How do I handle my stepfather's e-mails.

[Touchdown]

He's very well meaning, and a wonderful man, but sometimes he buys into things without thinking them through. I sometimes feel that if I respond to some of these e-mails I get with what I really think, he'll think I'm lecturing him on "sensitivity, political correctness, etc." and get offended. He just passes things on from some obvious rednecks he's got in his mail ring though. Witness...and warning, it's racist.

A Somali arrives in Minneapolis as a new immigrant to the United
>>States. He stops the first person he sees walking down the street and
>>says,
>>"Thank you Mr. American for letting me in this country!" But the
>>passer-by
>>says "You are mistaken, I am Mexican."
>>The man goes on and encounters another passer-by. "Thank you for
>>having such a beautiful country here in America" The person says "I no
>>American, I am Vietnamese." The new arrival walks further and the next
>>person he sees he stops,
>>shakes his hand and says "Thank you for the wonderful America!" That
>>person
>>puts up his hand and says "I am from Middle East, I am not an American!"
>>He finally sees a nice lady and asks suspiciously, "Are you an
>>American?" She says, "No, I am from Russia!" So he is puzzled, and asks
>>her,
>>"Where are all the Americans?" The Russian lady looks at her watch,
>>shrugs,
>>and says...
>>
>>"Probably at work."

He also means well when he sends out the story of the Marine who recieved the Navy Cross, but he links to an article which uses his story as a bludgeon for political attacks on those who are against the war and the *GASP!* LIBERAL MEDIA! Brian Contosh is the new mascott for the pro-war/not-enlisting crowd. He's a hero, but this veteran doesn't need some racist (called the mayor an orangutan) radio host from Rochester to use Contosh to question my patriotism.

My reply to that "Oh' so funny, but true in burning cross world" was ..."PS: Nice racist joke there." I think he'll get put out about my lecturing again.

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. If it makes you uncomfy just say "Dad, these aren't my cup o tea. Instead

of laughing I feel uncomfortable." Then send along a few neutral jokes that are right up your alley as examples (without calling them as such)

[blondeatlast]

8. Wonderful idea. Diplomacy is always the best approach. nt

[GreenPartyVoter]

11. :^) Yeah. No point in causing a rift in what sounds like a lovely

relationship.

[candy]

2. Just take it with a grain of salt---you said he was a wonderful man.

[ironman202]

3. silence is approval. No ethical wiggle room, imho

[TwilightZone]

4. Press the DELETE key.

Works for me. My dad's a right-wing, righter-than-Rush wacko.

[Touchdown]

9. That's the thing. He hates Bush, voted for Kerry

...although he did say the old "lesser fo two evils" canard. Fahrenheit 9/11 is his favorite present I ever gave him aside from the fly reel I got him 2 Christmas' ago. He didn't even ask for the movie. That's how pushy I get.:blush:

[TwilightZone]

13. If you think that telling him that you don't approve will matter...

you could try that. Apparently, he either doesn't realize that you don't approve of them or does realize it, and sends them to you anyway.

If you're sure that telling him that you don't approve of the e-mails won't make any difference, then my suggestion is to ignore them. No sense in driving yourself crazy about it!

[FearofFutility]

5. I get the same crap from my father-in-law

and it drives me crazy. I don't bother opening his email anymore.

[Jersey Devil]

6. Easy! Don't read his email

Better yet, teach him how to password protect it in case you can't control yourself.

[ismnotwasm]

7. When anybody sends me stuff like that

I politely ask them not to send me anything pro bush, racist, homophobic or sexist. Just a simple line, I don't go into detail, and it usually works. My family doesn't send me stuff like that, so since it's your stepfather, I dunno. I'm always suprised by what fairly decent folk think is funny.

[anarchy1999]

10. Send it back, "say no more" and then block e-mail address from being

received. Be sure and to tell that all future e-mails of this type will be blocked, if they continue then ultimate is banning e-mail from this person.

[applegrove]

12. Tell him that people like Ann Coulter & whoever made up this joke

try and teach Americans hate humor. That America was not built on that in many ways. That it is childlike to 'put down' an other.

Implying that immigrants do not move to the USA for better job opportunities and work hard is an outright lie. Anyone who moves to America does so for the chance at a better life. And that means work.

It is about tribalization. It is about growing others down. It is about teaching adults the humor of children because America's leaders today are childlike in their black and white thinking and they very much want your step-father to fall in line.

Adult humor is based on punching through to truths that teach us something about the world we live in or teach us something about our lives.

Child - humor is based on lies & myths about others.

[gaia_gardener]

14. On first reading

I think some people would think that meant that the people he encountered were tourists and it is a comment on america being the great melting pot that you can't tell a tourist from an american and that americans work hard.

I'm not defending him, I'm just saying that it is possible he had a "duh moment" and didn't fully get it.

I'd treat it as a "hmmm, I thought it was cute at first and then I realized what it was saying and that it was quite racist".