What makes people think it's okay to send this to acquaintances?

[BurtWorm]

Just forwarded to me by someone I've had two phone conversations with. She is a freelancer, and I'm in the market for freelancers. I don't know what makes a person comfortable, given how little she knows me and how much she might depend on my good will toward her, sending this sort of crap to me. (Granted, I wasn't the only one on her list, but that hardly mitigates it):




I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG,
OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
AND TO THE REPUBLIC, FOR WHICH IT STANDS,
ONE NATION UNDER GOD,
INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY
AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!

I was asked to send this on
if I agree or delete if I don't.
It is said that 86% of Americans
believe in God.
Therefore I have a very
hard time understanding
why there is such a problem
in having
"In God We Trust"
on our money and having
"God"
in the Pledge of Allegiance.

I AGREE !

PLEASE KEEP THIS GOING,
EVEN IF YOU HAVE PASSED IT ON BEFORE!!

Please send this on after a short
prayer!



:puke:

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. Ask her when we should mention Allah

There is a growing Muslim population in trhis country.

[maxsolomon]

31. um, Allah IS God is Jehovah is YHWH. Same diety.

you can look it up.

[CrispyQ]

35. And that is the absolute wonder of it all!

The fighting & hate between these three religions, yet they all spring from the same source. I don't get it. :eyes:

[proud2BlibKansan]

38. Don't have to look it up

:)

[Iris]

2. "It is said that 86% of Americans believe in God"

hope you're not hiring her for her research skills - any source for that statistic?

Sadly, I learned about 7 years ago not to assume people around we were like me (progressive, liberal, informed) but unfortunately, I can't say that for many people who are around me who are not like me!

[Bill McBlueState]

39. that in itself is true

The idiocy lies in assuming that all of those people believe in the same God. There are as many gods as there are people who believe in gods. Some gods like war; others of them don't like war; some of them are into equal rights; other gods hate equality.

[Iris]

41. I'm not even saying it's NOT true, but "it's been said" is not a source.

That's just FOX news kind of talk.

[Bill McBlueState]

45. agreed!

Sometimes I wonder if the same person writes all these asinine spams. They're never sourced, they use the same "aw, shucks" tone of voice, and they have the same grammar and spelling mistakes.

It's probably Glenn Beck, actually.

[mcscajun]

3. She just can't BELIEVE you're not a member of the 86%. She is...

...therefore, you must be.

She's a bit Symbol-minded. Surely you can do better in your choice of freelancers. :)

I always have a problem with that "If you agree, fine, if not, please delete" commmand. I'll do whatever I LIKE with e-mail that arrives uninvited to my inbox, especially stuff I completely disagree with!

I'm with you on the :puke: thing.

[BurtWorm]

21. I just have to wonder if there's any part of her that thought

it might not be a good idea to send that to me. Did she spend a portion of a second conmsidering I MIGHT be a member of the other 14% Or does she feel so blessed by the Lord that she doesn't have to worry about coming into contact with a single member of the other 14%?

:wtf:

[mcscajun]

23. It's the latter, absolutely.

I doubt there's too much critical thinking inside that head.
:crazy:

[Bill McBlueState]

40. she also doesn't understand transitive verbs

You can't just "delete," you have to delete *something.* That particular verb takes an object.

[mcscajun]

46. OT: were you listening to XM radio today?

:)

Their "On Broadway" channel did a segment on Showtunes that would drive an English teacher crazy. All of the tunes had either titles or lyrics that were ungrammatical. :silly:
Two of these:
"There Is Mothing Like a Dame" -- from South Pacific
"Consider Yourself" -- From Oliver!

[NMDemDist2]

4. her lack of discretion would make me think twice about hiring her

and that's exactly what I'd tell her when she asked why more work wasn't coming her way...

and while it may be true 86% of Americans believe in God, that's not saying WHICH god.

[Freedomofspeech]

5. These are the same idiots....

that voted for George Bush. Need I say more? They don't think, they just have a knee-jerk reaction to this kind of stuff.

[Kutjara]

6. "Please send this on after a short prayer"

How about:

Dear Lord
Please spare me from the pea-brained
Sentimentality of credulous religious fucknuts
And the saccharine bathos
Of their beliefs.
Oh Lord
If I have to endure another email
From some saved soul with a mind
Narrow as a mailslot
It will be difficult for me to refrain
From smiting them with all my might.
This I would prefer not to do, so
In Your infinite wisdom and compassion,
Would You please ask them to
Cut the shit?
Amen

[BurtWorm]

7. Hallelujah!

Amen!

[yellerpup]

14. A veritable Psalmist, you are

May your words become immortal.

[QuestionAll...]

22. lol, that is great! Burt, reply to her with this

and don't give her the work/job. and let her know why.

[mcscajun]

25. Ha!

:spray:

Even this non-believer can get behind a prayer like that.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

27. "a mind as narrow as a mail slot"

:rofl:

[Sapphocrat]

42. Brilliant! Bravo! n/t

[mnhtnbb]

8. I'd dump her. Nobody tells me when to pray.

[yurbud]

9. Whenever I doubt God exists, I read it on my money and sigh with relief

[Demit]

10. Some people are remarkably tone deaf that way. But at least she's given

you an idea of how she would communicate, vendor to client. Her listening-to-telling ratio is very poor.

[sinkingfeeling]

11. I would not hire anyone who thought this was proper to send to someone

that have not met, want to work for, and have had only two phone conversations with! People today seem to think everyone wants to know they're opinion on all subjects. I want privacy!

[snacker]

12. Don't you hate when people forward crap like that to you?

Last week someone sent me a horrible and ugly racist forward. I ABSOLUTELY hate having my email address and name involved in the "sent" portion of crap like that.

[SutaUvaca]

13. I get this stuff all the time

from sweet little fundie relatives, even though they know I delete all this kinda stuff, especially because of the not so subtle browbeating (''oooh, if you really care about your friends you'd pass this on and never never let the chain be broken.)

From a recent acquaintaince? Sounds like a simple case of they-can't-imagine-you-don't-feel-the-same syndrome.

[chelsea0011]

15. Call your AG's office and turn her in as a spammer.

I hate getting this stuff and I never send any of this to my email lists. I have no permission from any of them that say,"send me all your crap".

[BrotherBuzz]

16. My son accidentally learned a different version

Just after the eleventh of September, 2001, the American Legion sent out groups to indoctrinate first graders in the pledge thingy. My son misunderstood one word and defiantly makes the same mistake to this day:

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG,
OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
AND TO THE REPUBLIC, FOR WHICH IT STANDS,
ONE NATION UNDER GUARD,
INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY
AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!

[elehhhhna]

48. Oh. My. Golly. He's a peach, that boy!

[Lindacooks]

17. Well, gee whiz, that's all the proof I need!!!

Because it SAYS SO in the Pledge of Allegiance!!!

Never mind that 'under God' was not in the original Pledge and was added in 1954 by Eisenhohwer.

And lookee here - I have a lamp in my living room, and I've never had an elephant in it!! My lamp is an elephant repellent!!

Same logic, different idiot.

[baldguy]

18. "Congress shall make no law with respect to the establishment of religion"

When you take an oath to serve the country, you swear on the Bible to uphold the Constitution, not the other way around.

[Swamp Rat]

19. If you wish, send this in a reply:

... and forward it to everyone in the email list. :D

[acmejack]

20. Into the spam filter she would go.

I would never see another piece of her correspondence again. I would be running the risk that she would offer me the story of a lifetime someday and I would never be aware of it. But after that ill considered mailing, I would deem the odds acceptable.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

24. I'm a free-lancer, and I say that woman is too dumb to be a free-lancer

One thing you NEVER do if you're trying to get work is foist your political or religious opinions on potential clients. If they ask, you tell them honestly. If a request they make of you violates your principles, you turn it down.

But you don't spam your clients with political or religious e-mails. It's extremely unprofessional.

Burt, I hope you tell that free-lancer that she's off your roster of contractors and explain why (without reference to the specific content of her opinions).

[deaniac21]

26. A witch! A witch! A witch! A witch!

We've found a witch! A witch! A witch! A witch! A witch! We've got a witch! A witch! A witch!
Burn her! Burn her! Burn her! We've found a witch! We've found a witch! A witch! A witch! A witch!

[rinsd]

28. I could see friends and family but business contacts?

I would never send a forward to a business contact.

[Anakin Skywalker]

29. That 86% Does Not Wear It

on their sleeves! Jeebus, where do these people come up with this stuff.

[1monster]

30. I got the same thing in my in box. I just hit "delete" after I read it.

Now it is wafting off into cyber bye bye land. (which means my hard drive forever, I guess :eyes:

[readmoreoften]

32. If you are in the position of hiring HER, send her a note.

We at ---- do not approve of political spam. Thank you for applying to the --- position.

[ContraBass Black]

33. And now, she can be off your list.

I consider offensive chain e-mails a community service. :D

[Warren DeMontague]

34. Because 99% of the people who forward mindless internet trash

like that are complete fucking MORONS, that's why.

[ChiciB1]

36. I Think I've Gotten This Email At Least 15 Times! Lately I'm

getting bombarded by some of the same idiots who can't seem to get the blinders off with all kinds of repeat and newly thought up NASTY emails!!!

They must be getting "directives" or something from "headquarters" because it had slowed down for quite some time. It either means they are worried or it's the same game all over again! I've tried different approaches with these people, but have finally just given up, don't reply and hit DELETE!!

THEY aren't listening, they won't listen and they may as well bury their head in the ground. A few were close classmates from school and I didn't want to lose them as friends. I NEVER send them political stuff because I KNOW we don't agree. I KNOW they won't change their mind and I think I'm above this type of nonsense! I've even told them we just don't need to go there, let's just agree to disagree and leave it! But I guess their brains just can't function without sticking it to someone for some of the most ridiculous crap. A lot of it is old, a lot simply out and out lies, but still they email away!

Take it from me, don't even give them the satisfaction of knowing you even received it. Believe me, I've tried many different ways to make them understand... NONE of it has worked!

Stupid is as Stupid does!!!!

[Vox_Reason]

37. This sort of thing works wonders for the fascists....

I get these sorts of forwards from my reich-wing older (20 years) brothers more frequently than I would like. I usually reply with a gentle but firm bitchslap, and don't get a response back. They include the addresses of everyone on the To: line, and I've debated telling them "next time I'm "replying all", not just to you, which I've done to this point so I don't embarass you in front of your brownshirted jackboot-sporting buddies."

What it leads me to wonder is "Why don't I ever get lefty-oriented chain emails?" I suppose a big part of the reason might be because liberals are generally much more net-savvy than fascist sympathizers, and realize that no one likes forwarded spam any more than they like original-recipe spam.

However, I can't help but wonder that even though these reich-wing chain letters have been proven false, ineffective, etc. time and again, that they do have a small effect in riling the base of racists, classists, general bigots, etc. to turn out and vote against the coloreds and the wetbacks, the heathens and the pinkos, etc.

Why can't we harness this mechanism and disseminate true, uplifting messages that give someone something to vote FOR, instead of AGAINST?

[otherlander]

43. Or this one...

This one should keep us all thinking.
I chose #2, now you pick one.
This is a true story of something that happened just a few years ago at USC. There was a professor of philosophy there who was a deeply committed atheist. His primary goal for one required class was to spend the entire semester to prove that God couldn't exist.


His students were always afraid to argue with him because of his impeccable logic. Sure, some had argued in class at times, but no one had ever really gone against him because of his reputation.
At the end of every semester on the last day, he would say to his class of 300 students, "If t here is anyone here who still believes in Jesus, stand up!"
In twenty years, no one had ever stood up. They knew what he was going to do next. He would say, "Because anyone who believes in God is a fool".
If God existed, he could stop this piece of chalk from hitting the ground and breaking Such a simple task to prove that He is God, and yet He can't do it."
And every year, he would drop the chalk onto the tile floor of the classroom and it would shatter into a hundred pieces. All of the students would do nothing but stop and stare.

Most of the students thought that God couldn't exist. Certainly, a number of Christians had slipped through, but! For 20 years, they had been too afraid to stand up. Well, a few years ago there was a freshman who happened to enroll. He was a Christian, and had heard the stories about his professor.

He was required to take the class for his major, and he was afraid. But for three months that semester, he prayed every morning that he would have the courage to stand up no matter what the professor said, or what the class thought.


Nothing they said could ever shatter his faith..he hoped. Finally, the day came. ! The professor said, "If there is anyone here who still believes in God, stand up!" The professor and the class of 300 people look ed at him, shocked, as he stood up at the back of the classroom. The professor shouted, "You FOOL!!! If God existed, he would keep this piece of chalk from breaking when it hit the ground!"


He proce eded to drop the chalk, but as he did, it slipped out of his fingers, off his shirt cuff, onto the pleat of his pants, down his leg, and off his shoe. As it hit the ground, it simply rolled away unbroken. The professor's jaw dropped as he stared at the chalk. He looked up at the young man, and then ran out of the lecture hall. The young man who had stood, proceeded to walk to the front of the room and shared his faith in Jesus for the next half hour. 300 students stayed and listened as he told of God's love for them and of His power through Jesus.


You have 2 choices:
1. Delete this and never look at it again.
2. Pass this along to your Christian and non-Christian friends, giving them encouragement we all need every day.
When you choose option 2, you have chosen to STAND UP.

To which I responded:

Hey, just a few things I was thinking about this email...

Most people who are atheists still believe that Jesus existed, even if they don't think he was the son of God.

Also, they usually don't go around calling Christians fools. Granted, there are some who are anti-Christian, but a lot of them just want to be free to believe what they believe. Religious people have done great things, but that doesn't mean that everybody has to agree with them.

The AFSC, for instance, was started by Quakers (Christians), but atheists and people of all different religions have joined to help them with the humanitarian work they do.

And atheists wouldn't use "If god is real he will stop this chalk from breaking" as proof of their viewpoints. Mostly, they don't believe in God simply because there isn't proof that he does exist, not because they think they can prove he doesn't.

Kind of like Russell's Teapot, a theory that said, "If I said there was a teapot orbiting the Sun between Earth and Mars, and it was too small to be seen by a telescope, you couldn't prove me wrong, but that doesn't mean it's there." Here's a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell%27s_teapot

Also, does one need to believe in God to feel encouraged?

But cute story.

The person who sent it to me wasn't a freeper, actually a pretty nice person, but I guess it's easy just to think about things from one point of view, so I tried not to sound rude when I answered.

[Sapphocrat]

44. If you do reply...

...make sure you quote the Pledge as it was originally written by Rev. Francis Bellamy, in 1892:

I pledge allegiance to my Flag
and the Republic for which it stands,
one nation, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all.

For the record, Bellamy was a Baptist minister and "Christian Socialist," who was eventually drummed out of his own church for being too liberal (and ultimately stopped attending church altogether, because he found too many Christians to be racists).

When he wrote the Pledge, he wanted to stick the word "equality" right before "liberty," but knew that wouldn't go over at all with many of his contemporaries (he held office in the NEA), who were dead set against equality for women, African-Americans, and anybody else not white, male, and Christian.

Bellamy was still alive when the far-righties of the 1920s (as I recall, the DAR was involved) led the campaign to start futzing with the wording. Bellamy was not pleased, but Congress ignored his protests.

For Bellamy's sake, I'm glad the man didn't live long enough to see "under God" inserted (this time, the movement was led by the Knights of Columbus) -- which, if I remember correctly, was in 1954, around the same time they started slapping "In God We Trust" on U.S. coins.

At the time, one of his descendants said that Bellamy would have railed against "under God," too.

P.S. When I go to city council meetings, of course I stand with everyone else to face the flag and recite the Pledge. And I hope the nearest five or ten people around me are startled when they hear me reciting Bellamy's original Pledge instead of the modern, bastardized version.

[ms liberty]

47. I've been thinking about this exact issue lately...

mainly because I live in rural fundie-ville. This whole ultra-pro-xtian/faux-patriotic thing is big around here, and really gets my dander up.

I've decided the next time someone brings this up around me, first I'll point out that that line wasn't in the pledge when it was written by a baptist minister, but was added in the 50's by Eisenhower to separate us from the godless commies; and it shouldn't be there because it violates the first amendment.

Then I'm going to tell them that instead of "one nation, under god" the pledge should say,"One nation, under the Constitution" because what binds us together as one nation is not our religious beliefs, but the Constitution and Bill of Rights. We are a nation of many different religious beliefs - numerous different Christian sects, and many religions not Christian; and many who do not believe in religion at all. But we have only one Constitution and Bill of Rights, our forefathers/mothers all agreed to be bound by that great charter, and since it's creation many have fought and died to defend it. In reciting the pledge, we are affirming our allegiance to the Constitution and Bill of Rights, of which the flag is only a symbol.

Then if they give me anymore lip, I'll bitch-slap'em!

:evilgrin: