Really Obnoxious Wingnut "Funny" Email No. 255842

[wtmusic]

(I really hate it when acquaintances, who seem to be nice people, send me this stuff and force me to hit them upside the head with some truth.)

The Pentagon announced the formation of a new 500-man elite fighting unit called The United States Redneck Special Forces (USRSF)

These mostly Southern boys will be dropped off into Iraq and will be given only the following facts about terrorists :
1. The season opened today
2. There is no limit
3. They don't like beer, pickups, country music, or Jesus
4. They are directly responsible for the death of Dale Earnhardt

The Pentagon expects the problem in Iraq to be over by Friday. Applications are available at your local Wal-Mart sporting goods counter.

My response:

Please don't send me stuff like this--I find this offensive. Here are some facts about "terrorists" from my point of view:

1. Iraqis are killing our soldiers because they are defending their own country from a foreign invasion -- just like you or I might.
2. There is civil war in Iraq because there is no law and order, just as there would be in the US.
3. The justification for the war was based not on misunderstandings, but outright lies to avail the president's business cronies of cheap oil.
4. The problem in Iraq will not be over until long after we lose the war.

I am currently sponsoring two orphans in Iraq who before the US invaded had parents, schooling, electricity, and running water, and now have none of the above.

So even though I don't find this the least bit funny, I respect your point of view and look forward to seeing you in the future.

[bunkerbuster1]

1. You're a better man than I am

I would've found a far less-nice way to tell the "friend" that one more wingnut letter and he'd find himself in my junk email filter.

But good for you--I think that's an excellent, positive, pro-active way to turn the debate and engage someone who might be within reach of reason.

[treestar]

2. This is the kind of thing they believe is funny

The whole thing is a joke to them. It's like cheering for their team in a sports event.

[johnaries]

3. Actually, I think that was a comment on Rednecks, not terrorists.

Being a Southerner and well-acquainted with rednecks, I thought it was pretty funny!

For one thing, the Dale Earnhardt thing. Only a redneck would actually believe something like that. Just as only sheep would believe Bush's other lies.

[wtmusic]

6. The subject was, "Why didn't we think of this before?"

and characterizes Iraqis as animals ("open season").

This goes far over the line.

[kenny blankenship]

11. I think you are overlooking the potential benefits of a proposal like this.

It's true that it won't do anything to "solve the Iraq problem", nevertheless I foresee vast improvements for America.

[wtmusic]

14. gotcha

We could build a huge chainlink arena in the desert and unite zealots of all stripes in a cagefight, with cable TV proceeds going to world hunger. An interesting possibility.

[nini]

15. That's actually what I thought.. the Earnhardt thing gave it away

:-)

[acmavm]

4. I agree with respondee #1. You are a better person than some of us are.

I got an e-mail once and I told a friend not to send me anymore of that 'toothless, low I.Q. trailer-trash bullshit' anymore. We have never spoken since. And that was fine with me.

P.S. As for the trailer-trash remark, I have always regretted it. Relatives on my Dad's side own two big trailer parks here just outside of Omaha and my great-grandparent's lived there. Not for lack of money, but because their son talked them into moving there when he was just starting out. And I would go out there and spend every summer. It was wonderful. The best time of my life. And I've been around a long time and I can personally vouch for the fact that the people who lived there are every bit as respectable and responsible as any I've ever met in my life.

I wish I could go back to those times. The sound of the rain on the metal roof during the summer, the trains sounds in the background, Grandma's clock that chimed every quarter hour and on the hour, going down to the old collapsed damn and climbing on the rocks, riding my bike where ever I wanted, taking the old brick road into Elkhorn with my relatives to buy pop, candy, and comic books.

Yep, I've always been sorry that I gave that woman the dignity of calling here trailer-trash. She doesn't have one one-thousandth of the class that those people had.

[wtmusic]

5. Ain't it the truth

great story :thumbsup:

My own: I responded to a want-ad once with a trailer address assuming an ignorant rube would come to the door. The occupant was a retired senior engineer for Lockheed who lived alone and just liked to move around a lot. He told me all kinds of great stories about Clarence Kelly and projects development at the fabled "Skunk Works".

[liberalmuse]

7. Good for you! I got in a tiff with my friend over this type of thing...

She forwards me stupid racist right wing/libertarian crap on immigration and such and it puts me through the roof. Or she'll send me those prayer chain mails when she knows I'm an atheist. I got one once before my daughter was to take her first plane flight. It said something horrible would happen to me if I didn't forward it to about 20 people.

I moved from Utah to Washington for a reason. To get away from as much of this toxic garbage as possible, though it's everywhere. I do not want right wing or even libertarian anecdotes in my mail box. I hear enough of this ideology from the MSM. Usually I just trash the stuff, but once in awhile I'll get a preview of it, and my head spins at the vacuous, willfully ignorant, soulless mind of the American Idiot. I also get upset because I had thought she was smarter than than this, and then she still mindlessly forwards this stuff to me when I have been subtly telling her for years to stop it. A couple weeks ago, I wasn't so subtle. Why do people do it? Why do they hit that 'Forward' button and send this garbage to everyone on their email list?

[wtmusic]

8. The temptation to try to convert you is irresistible

I hear you...at some point those people stop becoming friends. They have zero respect for YOUR point of view.

[liberalmuse]

10. She is liberal, and I've never known her to go to church...

However, she is only liberal when it comes to what she wants to do. She's never voted, and could care less about politics, 'You can only change things in your own little world'.

The emails people pass around are just an indicator of how little some people put themselves in others' shoes. Instead of being torn up about the devastation in Iraq, they think up what they believe to be 'cute' jokes about it, promoting the lowest common denominator of American ideology as something humorous and good.

[bahrbearian]

9. I love the response

I will be using it, except I'm going to change the 1st sentence to:

1. Iraqis are killing our soldiers because they are defending their own country from a foreign invasion -- just like "I would and you might."

[CanonRay]

12. So how did you find a responsible organization to sponsor an orphan?

[wtmusic]

13. I don't know if they're responsible or not

I googled them and spoke with them many times, then just had to trust my instincts--and be satisfied with the idea that my money might be helping someone who needs it.

http://www.lifeusa.org/