Fellow American Dopers:
There is yet another ugly, racist mass email making the rounds again, this time spreading vicious lies about and attacking Barack Obama as a Muslim, a traitor, a member of some “black power” group, and a racist (oh, the irony!)
Now, I well understand that many people who read and pass this kind of bullshit around aren’t the brightest folks, and many of them will refuse to accept any correction whatsoever. That’s okay, since there’s nothing that can be done for them.
On the other hand, I believe the majority of the people who’ll see this and not know the truth – dull-witted though they may be – are open to being corrected and learning the facts on this and other issues.
So let’s help inform those that are open to being informed, shall we? Fighting ignorance and all that?
So I urge you all to either copy the contents of this post or copy its URL and email that to all your friends, family, and co-workers. Whaddya say, dopers? Are we gonna kick some ignorant asses or just sit on ours and do nothing?
Please do it. Perhaps you may then sleep a bit more the comfortable sleep of someone who has done a patriotic good deed.
Thank you.
- ambushed
(Sorry about the colors and all, but that’s the way I got it. If you wish to copy the contents, and you use an HTML-capable email client such as Thunderbird, the colors will transfer fine during a simple copy and paste. Otherwise, you might wish to make sure using some other technique that the original words of the ugly email are made distinct from my responses. As for the all-caps “shouting”, I did this in order to avoid bold and italics and so forth in case this is sent out as plain text).
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This is to set the record straight on a scurrilous mass email making the rounds spreading many ugly, racist lies about Barack Obama, his faith, his church, and even his name. Please read it carefully.
These facts come from an extremely well-respected, rarely – if ever – faulted, highly popular web site known as “snopes.com”. Snopes is the number one source for carefully investigating the facts and truth behind emails such as the one to which I’m replying and reporting the findings.
Pay heed to this correct, factual information, please.
Here begins the original email contents. I will intersperse my reply with the facts of each claim in turn.
Obama sounds anti American to me.
–> He is NOTHING of the kind. He is as loyal and patriotic an American as they come!
On the church’s web site in their magazine there is an article glorifying Louis Farrakan [color=navy][sic - the correct spelling is: Farrakhan] which enforces my concern about Obama’s Muslim ties.[/color]
–> Let me clarify a few things on that point:
First, the article is simply in some church-sponsored magazine, which Obama has absolutely no ties with and which Obama has no say or control over. He can’t help it that some unnamed person – probably not even directly involving the pastor of that church – chose to write an article which is merely an interview with Farrakhan, whom I believe any sane, rational, sober person should despise.
Second, while it is true that the title of that article is: “The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan”, the word “honorable” in that context is simply an honorific. It is precisely the same thing as when other ministers are referred to as “The Right Honorable Minister John Smith”. It in no way implies that the person is actually honorable, since it is just a common title for ministers.
Third, the article itself – which is very short (just 718 words) – is quite innocent and harmless, and in no way praises Islam or “black power” or anything like that at all. While it does show polite respect for [color=navy]Farrakhan, something you or I would likely never do, it is simply being courteous.
Finally, Obama, the church, the magazine, and everything else about it is completely and totally Christian.
Obama mentioned his church during his appearance with Oprah. It’s the Trinity Church of Christ. I found this interesting.
Please read and go to this church’s website and read what is written there. It is very alarming.
–> There is nothing about this fully Christian church that is in the least offensive or even unlikable (except, perhaps, to racists), let alone “very alarming”! That’s simply foolish!
Barack Obama is a member of this church and is running for President of the U.S. If you look at the first page of their website, you will learn that this congregation has a non-negotiable commitment to Africa.
–> That last comment, while technically accurate, has been unkindly and irrationally exploited by the author of those words merely to inflame hatred, racism, and fear.
First, the site opens with nothing more than this:
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” – Psalm 100:4
Second, the church and the site describes itself as follows:
“We are a congregation which is Unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian… Our roots in the Black religious experience and tradition are deep, lasting and permanent. We are an African people, and remain “true to our native land,” the mother continent, the cradle of civilization. God has superintended our pilgrimage through the days of slavery, the days of segregation, and the long night of racism. It is God who gives us the strength and courage to continuously address injustice as a people, and as a congregation. We constantly affirm our trust in God through cultural expression of a Black worship service and ministries which address the Black Community.”
The reference to a “non-negotiable commitment to Africa” is merely their way of saying that they will always support – in the finest Christian tradition – that continent’s needs, rights, and hopes for peace. That’s ALL.
No where is AMERICA even mentioned.
–> So what? That comment is just so much ugly jingoism. I just scoured my local Catholic Church’s web site, and THEY never mention AMERICA either!
Notice too, what color you will need to be if you should want to join Obama’s church… B-L-A-C-K!!!
–> That’s just another blatant, racist lie. There is not even the slightest HINT that you have to be black to join!
Doesn’t look like his choice of religion has improved much over his (former?) Muslim upbringing.
–> Sigh. That’s just another ugly, vicious, mud-slinging lie! Obama was NEVER a Muslim! He was ALWAYS a devout Christian! While it is true that Obama’s FATHER was raised as a Muslim, his FATHER had openly ended all his ties with Islam and openly became an agnostic by the time he married Obama’s mother (i.e., long before Barack Obama was born!)
As a young child, Barack Obama and his mother moved to Indonesia where her job was. During Barack’s earliest 4-5 school years, he mostly attended a Catholic elementary school. However, for various economic and practical reasons, Barack also attended another school at times during those 4-5 years. This was not a “Muslim school” or “madras”! It was simply the case that, since most people in Indonesia are Muslims, most of his classmates happened to be Muslims. After those 4-5 years were over, Barack moved back to the United States to live with his Christian grandmother and from there on out attended nothing other than public or Christian schools and churches. There is nothing more to the whole story!
Are you aware that Obama’s middle name is Mohammed?
–> That is yet another ugly, mean-spirited, xenophobic lie. His middle name is actually Hussein. While stupid, ugly racists and xenophobes will consider that just as bad, that too is extremely stupid and unjust. Barack Hussein Obama was simply named in honor of his father, whose name was also Barack Hussein Obama. There is nothing more to the whole story!
Strip away his nice looks, the big smile and smooth talk and what do you get? Certainly a racist, as plainly defined by the stated position of his church!
–> What a FILTHY, DESPICABLE LIE! He is not now, nor has he EVER been, a racist! The author of the ugly email to which I’m responding obviously IS a foul, ugly racist though! And as I calmly and factually reported earlier, there is nothing racist about his church, either!
And possibly a covert worshiper of the Muslim faith, even today.
–> Nonsense! He was never a Muslim and never “worshiped” the Muslim faith in his entire life!
This guy desires to rule over America while his loyalty is totally vested in a Black Africa!
–> What an astoundingly stupid, ignorant and evil thing to say! First, he does not desire to “rule over America”, he wants to be the duly elected President of the United States, who must pledge to honor, uphold, and protect the Constitution of the United States! His loyalty has ever and always been 110% to America and her great, noble ideals and principles! WOW, what an evil, racist ass the author of the email is!
I cannot believe this has not been all over the TV and newspapers.
–> That should tell everyone something vitally important: If you do not see a major story such as this would be if true “all over the TV and newspapers”, that’s because it’s just a set of lies, falsehoods, and ugly, racist hatred!
this is why it is so important to pass this message along to all of our family & friends.[/color]
–> Yes! Pass THIS version of my email to EVERYONE, please! Let everyone know that you are not some stupid, hate-fueled racist and liar like the author and believers of the original email are. You will be bestowing yourselves, your friends, and your families a great, American honor. You will be upholding your end of one of the most vital duties of noble Citizenship in this great, free land of America: Helping to better and accurately inform our beloved fellow citizens, so that we may all openly participate in our noble duties and responsibilities of wisely electing our leaders.
It does not matter in the least if you support Obama’s Presidential hopes or not. All that matters is that our fellow citizens have the true facts about all the candidates.
For more factual information on this issue, please point your browsers to these two pages at Snopes.com:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/church.asp
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp
Have a great day!
