# I pit the "F.Y.I. Obama" email and provide a rebuttal - Please send it around **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 8, 2008, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-f-y-i-obama-email-and-provide-a-rebuttal-please-send-it-around/432712 "2008-01-08T08:41:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-f-y-i-obama-email-and-provide-a-rebuttal-please-send-it-around/432712/21 "2008-01-08T16:06:21Z")
Since you asked for suggestions, here you go: Discussions don’t have exclamation points, tirades do. Get rid of them, or risk sounding like a nutjob or, at the least, an hysteric. Get rid of opinion and deal in fact, or you leave yourself open to attack (hey, that almost rhymes!). . .ahem. . .be careful who you label as racist; a general comment as to something being racist may imply that you think the person who sent it to you is a racist, when they may just be ignorant. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-f-y-i-obama-email-and-provide-a-rebuttal-please-send-it-around/432712/22 "2008-01-08T16:14:10Z")
[QUOTE=Slypork] I recently received an anti-Obama e-mail from an acquaintance who is a holy roller born again Christian. It’s the old one about his attending the Muslim school in Indonesia, radical Wahabbinism and being sworn in with his hand on the Koran. Yeah, the total crapfest. :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] Mom sent me that one a while back, with a note that said she’d checked it on snopes. So I checked it too, and let Mom know that it was marked False. She replied, " I was talking about the part where he refuses to put his hand over his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance. Did you see that one. It was the second one down on Snopes. But given his background, we’d be fools to trust him as the leader of our country. Also, he’s a Democrat, so no one of any intelligence." O-o-kay… so, um, how’s the weather been lately? ETA: If you come up with something more calm and concise, I’ll be glad to send it to her. It won’t change her mind in the least, but it’ll help me revenge myself for the annoying stuff she sends me! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-f-y-i-obama-email-and-provide-a-rebuttal-please-send-it-around/432712/23 "2008-01-08T16:16:30Z")
So Barack’s father’s name was Barack too? That makes him Barack Obama II? That’s eerily like Il, as in Kim Jong Il. In fact, his middle name is Kim Jong bin Hitler. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-f-y-i-obama-email-and-provide-a-rebuttal-please-send-it-around/432712/24 "2008-01-08T16:20:21Z")
**ambushed** , I got your email asking us to make some edits to your OP after the servers timed out on you. Had I seen the email soon enough, I would have, but there’s enough changes to the text that I think it would kind of screw up the discussion at this point. Go ahead and repost the altered version if you want, and people can critique either version. Also, it’s fine to dissect the original email and propose a rebuttal, but let’s lay off the “everyone email this to everyone they know!” part, OK? ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-f-y-i-obama-email-and-provide-a-rebuttal-please-send-it-around/432712/25 "2008-01-08T16:25:17Z")
Speaking as a poster now, I have to say that the proposed email in the OP is simply terrible. It’s way too long, and the fact that you actually argue each crazy point gives it far more validity than if you had simply responded to the email with something like **Marley23** ’s “almost NONE of this is true” and a Snopes link. ---
**Author:** ![Club\_33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@Club\_33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Club_33)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-f-y-i-obama-email-and-provide-a-rebuttal-please-send-it-around/432712/26 "2008-01-08T16:28:03Z")
When I receive one of these emails, I usually respond with a snopes link and a condemnation of believing anything and everything that is presented in a chain email. More importantly, I also make sure to “reply to all” so that everyone on the list gets the snopes link. As a result, I haven’t been getting too many of these lately. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-f-y-i-obama-email-and-provide-a-rebuttal-please-send-it-around/432712/27 "2008-01-08T16:33:12Z")
[QUOTE=ambushed] Again, I **very** strongly disagree! I am quite convinced there are a huge number of basically good-hearted, basically open-minded people who will read such a thing and accept it – not gullibly or stupidly – but simply because it appears to the ordinary person to be more calm and credible than not, has the air of a legitimate scoop (they may think:“you know, you just can’t expect the damn liberal media to report things like this”), and perhaps they simply don’t have the time, the inclination, the links, or the knack to learn the truth themselves. Don’t you think that’s at least a reasonable working hypothesis? [/QUOTE] I find it to be a very unreasonable hypothesis, albeit one that is often heard from the left side of the political spectrum, one that most lefties just don’t seem to realize is very offensive and condescending. Thank you, ambushed the magnificent, for tirelessly and unselfishly bearing the onerous liberal man’s burden of educating us lowly rubes in the flyover states from our blissful fog of utter ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-f-y-i-obama-email-and-provide-a-rebuttal-please-send-it-around/432712/28 "2008-01-08T16:50:42Z")
[QUOTE=Weirddave] I find it to be a very unreasonable hypothesis, albeit one that is often heard from the left side of the political spectrum, one that most lefties just don’t seem to realize is very offensive and condescending. Thank you, ambushed the magnificent, for tirelessly and unselfishly bearing the onerous liberal man’s burden of educating us lowly rubes in the flyover states from our blissful fog of utter ignorance. [/QUOTE] Man, don’t you just hate liberals? They’re always making sweeping generalizations of dubious accuracy. Stupid liberals. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-f-y-i-obama-email-and-provide-a-rebuttal-please-send-it-around/432712/29 "2008-01-08T16:55:46Z")
> [@ambush's letter](#): > > Pay heed to this **correct, factual** information, please. In addition to the other criticisms given, I recommend laying off redundant pairings like this one. It doesn’t give you a tone of authority, just makes you look like a desperate wackjob who has to lay it on the thick to get his point across. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-f-y-i-obama-email-and-provide-a-rebuttal-please-send-it-around/432712/30 "2008-01-08T16:58:09Z")
[QUOTE=Giraffe] Man, don’t you just hate liberals? They’re always making sweeping generalizations of dubious accuracy. Stupid liberals. [/QUOTE] So, you completely ignore several words in my post to make a statement about “sweeping generalizations”, huh? There’s got to be a term for this other than just plain irony, if not we need to invent one, along the lines of Gaudere’s law. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-f-y-i-obama-email-and-provide-a-rebuttal-please-send-it-around/432712/31 "2008-01-08T16:58:44Z")
[QUOTE=George Kaplin] No, no, no. His middle name is ‘SUPPORTS TERRORISM’. [/QUOTE] Nah, you need to be more subtle. “Soft on Terror” is the way to get that message across. **Ambushed** : Given the response you’re getting here, and the response to your GD thread about ID, maybe you should consider lowering the volume a few decibels in order to better communicate your desired audience. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-f-y-i-obama-email-and-provide-a-rebuttal-please-send-it-around/432712/32 "2008-01-08T17:03:03Z")
[QUOTE=Weirddave] So, you completely ignore several words in my post to make a statement about “sweeping generalizations”, huh? There’s got to be a term for this other than just plain irony, if not we need to invent one, along the lines of Gaudere’s law. [/QUOTE] Um, why is that ironic, exactly? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-f-y-i-obama-email-and-provide-a-rebuttal-please-send-it-around/432712/33 "2008-01-08T17:03:06Z")
[QUOTE=Giraffe] Also, it’s fine to dissect the original email and propose a rebuttal, but let’s lay off the “everyone email this to everyone they know!” part, OK? [/QUOTE] Speaking as a poster, and not commenting on this as moderator input, it would be a terrible idea to forward that to everyone we know. All we’d be doing is spreading the original e-mail, and maybe putting a little doubt in some peoples’ minds. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-f-y-i-obama-email-and-provide-a-rebuttal-please-send-it-around/432712/34 "2008-01-08T17:09:13Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] Nah, you need to be more subtle. “Soft on Terror” is the way to get that message across. [/quote] Everyone knows that his middle name, Hussein, is an anagram for “He Sin Us”. Translated from ebonics, this means “He is going to sin against us”. Don’t vote for this man, America! His name says it all. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-f-y-i-obama-email-and-provide-a-rebuttal-please-send-it-around/432712/35 "2008-01-08T17:17:11Z")
So, his full name is Barack Mohammed Hussein abu Osama? Have I got that right? ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-f-y-i-obama-email-and-provide-a-rebuttal-please-send-it-around/432712/36 "2008-01-08T17:17:51Z")
[QUOTE=Giraffe] Um, why is that ironic, exactly? [/QUOTE] You use sarcasm to accuse me of making a sweeping generalization about liberals when in fact my statement was neither A) sweeping, b)general or c) specifically about liberals. Seems pretty ironic to me. ---
**Author:** ![LilShieste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@LilShieste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilShieste)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-f-y-i-obama-email-and-provide-a-rebuttal-please-send-it-around/432712/37 "2008-01-08T17:19:52Z")
[QUOTE=SpaceDog] And maybe bang in the snopes links. [/QUOTE] As a heads-up, I received a similar forward yesterday that actually contained the following disclaimer: **We checked this out on ‘[snopes.com](http://snopes.com)’. It is factual. Check for yourself.** :eek: I responded to the sender by linking to the corresponding Snopes pages, along with, “Yes, please _do_ check it out for yourself.” LilShieste ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-f-y-i-obama-email-and-provide-a-rebuttal-please-send-it-around/432712/38 "2008-01-08T17:21:58Z")
I hear that the Obama family, oops… sorry, the Osama family, speaks only ebonics at home. They only allow their children to speak standard English when in public! Have you ever heard either of their kids speak ebonics in public? See, that proves it!! ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-f-y-i-obama-email-and-provide-a-rebuttal-please-send-it-around/432712/39 "2008-01-08T17:30:30Z")
[QUOTE=Weirddave] You use sarcasm to accuse me of making a sweeping generalization about liberals when in fact my statement was neither A) sweeping, b)general or c) specifically about liberals. Seems pretty ironic to me. [/QUOTE] Ah, so you think my implication about your post is incorrect. That _is_ ironic! And I think my response to your post was quite appropriate. You took the tone of a post by a single person which had already been roundly criticized by everyone else in the thread and generalized it to a broad slam on “the leftist side of the political spectrum”. Make ham-handed partisan swipes like that out of nowhere and people might make fun of you for it. How ironic! ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2008, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-f-y-i-obama-email-and-provide-a-rebuttal-please-send-it-around/432712/40 "2008-01-08T17:44:24Z")
I just realized I got one of these from my cousin yesterday. I hit reply all and wrote this: [QUOTE=Lok] Well, it is obvious that despite what is written in this so-called news, it was not checked out on [snopes.com](http://snopes.com). Here is a link to what is actually on Snopes. [Who Is Barack Obama? | Snopes.com](http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp) [/quote] It was mostly sent to family members, but the body of the message included something like 40 names where the first person to send it had cced them. I am tempted to send the above to all of them also. Okay, I was a bad boy, I sent it back to the originator and blind cced the rest of the list. I doubt any of them bother to check it, but I did something to fight ignorance today. 😃 [QUOTE=John Mace] So, his full name is Barack Mohammed Hussein abu Osama? Have I got that right? [/quote] I think you left off Adolf. Or maybe Hitler. Not certain which but I am sure one of them is in there! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-f-y-i-obama-email-and-provide-a-rebuttal-please-send-it-around/432712.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-f-y-i-obama-email-and-provide-a-rebuttal-please-send-it-around/432712.md?page=3)