E-Mail Forwarding Pressure!!!

So, I received an e-mail this morning. It was a forward. Yes, I get a few of these a day, but this one had something in it, that I see from time to time, that really ruffles my feathers (to say the absolute least). First, let me explain a little about the main content of the piece...

The original author started it out as a light hearted opinion on a few subjects that they felt deserved some attention; illegal aliens (compared to how we are able to locate one diseased cow, but we can't locate 11 million illegal aliens), the loss of the fundamentals of the U. S. Constitution (and how we should just give our Constitution to Iraq, instead of helping them draft one of their own, because we aren't using ours anyway) , and the questionable behavior of lawyers, judges and politicians (in reference to the 10 Commandments not being posted in a courthouse).

So, as I read it, I chuckled. It was humorous. For what it was worth, it was humorous. BUT THEN... the final line in the email was this:

"Also, think about this ... if you don't want to forward this for fear of offending someone -- YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM!"

And that's where my half-smile went away, and my eyes started rolling.

I mean, really, what is the purpose of that? Does the original author write this to piss off someone who doesn't agree, OR, is it a pressure tactic to make people feel as if they MUST forward it so they don't feel like they are "part of the problem".

All that does for me is make me delete it... as fast as I can...like the author can tell how fast I deleted it. (And I click the delete button really hard, too.) Silly, I know, but it makes me feel better. I feel I have done my part in NOT sending on that jack-ass's opinion. I'm not much of a "forwarder" anyway. The people I correspond with on a regular basis know that when they get a forward from me, it's usually worth taking a couple minutes to read...I hope.

People need to learn... you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. I mean, if you really want to get your opinion out, stick with the humor, and skip that last line. People LOVE humor. People love to think that they have sent along a forward that will make their friends smile, thus moving your e-mail (and opinion) down the chain further. That line makes the savvy reader think, "Oh! This is political propaganda. Maybe I should think twice about this before I forward it." Not in the fear of offending someone, but simply because it's not really humor at all!

On the other hand, you will get those people who think that every one of their friends have all the time in the world and forward EVERYTHING!! (I have an excellent solution to that. I will share it with you at the end of this rant.)

Here's another one I received recently that I REALLY HATED:

"This was not sent to be up for discussion. If you agree, send this on to everyone you know. If you don't agree, just delete it."

UGH!!! In other words, "This is my opinion and I know it's flawed, not thought-out, and one-sided, but I don't really care about your opinion, so don't bother telling it to me."

Are people afraid of a good healthy debate? You know, if someone feels so strongly about something, then they should feel comfortable that their reasons are strong enough to handle a debate on the subject. What are they afraid of? Defending their opinion? What a loser.

Here's a thought: If you get an e-mail with a political or ethical point-of-view, and you share that point-of-view and want to forward it, that's cool. But do this: simply delete that last line. I have a feeling a lot of people leave it in the hopes that it is a "disclaimer" to say that they didn't personally write it, but agree with it. OR, it serves as a "shield" of sorts, so that they won't have to deal with rebuttal.

And while I'm on the subject... What's up with the person who sends you a bundle of e-mail forwards... starting with how God loves you and you are a child of God, and the next one is a filthy sex e-mail?! Last month I received a bundle of forwards from an acquaintance of mine. She's one of those people who forwards absolutely everything! One of the e-mails was the God loves you email, and the next was, get this, a RACIST forward!!! No way!!! Anyone who knows me, knows that I have no tolerance for racism. I lost my mind! Not only was is acutely disgusting, but it was prefaced with a statement that gave credit to a celebrity...who had NOTHING to do with it! I suppose by giving credit to a celebrity it had some sort of "credibility"? Ha Ha! Forgive the redundancy.

HERE'S A TIP, one 30 second search on SNOPES.COM will more often than not prove many questionable e-mails false. A child needs to collect 1,000,000 e-mails to get the heart transplant they need? NO. Bill Gates will give you a computer if you forward this to 100 friends? NO. That sickening picture of the guy on the motorcycle with his head in the back of a semi actually survived? NO!! He was dead! You sent a picture of a dead guy to all your friends because you actually believed the e-mail when it said he survived! I'm sure his family appreciated that.

Do everyone a favor, and check out SNOPES.com before you waste your time and mine while simultaneously making yourself look like a fool.

Finally, I promised you a cool solution to the problem of the uncontrollable e-mail forwarder. Go to http://www.stopforwarding.us/ . Here you can send a blunt, but nicely written and completely anonymous e-mail to the offending person.

Thanks for listening.