friends.
Not this time. Maybe it’s because I had a bad day at work today, or maybe it’s exhaustion, or the summer heat/humidity affecting my brain, but this time, I chose to “reply all” and let the entire recipient list of that email know that snopes calls it false.
Oh, maybe I should describe today’s email in more detail? Sure.
Apparently, the new nugget going around the internet is that Nancy Pelosi wants to tax retirement income as “windfall profits,” in order to provide healthcare for illegal immigrants. It’s not even a new nugget – Snopes said it started circulating before the 2006 election.
So I sent my little missive of truth and enlightenment to the world, with a simple message:
According to Snopes.com, it’s not true.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/pelosi.asp
Nothing offensive in that, to me. No diatribes against gullible fools who clutter other peoples’ inboxes, no disparagement of the tin-foil hat brigades that exist on both sides of the aisle. Just a simple factual statement, and a link, for those who like to read for themselves.
I sent the email at 10:01pm, and pretty much forgot all about the topic. Until 10:46, when the following arrived in my gmail inbox:
WHO ARE YOU. HOW ARE WHO ABLE TO GET THIS INFORMATION?
ARE YOU ANOTHER MOVE-ON DUNCE. JUST REMEMBER GEORGE SOROS IS A FASCIST.
WORKED FOR THE NAZIS IN WW II.
I DON’T WANT CHANGE. I WANT FOLDING MONEY. OBAMA FLIP FLOPS SO MUCH
NO ONE CAN KEEP UP WITH HIM. HE CHANGES EVERY DAY. HIS POSITION THAT IS.
WHAT EVER THE PEOPLE WANT OR WHAT HE THINKS THEY WANT DEPENDING
ON WHERE HE IS ON A PARTICULAR DAY THAT’S WHAT HE SAYS.
YOU CANNOT POSSIBLY BELIEVE A WORD ME SAYS.
NANCY HAS DONE NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING SINCE BECOMING SPEAKER.
ENERGY AFFECTING THE ECONOMY. WHAT?????
NO NUCLEAR, NO COAL, NO ANWR, NO OFF SHORE, DON’T PUT WIND MILLS IN THE KENNEDYS
BACKYARDS, NO ELECTRIC CARS, NO BATTERY CREDIT, NO NEW CLEAN COAL TECH.,
BUT OFF COURSE LET’S PROTECT THE SUCKER FISHER AND DESTROY FARMERS,
LETS STOP NATURAL GAS EXPLORATION IN TENN. BECAUSE OF THE SPOTTED LIZARD.
SOOOOO ABUNDANT FISHERMEN USE THEM FOR BAIT, SET SOME MORE SUVS ON FIRE.
BE A REAL WATERMELON. GREEN ON THE OUTSIDE AND RED IN THE MIDDLE.
DUMB IS AS DUMB DOES
LIBERALISM IS A MENTAL DISORDER ” MICHAEL SAVAGE”
This thoughtfully composed, well-written, and perfectly punctuated epistle was followed up five minutes later with another from the same scribe, stating simply:
FIRST MAY I ASK. CAN YOU READ?
I cannot tell you how much I wanted to fire back a smart-aleck response, such as “why yes, I can. Can you think?” But I restrained myself.
Actually the second email came while I was composing my response to the first, a process that took longer than usual because I had to overcome my gag reflex at the thought of moveon.org and George Soros.
How does one respond to something like this (or does one even try?). And more importantly, how do I block email addresses in Gmail?
I guess I’ve been sheltered, even in the blogosphere. I visit sites like baldilocks, LaShawn Barber, and Kim DuToit, where critical thinkers present well-reasoned arguments, sometimes seasoned with sarcasm (of which our Sgt Mom is an excellent purveyor), and have been spared much of the jingo-istic slogans and name-calling. And thank goodness for that. I think my brain would melt into a puddle of goo if it were exposed to such examples of fuzzy thinking on a regular basis.
I decided to treat the email seriously, and sent a serious reply.
Thank you for your opinion.
The Pelosi thing that M—- sent is FALSE. Snopes.com is a website anyone can access, that researches urban legends, and they are dedicated to truth, not politics.
Pelosi has said and done enough stupid things that people should be upset about, that there’s no sense in fomenting dissent via falsehood. All it does is make the purveyors look gullible and stupid.
Don’t forward falsehood. Instead, build emails based on truth, and send those out to the world.
Have a nice day!
*sigh* I should have some snappy ending to this, but I’m out of words. And maybe I really said all that needed to be said in that last line of my response to that incredible email.
Don’t forward falsehood. Instead, build emails based on truth, and send those out to the world.
Have a nice day!