Fwd: Emails- WHY?

[sweetnpetite]

I keep getting these reactionary religious and 'patriotic' emails like the following-

> Don't buy Pepsi in the new can. Pepsi has a new "patriotic" can
coming out
> with pictures of the Empire State Bldg. and the Pledge of Allegiance
on
> them. However, Pepsi left out two little words on the pledge, "Under
God".
> Pepsi said they did not want to offend anyone. If this is true, then
we
> don't want to offend anyone. Then
> we don't want to offend anyone at the Pepsi corporate office. If we
do not
> buy any Pepsi product, they
> will not be offended when they receive our money that has the words
"Under
> God" on it. HOW FAST CAN YOU FORWARD THIS ONE?
> > > > > >
> The word I got was to send to at least four people but you can send
to
> more than that.


I thought it was liberals who were knee jerk and so forth? I have never gotten a liberally oriented political fwd- maybe I just know the wrong people? So doesn anyone know of any left wing e-mails I can send to my friends who assume that I think the way they do?

RE: Boycotte ashcrosft!!!!

or whatever. Is this just a 'conservative' phenominon, or do I just know all the wrong people?

ps. It's amazing that anyone smart enough to opperate a computer or well off enough to own one would send some of these things. I got --boycott the postoffice because they have a stamp to honor ramedon!"

Saints preserve!!

 

[minsue]

There are a few people at work who include me on the list when they forward neo-con knee jerk e-mail rants. It confuses me every time. Don't they know me at all?!? or maybe they do know me and they think those e-mails will convert me...

 

[sweetnpetite]

Every once in a while I get one that's not political, but is in fact really nice and I'm glad I read it. Perhaps they send those to keep you opening their mail? Here's one I liked:

The Hospital Window



A great note for all to read it will take just 37 seconds to read this and change your thinking.



Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation.







Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.











The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.









The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.









As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.









One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by.









Although the other man couldn't hear the band - he could see it. In his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.









Days and weeks passed.









One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.









As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.









Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside.









He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed.









It faced a blank wall. The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.









The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall.









She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."













Epilogue:









There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations.









Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled.









If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy.









"Today is a gift, that's why it is called the present."









The origin of this letter is unknown, but it brings good luck to everyone who passes it on.






(a little too preachy at the end, but a nice story nonetheless)

 

[cantdog]

A tad screwy in its math about the halves and doubles, too, but there you have ive.

It loses believability when it's a blank wall. Nobody coulda missed a wall in the far bed. Opening onto a vista of rooftops and air-handling vents, chimneys and nothing in particular, fine. But a blank wall makes the story go phhht.

Blind is cool, though.

cantdog. being a critic at the wrong time probably, huh?

 

[KenJames]

Just as there are nutty conservatives, there must be nutty liberals. Some of them have to be sending crazed emails. Unfortunately, I'm not on any of their lists, so I can't help you.

 

[sweetnpetite]

Just as there are nutty conservatives, there must be nutty liberals. Some of them have to be sending crazed emails. Unfortunately, I'm not on any of their lists, so I can't help you.

You would think.

However, I am not on any of their lists either, so maybe not.

 

[Virtual_Burlesque]

Every once in a while I get one that's not political... The Hospital Window ...

Dear Ms SnP,


I hate to tell you but I think you have been hoodwinked.

The story you copied was stolen from a short story set in a military hospital ward, with only one high window at the end of the room. The soldier in the story was the only one close enough to the window to be able to crane his neck and see outside. Since they had all been cooped up inside for months, the soldier with the window view described what he could see..

Several other soldiers became jealous, and tried to have their bed exchanged to his position. One night, the most jealous soldier crawled across the floor and smothered the soldier whose view he coveted. .

Next morning, the murderer’s bed is moved to where his victim used to lie. There he learns by peeking over his shoulder that there is nothing to see from the window but a blank wall.

Here is where the stories differ.

As the original story closes, the murderer is lying in the bed he killed to possess, satisfying his ward-mates by describing – just as his predecessor – the view from the window. He has made his bed, and now he must lie in it.

The plagiarist who sent your letter softened the edges and spun it to serve their purposes. They couldn’t even be original, or give honest credit.

I have managed to forget the title and the author of the story, but the rest remains where it was beaten into my skull, by my eighth grade teacher. I have still not shaken it loose. Not that, nor the blood “Lady of Shalott.”

 

[sweetnpetite]

sure,

ruin my last illusion.

Now I'm *totally* jaded.

Dear Ms SnP,


I hate to tell you but I think you have been hoodwinked.

The story you copied was stolen from a short story set in a military hospital ward, with only one high window at the end of the room. The soldier in the story was the only one close enough to the window to be able to crane his neck and see outside. Since they had all been cooped up inside for months, the soldier with the window view described what he could see..

Several other soldiers became jealous, and tried to have their bed exchanged to his position. One night, the most jealous soldier crawled across the floor and smothered the soldier whose view he coveted. .

Next morning, the murderer’s bed is moved to where his victim used to lie. There he learns by peeking over his shoulder that there is nothing to see from the window but a blank wall.

Here is where the stories differ.

As the original story closes, the murderer is lying in the bed he killed to possess, satisfying his ward-mates by describing – just as his predecessor – the view from the window. He has made his bed, and now he must lie in it.

The plagiarist who sent your letter softened the edges and spun it to serve their purposes. They couldn’t even be original, or give honest credit.

I have managed to forget the title and the author of the story, but the rest remains where it was beaten into my skull, by my eighth grade teacher. I have still not shaken it loose. Not that, nor the blood “Lady of Shalott.”

 

[KenJames]

You would think.

However, I am not on any of their lists either, so maybe not.

I'd like to believe there aren't any nutty liberals, but it's more likely I'm just not popular enough.

 

[Boxlicker101]

A tad screwy in its math about the halves and doubles, too, but there you have ive.

It loses believability when it's a blank wall. Nobody coulda missed a wall in the far bed. Opening onto a vista of rooftops and air-handling vents, chimneys and nothing in particular, fine. But a blank wall makes the story go phhht.

Blind is cool, though.

cantdog. being a critic at the wrong time probably, huh?

I have to agree with Cant. Since the guy who did not die was capable of moving his head a little, he would have seen there was a blank wall there. A window that opened onto an airshaft would have made more sense.

I read a very similar story in a book named "Try and Stop Me", compiled by Bennett Cerf during WW2. It was written by somebody else but it and many other short stories were compiled by Cerf. The guy without a window was jealous and one day he caused the death of the other guy by keeping away the medications that the first guy needed. Then, when he got the bed by the window, he found it looked out on a blank wall.

 

[Boxlicker101]

I'd like to believe there aren't any nutty liberals, but it's more likely I'm just not popular enough.

I think there are plenty of nutty liberals but the nutty conservatives are nuttier.

 

[Edward Teach]

I thought it was liberals who were knee jerk and so forth? I have never gotten a liberally oriented political fwd- maybe I just know the wrong people? So doesn anyone know of any left wing e-mails I can send to my friends who assume that I think the way they do?

SnP, I think you will find very few politically liberal leaning email forwards. For several years I have received conservative email forwards but I have never received a liberal one and know of no one who has, although surely some exist.

My theory is that the personality type who enjoys that whole forwarding of political bashing emails tends to be politically conservative and that most liberals are not so inclined.

I have received very vicious emails which were obviously untrue. Invariably, upon confrontation, the sender would admit knowing the accusation was untrue but didn't see anything wrong with having sent it.

I recall having received one from a retired army colonel which he had forwarded to over twenty people. It stated that President Clinton was planning to sail into Hanoi aboard a US warship with the Vietnamese flag flying above the US flag. When I confronted him, he admitted that he knew that it could not be true but said that it was something Clinton would do if he could. I don't know a single liberal who would do such a thing.

Also, I think that there are groups on the right who start those emails. The right tends to be much better organized than the left.

Ed

 

[CharleyH]

I keep getting these reactionary religious and 'patriotic' emails like the following-

> Don't buy Pepsi in the new can. Pepsi has a new "patriotic" can
coming out with pictures of the Empire State Bldg. and the Pledge of Allegiance on them. However, Pepsi left out two little words on the pledge, "Under God".
> Pepsi said they did not want to offend anyone.

I delete anything that remotely resembles a forward. Though I was amused by this because I thought Pepsi was already red, white and blue? And no worries to any consumer, as a Madonna inspired commercial once proved, Pepsi will (strategically) only offend for a week and then (strategically) apologize just in time to 'not' lose consumers, while retaining those consumers that they were targeting in the first place.

See? E veryone's happy

 

[oggbashan]

Why is it I only get obscene forwarded e-mails?

Despite my spam blocker I'm getting 30 an hour.

I wouldn't mind if they were original or inspiring but their imagination is so predictable.

Og

 

[Guest]

Why is it I only get obscene forwarded e-mails?

Despite my spam blocker I'm getting 30 an hour.

I wouldn't mind if they were original or inspiring but their imagination is so predictable.

Og

I didn't realise your addie was on my list!

Lou

 

[Guest]

The above comment was a joke, btw.

I don't have a "list". Well, apart from my Psyche Erotica mailing list, for site updates (which I REALLY must get around to doing).

I hate being put on people's forwarding lists. Most of it I have seen before and just clogs up my box.

Lou

 

[dr_mabeuse]

Liberals are always at a disadvantage in the kind of rabid attacks that pass for political discussion these days. Being liberal means trying to understand both sides ands considering what's said before reacting. Besides, it's always harder to defend the center than it is the extremes.

A linquist from Stanford recently pointed out that when you listen to right-wing guys on the radio, they usually say "See..." to start their statements. Liberal commentators usually begin with "Look..." He proved it statistically.

Think of the difference between those two words and you understand the different approaches taken by the two sides in presenting their arguments.

---dr.M.

 

[Sabledrake]

Now, I remember that story about the hospital beds and the wall from a version that was in a reprint of one of the old EC Comics ... Tales From the Crypt or The Vault of Horror or somesuch.

In it, a bad guy was hospitalized after being blinded in the course of committing his crime (I forget exactly what) and as soon as he was well enough to move, he was going to be sent to prison.

The man in the other bed was a pleasant old fellow who spent hours describing to him, in detail, the lovely view outside the window. Until eventually, the bad guy knew it by heart, and decided to make a break for it, even blind. But, of course, as he leaped out the window to make his sightless escape, he found out the hard way that the old fellow had been making it all up ...

Sabledrake

 

[KenJames]

Now, I remember that story about the hospital beds and the wall from a version that was in a reprint of one of the old EC Comics ... Tales From the Crypt or The Vault of Horror or somesuch.

In it, a bad guy was hospitalized after being blinded in the course of committing his crime (I forget exactly what) and as soon as he was well enough to move, he was going to be sent to prison.

The man in the other bed was a pleasant old fellow who spent hours describing to him, in detail, the lovely view outside the window. Until eventually, the bad guy knew it by heart, and decided to make a break for it, even blind. But, of course, as he leaped out the window to make his sightless escape, he found out the hard way that the old fellow had been making it all up ...

Sabledrake

I think this is an archetypal story, one that has entered our cultural consciousness and is being retold with countless variations. The authors of many of the variations probably don't even realize their idea isn't original.

 

[KenJames]

Liberals are always at a disadvantage in the kind of rabid attacks that pass for political discussion these days. Being liberal means trying to understand both sides ands considering what's said before reacting. Besides, it's always harder to defend the center than it is the extremes.

A linquist from Stanford recently pointed out that when you listen to right-wing guys on the radio, they usually say "See..." to start their statements. Liberal commentators usually begin with "Look..." He proved it statistically.

Think of the difference between those two words and you understand the different approaches taken by the two sides in presenting their arguments.

---dr.M.

Using your implied definition of "liberal," which seems to match mine, I agree.

Liberals value rationality and the forwarded emails tend to be irrational.

What surprises me is that I don't get emails from members of the far left, who can get as extreme as the far right.

P.S. I just noticed all the qualifications in my post ("implied," "seems to," "tend to be," "can get"). That points out another difference. Liberals always see nuances and have doubts. Conservatives are always certain. Of course, that's an over-generalization.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

"Don't drink Pepsi, it's not patriotic/religious enough"..?

ONLY in USA...

 

[Colleen Thomas]

I get nutty conservative forwards. I get nuttly liberal forwards. I get a lot of forwards that are just plain nutty and don't attach to any particular political view point.

Liberals are quite Knee Jerk. the farther out on the looney left fringe the more kneejerk they become. It stands to reason that the farther out you get on the reactionary right, the more knee jerk they become. On the far edges of either political alignment you are dealing with fanatics and who are more radical or reactionary than fanatics?

Considering the political climate at this time, it is far more likely you are getting far right forwards than far left. There are not too many folks who really want to be identified as far left, especially in the work place. I think 90% of my forwards come from bored people at work. If you are going to get busted in the workplace for sending junk e.mails, would you rather it be something far left or far right? The odds favor your boss being a republican and seeing it as humorous enough to let you slide probably if it's far right.

Just a thought,


-Colly

 

[snooper]

... Being liberal means trying to understand both sides ands considering what's said before reacting. ...

Oh. Thanks. I always thought the Liberals were the official "Don't Know" party who had no definite opinions on anything.

 

[KenJames]

Oh. Thanks. I always thought the Liberals were the official "Don't Know" party who had no definite opinions on anything.

Huh? If that means not seeing complex issues in simplistic terms, you're right.

 

[OldnotDead]

I keep getting these reactionary religious and 'patriotic' emails like the following-

> Don't buy Pepsi in the new can. Pepsi has a new "patriotic" can coming out
> with pictures of the Empire State Bldg. and the Pledge of Allegiance on
> them. However, Pepsi left out two little words on the pledge, "Under God".
> Pepsi said they did not want to offend anyone. If this is true, then we
> don't want to offend anyone. Then
> we don't want to offend anyone at the Pepsi corporate office. If we do not
> buy any Pepsi product, they
> will not be offended when they receive our money that has the words
> "Under God" on it. HOW FAST CAN YOU FORWARD THIS ONE?
> > > > > >
> The word I got was to send to at least four people but you can send
to
> more than that.


I thought it was liberals who were knee jerk and so forth? I have never gotten a liberally oriented political fwd- maybe I just know the wrong people? . . . .Is this just a 'conservative' phenominon, or do I just know all the wrong people?



Saints preserve!!

Hey, Sweet,

I would like to make three points. Messages like this happen to be one of my pet peeves and I frankly don't care if they are from conservatives, liberals or anarchists. THIS IS AN INTERNET LEGEND/HOAX!!!

1) The story was originally posted in early 2002 about cans of Dr. Pepper that had a patriotic message using ONLY "One Nation . . . Indivisible". Dr. Pepper, when asked about it, said they only had a limited amount of space and those three words invoked the Pledge without having to print the whole thing and the message they wanted to emphasize was the national unity post September 11, 2001.

To read a complete debunking of the original email campaign go to snopes.com and search on Pepsi Under God
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/outrage/drpepper.asp

2) If you KNOW the person that sends stuff like this, check it out on Snopes and then send them the link back. You may do more to stop the forwarding, expecially if you point out what idiots they are. My method is to send it back to them individually once. If they are stupid enough to keep sending them to me, then I do a reply to all and am usually fairly sarcastic.

3) You may be right about the predominance of conservative views versus liberal, but I never really kept track. I know a couple of hoaxes/legends that seemed to have a life of their own involved the Moonies and Entenman's bakery and Proctor & Gamble and Devil worship. It's interesting to note that the original campaign was directed to getting ministers to proclaim a boycott of Dr. Pepper. So maybe it's the religious cyber community that is the most to blame <G>

If you take anything away from it, is that it is NASTY to spread 'facts' that are not, in fact, facts. But then, being a campaign season, that's an entirely too silly idea to expect to be adopted by any side