My reply to a hateful e-mail

[auburngrad82]

I replied to all, not just to the sender:

Here's the original e-mail:

History Lesson

What do you think? It seems crystal clear to me!

Please pause a moment, reflect back, and take the
following multiple choice test. The events are actual
Events from history. They actually happened!

Do you remember?

1. 1968 Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by

a. Superman
b. Jay Leno
c. Harry Potter
d. a Muslim male extremist between the ages of 17 and 40

2. In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, athletes were kidnapped and massacred by

a. Olga Corbett
b. Sitting Bull
c. Arnold Schwarzenegger
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

3. In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over by:

a. Lost Norwegians
b. Elvis
c. A tour bus full of 80-year-old women
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

4. During the 1980's a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by:

a. John Dillinger
b. The King of Sweden
c. The Boy Scouts
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

5. In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by:

a. A pizza delivery boy
b. Pee Wee Herman
c. Geraldo Rivera
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

6. In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and a 70 year old American passenger was murdered and
thrown overboard in his wheelchair by:

a. The Smurfs
b. Davy Jones
c. The Little Mermaid
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

7. In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens, and a US Navy diver trying to rescue passengers was
murdered by:

a. Captain Kidd
b. Charles Lindberg
c. Mother Teresa
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

8. In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by:

a. Scooby Doo
b. The Tooth Fairy
c. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

9. In 1993 the World Trade Center was bombed the first time by:

a. Richard Simmons
b. Grandma Moses
c. Michael Jordan
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

10. In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by:

a. Mr. Rogers
b. Hillary Clinton, to distract attention from Wild Bill's women problems
c. The World Wrestling Federation
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

11. On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked; two were used as missiles to take out the World Trade Centers
and of the remaining two, one crashed into the US Pentagon and the other was diverted and crashed by the
passengers. Thousands of people were killed by:

a. Bugs Bunny, Wiley E. Coyote, Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd
b. The Supreme Court of Florida
c. Mr. Bean
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

12. In 2002 the United States fought a war in Afghanistan against:

a. Enron
b. The Lutheran Church
c. The NFL
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

13. In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by:

a. Bonnie and Clyde
b. Captain Kangaroo
c. Billy Graham
d. Muslim male extremists mostly between the ages of 17 and 40

Nope, I really don't see a pattern here to justify profiling, do you? So, to ensure we Americans never
offend anyone, particularly fanatics intent on killing us, airport security screeners will no longer be
allowed to profile certain people. They must conduct random searches of 80-year-old women, little kids,
airline pilots with proper identification, secret agents who are members of the President's security
detail, 85-year old Congressmen with metal hips, and Medal of Honor winning and former Governor Joe Foss,
but leave Muslim Males between the ages 17 and 40 alone lest they be guilty of profiling.

Let's send this to as many people as we can so that the Gloria Aldreds and other dunder-headed attorneys
along with Federal Justices that want to thwart common sense, feel doubly ashamed of themselves -- if they
have any such sense. As the writer of the award winning story "Forrest Gump" so aptly put it, "Stupid
is as stupid does."

Come on people wake up!!! Keep this going. Pass it on to everyone in your address book. Our Country and our
troops need our support.

And guess who just bombed London?

My reply:

I personally do not like these types of things. A person can find many examples to prove a point. Take the Bible, for example. Two different individuals can find Bible verses that would seem to back up both sides of a contentious debate like school prayer. One might say that Jesus said to go out and proselytize. The other person would point out that Jesus said you should pray in private.

We all know a White Christian male blew up the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, killing one person and injuring over 100 others. Two white Christian males blew up the Alfred Murrah Federal Blg in Oklahoma City (more than 300 dead, including many children at the daycare inside the building), a white Christian male assassinated Nobel Peace Prize winning minister Martin Luther King Jr and numerous white Christian males are responsible for blowing up abortion clinics and black churches around the country, killing many innocent people, including children.

I think that one of the problems with our country today is we have found it too easy to hate. I would like it if everyone who received these kinds of "patriotic" e-mails would just take the time to think about what the reason for the message is rather than just saying "you know, that's true!" Technically it is true but it seems that the only thing that is gained by these e-mails is to turn people's minds towards prejudice and hatred for other people.

Keep in mind that historically Christianity has been just as brutal and murderous as any other religion. The Crusades and the Inqustition took place long ago but more recently you have the Ireland conflict between Catholic and Protestant neighbors. Bosnia is another example. Then there is Nazi Germany in which a conservative Christian nation was mesmerized by a madman. That led to the deaths of over 6 million Jews.

I don't mean to preach to everyone but please let's try to reverse the direction our country is taking towards hatred and isolationism. It can't be good for us.

[southlandshari]

1. Excellent reply

:thumbsup:

[Mira]

2. Thanks for writing this and posting it! Beautifully done and right on n/t

[ClintonTyree]

3. Great reply........

you have to fight ignorance with facts. Whether any of this will sink in is another question.

[movie_girl99]

4. wow..great reply

well thought out. I hate that kind of forwarded crap as well.

[tenshi816]

5. Excellent response, beautifully done.

Thanks for sharing this with us.

[RebelOne]

6. This e-mail has been circulating the Web for a while now.

I received it 2 weeks ago.

[tblue37]

40. I received it 3 years ago.

It has been out there for a long time.

[SW FL Dem]

7. Excellent Response!

Very well put and right on point.

[whistle]

8. Not to mention scapegoating

<snip>

3.) Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial, ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.

<more>
<link> http://www.oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htm

[ET Awful]

9. I usually respond with something along the lines of

1. In April of 1995, the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma city was bombed by:

A. XXXXX
B. XXXXX
C. XXXXX
D. Rabid white far right-wing extremists.

2. Throughout the late 90's, bombings of family planning clinics, the Olympic Park and a gay bar were carried out by:

A. XXXXX
B. XXXXX
C. XXXXX
D. A rabid white far right-wing extremist.

etc. . . .

[MADem]

24. Let's not forget James Earl Ray

...who assassinated King...and Fidel-hating Lee Harvey Oswald. To say nothing of the hate crimes that happened after 911 (the one where the sikh was beaten to death because he had a turban was beyond the pale).

I think the only way you can slap these guys back is with a quiz in response...they don't listen to or absorb reasoned arguments, they can only handle short bursts flung at them, like handfuls of crap from a monkey--it's how they process information.

[ET Awful]

32. I hadn't forgotten, just didn't have time to type all the ones that came

to mind, so I just gave a couple of quick examples.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

10. Whom has the United States repeatedly offended and abused with its policy?

Male (and female) Muslim extremists (and non-extremists) of all ages.

[bertha katzenengel]

11. Great response. Have you mailed it yet? One small note:

Only 168 people died in OKC on 4/19/95. (Not that the smaller number is any less tragic.)

[auburngrad82]

20. I already sent it

My mind wasn't functioning well enough to check the numbers on OKC. I had just received a terrible bite from my dog and spent most of yesterday in the ER. I wish I had been thinking better. Errors like this give Right-wingers a reason to discount the message I was trying to get across.

[bertha katzenengel]

26. No, no, no... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to give you reason to second-guess

yourself - or to worry about what the folks you sent this to will think.

If they reply that you posted an incorrect number, just say what I said: "As if the smaller number of dead is any less tragic." Maybe add: "You wrote about the first WTC bombing in 1993. Only six poeple died there. So perhaps I ought to discount that example from your list."

Well, maybe the latter part of my response isn't logical. Oh, well.

I am sorry your dog bit you. I hope you don't have to have him/her put down -- and I'm really glad you went to ER. Lots of folks wouldn't.

[tblue37]

41. Your own dog bit you?

Was it injured and in pain?

[auburngrad82]

42. Two of my dogs started to fight and I tried to break it up

Both dogs were uninjured. I got bit pretty good on the hand. I should have known better than to try to break it up but I did it any way.

The dog that bit me has to be quarantined at the house for 10 days. No problem, since we rarely take the dogs out of the yard. It's fenced and about 2 acres so she can still run.

[tblue37]

44. Ahhh--that would do it.

Even cats fighting should not be separated by hand--if you want to keep the hand.

Next time, grab a thick blanket and throw it over one of them, or else throw cold water on them.

I know, though--in the heat of the moment, you just move fast and don't think.

But aren't your dogs buddies? It sounds like they must have been seriously fighting, but that seems odd for housemate dogs.

[auburngrad82]

45. These two are females about the same size and age

Absolutely the worst combination if the dogs decide they don't like each other. Males will fight until one decides to surrender and let the other dog be dominant. Females will fight to the death if you let them. These two, individually, are the sweetest dogs. We have five dogs and they get along with all the other dogs. We even foster dogs and never have a problem. These two, however, cannot be kept together. We separate them with child gates in the house and never let them out at the same time. Unfortunately I screwed up and knocked the gate over.

[wake.up.america]

12. Whoever wrote that could not blow her/his nose if...

her/his were brains were dynamite.

Good grief!!!!!

I have been called an Arab, a Pakistani, an Indian, a Mexican a Turk,

a Persian etc.

No, I do not have blue eyes and blond hair.

Does it really matter?


Q Who wiped out the Arawak Indians on Cuba?

A the Spanish

B the Swedes

C the Greeks

D a buncha jerks who sailed from Cadiz who happened to be of Spanish origins.

Get the picture?

Bush is a Texan.

Therefore, all Texans are jerks. No, certainly not!!!

[WoodrowFan]

FYI, Sirhan Sirhan is a Christian. (NT)

[WoodrowFan]

13. FYI, Sirhan Sirhan is a Christian. (NT)

[SheilaT]

14. Very good.

Had I gotten that email I'd be tempted to send one back in the form of a similar multiple choice quiz.

You forgot to include the assassination of JFK. Lee Harvey Oswald was a white male, and if he didn't act alone there's no reason to believe any of his co-conspirators were Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40.

[YOY]

16. and Hinkley is a white guy too!

and he tried to kill the patron saint of the Neocons!

[NewJeffCT]

15. good response

Good work - debunking this BS can be a full time job for our side.

You might also want to mention white Christian males lynching African Americans for over 100 years, slavery in American primarily perpetrated by white Christian males, as they sent you a lengthy list...

You can also say that a large majority of federal judges are Republican appointed - 10 of the 13 courts are Republican majority; 2 are tied and 1 is Democratic majority. So, if you criticize federal judges, most are Republican.

[zbdent]

17. Wasn't Oswald a Christian White male? What about that guy in the tower

on that Texas university?

Oh, wait. Oswald was a Repuke hero . . . never mind.

[earthside]

18. White American Males

If a person had the time, they could construct a similar 'multiple choice' quiz that had as the correct answer -- "White American male capitalists mostly between the ages of 50 and 70".

I'm thinking of questions like ...

In 1953 the democratically elected prime minister of Iran, Dr.Mohammed Mossadegh, was deposed in a CIA coup organized by:

a. Yosemite Sam
b. the Trix Rabbit
c. Ma Barker
d. White American male capitalists mostly between the ages of 50 and 70

On March 16, 1988 Iraqi troops, attempting to crush a Kurdish uprising in the Al-Anfal Campaign, attacked the Kurdish town of Halabjah with a mix of poison gas and nerve agents; these chemical weapons were supplied to Saddam Hussein's army by:

a. the Episcopalians
b. the Norwegians
c. the Smurfs
d. White American male capitalists mostly between the ages of 50 and 70

You could go on and on like this for a hundred questions ... Looks like 'profiling' could be used both ways. Which is why, of course, it is such an immoral tactic.

[Wickerman]

19. nominated

:kick:

[nonincriminatin]

21. Congrats

Well done

[meganmonkey]

22. Wow! I've seen that email posted before, but your reply

is absolutely perfect!

I almost hope someone sends me that email so I can steal your reply :P

:thumbsup:

[Nomad559]

23. Excellent Reply

Nominated

:yourock:

[Kerrytravelers]

25. Very mature. That's how we need to respond to them.

[northzax]

27. factual, huh?

and here I thought that Sirhan Sirhan was a Southern Baptist, and I'm not alone, he's his baptist minister talking about him...

We missed him. Our chance to change things came and passed and we did not know it was there. A dark-skinned little boy sat through Sunday School classes for three years at a great Baptist Church (First Church, San Antonio) but someone missed him. His name was Sirhan Sirhan, and at age 24 he shot and killed Senator Robert Kennedy. In a welter of words and the shudder of grief throughout our nation, the persistent thought keeps recurring...someone missed him.

Dr. Jimmy Allen, former pastor of First Baptist Church, San Antonio, Texas in Pulpit Helps, May, 1991 http://www.bible.org/illus.asp?topic_id=1003

I guess since he was dark skinned and of middle eastern descent, everyone thinks he was muslim. So add him to the Christian list.

Pan Am 103 was an act of political terrorism by the Quaddaffi (sp?) government, not religious terrorism. But what are details?

[bear425]

28. Good response. I got the same email yesterday...here's mine:

Hi XXX,
I deleted the email you sent earlier, the one about the Muslims. But I found this article perfectly sums up how I reacted to it. I hope you read it and forward it to the person (I think it's your brother-in-law) who sent it to you. This terrorism issue is never black and white. In fact, religious extremism in any form is very dangerous. Hopefully the originator of the email will get something out of this article. Here it is:

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/news/editorial/12330496.htm

[LoKnLoD]

29. I just got that email

I got to work and that email was in my inbox. I hope you don't mind, but I borrowed your reply. It was just so heartfelt, and to the point. I credited you with the reply.

Thanks!

[auburngrad82]

36. Feel free to use it nt

[Iris]

52. Yes! It would be great to see this reply spread around.

People should copy anyone else who was included in the original email.

[progressoid]

30. I got that one too from my M-I-L. And the first one is wrong!

Sirhan Sirhan was a Roman Catholic!

I was working on a reply but I have better things to do now. Maybe in a few days. I'll keep some of your ideas in mind if that's OK with you.

These kind of emails feed the unethical base of amurikans. The RW loves this because it doesn't require thinking but promotes fear and anger.

[wildeyed]

31. Excellent reply auburngrad!

Stuff like that is just trying to fan the flames of bigotry and hatred. Thanks for showing them some level headed truth. Any replies?

[auburngrad82]

37. No replies.

The person who sent it to me is actually a family member. I don't think I ran the risk of pissing anyone off but I had to tell then what I thought of it.

[wildeyed]

47. I think it was a very polite reply.

Simply pointing out the obvious and asking people to think instead of just blindly accepting hate and bigotry.

[raccoon]

33. Great response. nt

[Sweet Freedom]

34. FYI: I added your thread to

the DU propaganda debunker:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=284x105

[Catherine Vincent]

35. That's a good response.

Do you mind if I copy that in case I get that email from some right winger?

[auburngrad82]

38. Feel free to use it

Although it's been pointed out that the number of victims of OKC is incorrect and that I should have pointed out that Sirhan Sirhan is a Christian and should have added Lee Harvey Oswald and John Hinkley. There are so many ways to debunk this but unfortunately the people who send this stuff out aren't going to listen anyway...

[GreenPartyVoter]

39. Well done!

[Kelvin Mace]

43. Fire with fire

Is Profiling Required? Take This Test
http://www.thoughtcrimes.org/mt/

This idiocy is now making the rounds in email form and being posted to web sites run by the usual suspects.

Here is a nice response to send when you get one in your in box.

In 1996 the Olympic games in Atlanta were bombed by:

a) Mary Lou Retton
b) Howard Cosell
c) Richard Jewell (you only get to pick this one if you work for the FBI)
d) Eric Rudolph, a white "christian".

In 1995, the Murrah Building in Oklahoma city was destroyed by a truck bomb, killing 168 (including 19 children). The bomber was:

a) Wile E. Coyote
b) Vanilla Ice
c) Weird All Yancovic
d) Timothy McVeigh, a white "christian".

Since the American Civil War, thousands of blacks have been lynched by:

a) The Rotarians
b) The Knghts of Columbus
c) The Cub Scouts
d) The Ku Klux Klan, a white "christian" organization.

Starting in the late 1930's, the Second World War would eventually kill over 57 million people, including 6 million Jews in extermination camps. This war was chiefly instigated by:

a) Saddam Hussein, at the age of two
b) The Marx Brothers
c) Bob Hope
d) Adolph Hitler, a white "christian". and leader of the Third Reich, a white "christian" organization

In 1994, over 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis were exterminated with the help of:

a) Raid�
b) Tarzan
c) Britney Spears
d) The Roman Catholic Church and other white "christian" organizations.

Torture was the principle method of persuasion for almost a thousand years in which organization?

a) The Book of the Month Club
b) The William Shatner Fan Club Choral Society
c) The Blackboard and Fingernail Society
d) The Catholic Church, a white "christian" organization

Which Texas governor presided over 152 executions?

a) Jesse Ventura
b) Foghorn Leghorn
c) Davy Crockett
d) George W. Bush, a white "christian"

When white "christian" nations colonized the Americas, they caused the death of how many native Americans?

a) Six
b) That indian guy in the Village People
c) That guy on the "Keep America Beautiful" commercial who cries
d) About 20 million

The Thirty Years War, a squabble between Catholics and Lutherans in Europe, killed:

a) Garrison Keilor
b) Real estate prices on the Riviera
c) The radio star
d) 3-8 million people

Around 50,000 "witches" were executed over 300 years by:

a) Lord Voldmort
b) Elizabeth Montgomery
c) warlocks
d) Various white "christian" churches

Are you seeing a pattern . . . dare I say, a profile, developing here?

[smoogatz]

46. Like shooting fish in a barrel

You mentioned the Holocaust, that's good. There's also the extermination of 12 million Native Americans by white Christians, the extermination and enslavement of millions of Africans by white Christians, and the extermination of 4 million Southeast Asians by white Christians during the Vietnam war. There are also mass exterminations committed by Buddhist or Shinto Asian people--the Rape of Nanjing, Cambodia under Pol Pot, the Han Chinese occupation of Tibet, and so on--and then there's the genocide in what used to be Yugoslavia committed by white Christians against Muslims, and of course the African genocides in Rwanda and Darfur. Historically, Muslims rank among the least violent and warlike people on the planet.

[HootieMcBoob]

48. absolutely beautiful response

you were right to respond to all in this case. you did a wonderful job. i usually end up ranting and raving when i receive one of the hate filled emails but what you said should really hit home with some of the people you replied to.

if you don't mind i would love to use your response if i ever get this email. i get them every now and then and i usually just ignore them. sometimes i rant and rave but yours is so calm and well reasoned! i wouldn't take credit for it but i would love to be able to send it out if and when the above email comes my way.

excellent work! :toast:

[auburngrad82]

49. Feel free to use it

There are a few corrections that need to be made, as pointed out by some of the posts.

[CrispyQ]

50. Most excellent reply!

Thanks for sharing.

:yourock:

[theplutsnw]

51. I got the same email about a year ago

and my reply was almost verbatim! Also replied to everyone on the list!

[bumblebee1]

53. Here's one more

James Bird was dragged to his death behind a pick up truck by:

Martin Luther King Jr
Elmer Fudd
Osama bin Laden
two white males

[auburngrad82]

54. Excellent.

I'm ashamed to say I had forgotten about Mr Bird.

[LoKnLoD]

55. This is what I got back for a reply from one on the distribution list

Looks like he drank the koolaid - got back 2 other responses that were positive

"For what it is worth here is my two cents. I still have a very difficult time erasing the visions of innocent people jumping from the towers just a few years ago. Some choice they had....jump from over 100 stories high or burn to death! We know who was responsible even though some refuse to accept the facts. I don't care what people believe in or what occurred 2000, 200, or even 50 years ago. This is about now and what measures need to be taken to correct the situation. Maybe one should preach this tender loving bull to the Muslims, they certainly have not taken any credible actions to police themselves."

[oldcoot]

58. Didn't some people in North Carolina hide Eric Rudolph?

If they did, you have an example of white Christians not policing themselves.

[mcscajun]

61. Looks like he completely ignored the second paragraph

and focused solely on the fourth to make his rebuttal.

Don't know if it would be worth banging on his head again. Too bad, though.

[Kurovski]

56. You'd think the clever little shmuck/s who put these

questions together would eventually ask themselves why the fuck these folks are so pissed off.

[linazelle]

57. Add: white christian male lied to country and invaded sovereign

nation against international law. Also, white christian males stole american taxpayers' money funneling it into their private bank accounts through illegal war.

[Hissyspit]

59. BTK killer. (You were nice, btw. The email is pretty blatant racist...

cherry-picking.)

Good job. :toast:

[entanglement]

60. Excellent post and replies

I'd add

1) Who killed / gassed 6 million Jews between 1941 and 1945?

a) The tooth fairy
b) Santa Claus
c) Hillary Clinton
d) Middle aged white male with a funny mustache


2) Who murdered 1 million Bosnians / Croats in the 1990s?

a) Michael Jordan
b) Kofi Annan
c) Mother Teresa
d) Middle aged white male with a name ending in 'vic'

3) Who was responsible for lynching 4500 Black Men and Women in the post-war South?

a) Code Pink
b) NAACP
c) ACLU
d) Bored, mostly middle aged white males

4) Who declared an illegal war that has killed 100,000 Iraqis?

a) Mexican 'illegals'
b) Ludacris
c) Jesse Jackson
d) Middle aged (incompetent) white male

and on and on and on, the list is probably endless

:-(