For some reason, I have a relative who sometimes likes to send me political chain mail like this one (note: the link is to the Snopes refutation - not the original chain mail).
Political chain mail rants like this one just really get on my nerves. They’re generally right wing, always anonymous, and invariably full of crap. Yet if it fits their preconceptions then people pass it on like it’s the holy truth and everyone on their email list should know about it right away.
My new standard operating procedure whenever I receive one of these “erumors” is to google a key phrase or two, pick out the most reputable refutation, and send links and key points back to the person who sent me the email. I also suggest that they forward the new information back to everyone on their original list to make up for the lies they just helped to spread, along with sending it to the person who sent them the spam in the first place.
Maybe I’m a wild dreamer, but I figure if enough of us actually start shoveling this stuff back towards where it came from, all wrapped in a nice pretty wrapper saying “dear sir or madam, you might want to know that this is actually bullshit” then maybe this endless flow of effluence would someday slow down from a flood to a trickle.
I know it’s a big dream - but I figure as a lover of truth and a hater of lies the best I can do is address one steaming pile of poop at a time.
