I composed this letter to an urban legend spam

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’m not sure if I should send it out, or if it conveys the message effectively. Take a look at it and if you feel like it let me know.

To the people who sent or received the email whose subject was:
“Aren’t we supposed to be Americans?”

There’s a useful web site for countering all kinds of ignorance, www.snopes.com. Here is a link to a web page containing documentation about the email you have either forwarded or received. Obama Explains National Anthem Stance? | Snopes.com

It is categorically and absolutely a lie. It was originally published as a satirical article by a columnist named Joseph Semmons in The Arizona Conservative.

It’s interesting to think about the motives of someone who would disguise an obvious fabrication as the truth. Why would someone lie about this? Well, the obvious answer is that he is not served by the truth. What kind of person would be harmed by the truth? I leave that to you to decide.

And you have to wonder about who would forward this message when a simple Google search would prove its scurrilous nature in a few moments. If you forward a message without taking due diligence to ascertain its accuracy, what does that say about you? If only there were some geopolitical situation going on right now that was a result of people telling and repeating obvious lies I might come up with an appropriate analogy.

And if a vendor sent me this message I note that assuming the politics of your customer in the absence of evidence is always a mistake, that you might as well have been struck dumb as been proven a liar, and that I observe what you consider an appropriate use of your and my company’s resources.

2

heavy handed.

if you’re sending it to one person, maybe. But, if I’m reading the mail correctly, you might be sending this to a bunch of people at your place of work and possibly another. If that’s right DON"T DO IT!

I would contemplate (if it’s your place) to send everyone a reminder that political emails are verboten, regardless of your personal (and private) views.

I think we’d need to know a bit more before offering you further advice.

3

I find the best way to respond to Urban Legends is to concoct your own even more outlandish Urban Legend and see if you can get the same people to buy into it.

4

I actually received it from a vendor who sells equipment to my company. Which isn’t my company so much as it is a publicly traded company with a market cap of 7.6 billion dollars, so a huge corporate entity.

I thought my response was a little harsh, but sublety is not one of my strong suits. I’d like to make it less hostile, yet still convey my disapproval.

I’m handicapped by the fact that my keyboard is bad and everytime I type a “d” or an “f” I get the letter s as well, so that the word difference for example comes out “dsifsfserence”. The act having to correct everything enrages me, and does not help my mood.

5

Hey, what about this, I send it as written but only to the person who sent it to me. I say that I can’t permit this kind of misinformation to be distributed without correction, and say that if he corrects it I won’t have to. Will that work without being a dick?

6

well, that still kind of sounds like a threat. Something along those lines but worded gently would be fine I would think.

7

I edited you version to make it have more impact"

8

Just “Reply To All” with a link to the Snopes article. Maybe with a “Puh-lease.”

Swift and easy humiliation is a great teacher.

9

I went with this version and hit reply all:

Before you go around forwarding any emails you should probably check www.snopes.com. Here is a link to a web page containing documentation about the email you have forwarded. Obama Explains National Anthem Stance? | Snopes.com

It is categorically and absolutely a work of fiction and an urban legend. You know, like the alligators in the sewers or the guy that had a drink with a gal in Vegas and woke up in a bathtub of ice with his kidneys missing. That didn’t happen either, regardless of what your friend’s cousin said.

It was originally published as a satirical article by a columnist named Joseph Semmons in The Arizona Conservative.

Oh, and by the way, if the son of the Nigerian Secretary of the Treasury asks for your help in getting a large sum of money out of the country, that’s a scam too. Happy to help.

10

I applaud your attempt to slay ignorance; however, I think some of the words are too big for the recipents most in need of understanding the message.