# Stupid Bigots: In which I Pit the "History Test" e-mail **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 7, 2005, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-bigots-in-which-i-pit-the-history-test-e-mail/288855 "2005-02-07T19:08:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-bigots-in-which-i-pit-the-history-test-e-mail/288855/41 "2005-02-08T07:20:27Z")
OK, I pity you, Stranger. But take heart. When you work as a secretary, this is what you can expect from coworker emails: [theme one](http://www.cloudnet.com/~jenss/Poppy.jpg) [theme two](http://www.geocities.com/smokingopossum/angelfairy/11.gif) [theme three](http://www.hotbars.net/funny/joke/j1213j14.html) Maybe the grass is always greener, but at this point I think I’d prefer Nazi-mail for a change of pace. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-bigots-in-which-i-pit-the-history-test-e-mail/288855/42 "2005-02-08T07:38:28Z")
> [@betenoir](#): > > I don’t know either. I mean specificly. But as to kaylasdad’s point that it leads to board wars, well that’s why I didn’t (and won’t) link. > > Much as I’d like to sic the SDMB on their sorry asses…no, no, no…won’t go there. Wouldn’t be prudent. > > But as you want to know…suffice to say while there was some reaction to his statement…and that he shouldn’t lie…there was a lot more general consensus that Islam is evil. And maybe not all followers are _necessarily_ evil. They might just be deluded. But, hey, better safe than sorry. Guess I’m not gonna change your mind, then. But I don’t see how hiding the truth ever helps anything. If these people are saying such things in a public forum, we ought to be able to see what’s going on. I don’t know what happened last weekend, but I’m kind of baffled as to exactly how our knowing about it is going to lead to the downfall of civilization, and how linking to a website is going to cause more horrible things to happen. ---
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-bigots-in-which-i-pit-the-history-test-e-mail/288855/43 "2005-02-08T07:41:11Z")
> [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > Three points: > > 1. Capituation: … > 2. Apology: … > 3. Explaination:… > > Stranger Good show man! I tend to get a bit touchy when I see racial hypocrisy. There’s an African American guy here at work who cries racism when anyone disagrees with him or calls him out for being lazy. Yet this same guy calls me an “esay” and thinks it’s okay because “Hispanics call each other that.” HR here seems afraid to touch any complaints against this guy. Things like this make me so frustrated, thus I reacted to your post more strongly than I probably should have. My apologies as well. ---
**Author:** ![look\_ninjas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@look\_ninjas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_ninjas)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-bigots-in-which-i-pit-the-history-test-e-mail/288855/44 "2005-02-08T13:44:18Z")
> [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > But then a piece comes along like the e-mail I got a week or so ago, briefly mentioned in the OP; a picture of the aftermath of a suicide bombing (at a wedding, I think) in which Iraqi citizens–non-combatants, non-terrorists, hell, half of them non-adults–strewn around the remains of a building, bloodied and broken, with the caption “Achoo!” and accompanying text to the effect that if we could just encourage them to all blow each other up we wouldn’t have to worry about the situation. Wow. I think if I were to get that e-mail from a co-worker, the resulting scene would get me fired if not arrested. That’s truly horrifying. Actually, reading this thread is starting to make me really glad I work in retail. ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-bigots-in-which-i-pit-the-history-test-e-mail/288855/45 "2005-02-08T14:15:43Z")
Again I want to go hug my boss for agreeing with me on issuing the policy forbidding the sending or forwarding of **any** non-work related email on company email. It can’t stop people from outside the office from sending it but it does stop every bit of glurge and racist shit from being forwarded internally. Woe be to the employee who does. The first offense is a verbal warning, the second offense is a written warning and the third offense means kiss your job goodbye. I just love our internal email policy. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-bigots-in-which-i-pit-the-history-test-e-mail/288855/46 "2005-02-08T14:28:01Z")
> [@Weirddave](#): > > Gee, you bullied a bully. What an acomplishment. Why don’t you cure racism by legislating inequality between the races and solve the education crisis by removing requirement for students to actually demonstrate knowledge? > > Oh, wait, you already said you’re a liberal Democrat. Sorry, I guess the above is completely redundant. Sorry, that was unduly snarky. It was late, I was tired. I assure you that had the politics been reversed I would have said the same thing, but with a bent towards some of the stupid things conservatives believe. I have a pet peeve about how both sides don’t talk to each other but generally try to force each other to either change their minds or shut up. It’s counterproductive to the society. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-bigots-in-which-i-pit-the-history-test-e-mail/288855/47 "2005-02-08T21:16:50Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Just compose your own and send it around. Something like this: > > Who in this list is not a white male? > > 1. Ted Kozinski > > 2. Jeffrey Dahmer > > 3. Timothy McVeigh > > **4. That seditious Jew from Nazareth** I can’t imagine a wittier reply to this email. When I got it a couple of years ago at work - from my boss’s executive assistant no less - I don’t think my reply was quite as eloquent. I seem to remember saying “don’t send me this shit” in addition to some remark about McVeigh. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-bigots-in-which-i-pit-the-history-test-e-mail/288855/48 "2005-02-09T00:16:23Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > **4. That seditious Jew from Nazareth** I suspect none too few ‘Christians’ don’t really even realize that. It’s too bad there’s some who’ve replaced Jesus’ teachings with an idolatry of holy symbols and certain laws. Sorta fucks up the image of the rest of 'em. > [@Weirddave](#): > > Gee, you bullied a bully. What an acomplishment. Why don’t you cure racism by legislating inequality between the races and solve the education crisis by removing requirement for students to actually demonstrate knowledge? > > Oh, wait, you already said you’re a liberal Democrat. Sorry, I guess the above is completely redundant. Since you acknowledged that your tone was, well, harsh, I no longer feel the need to say what I was planning on. But I gotta say, I don’t think offices, unless they’re explicitly political, oughta be encouraging political debate at all. It sounds like the secretary’s emails were probably making a lot of the staff uncomfortable, and they suffered in silence for a long time. I don’t think someone, whether in the majority or the minority, should get to shove their views on their opponents at the office. Workplaces are for work, and political debate is a fine activity, but the office is no place to do it. Especially not like this. Hell, I work for the state’s Senate Democratic Office, and people’s cube decorations skew political, but even we don’t get to use the email system to send political forwards. Even though we know no one in the office would be offended, it’s not a productive use of resources - especially public resources. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-bigots-in-which-i-pit-the-history-test-e-mail/288855/49 "2005-02-09T06:15:08Z")
**Stranger** , not many can apologize so fully. You surely did take the wind out of my sails. Can you not simply email the sender back and tell her or him that you found it offensive? Or how about requesting business only emails from the worst offenders? Have you talked with anyone in HR? I know that you don’t want to rat out anyone, but you do have the right not to be harassed. And whether the senders know it or not, that is _exactly_ what this material is. But you have to let them know it. They can’t read your mind. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-bigots-in-which-i-pit-the-history-test-e-mail/288855/50 "2005-02-09T10:14:20Z")
Stranger, that’s a lot of class you got there. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-bigots-in-which-i-pit-the-history-test-e-mail/288855/51 "2005-02-09T16:18:30Z")
> [@x-ray vision](#): > > I don’t think it was written with hate in mind and I don’t think your average forwarder of the message sends it with hate in mind. I disagree. It was sent to me by someone who believes EXACTLY this: racial profiling and harassment of Muslim men between the ages of 17 and 40 is okay, because they are LIKELY to be terrorists. And I believe that’s what the author meant, too. Obviously, YM does V. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-bigots-in-which-i-pit-the-history-test-e-mail/288855/52 "2005-02-09T16:44:05Z")
I don’t think even the most racist of racists think that muslim men between the ages of 17 and 40 are LIKELY to be terrorists. More like terrorists between the ages of 17 and 40 are likely to be muslim. ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-bigots-in-which-i-pit-the-history-test-e-mail/288855/53 "2005-02-09T16:58:15Z")
Actually, my take on it would be that it’s intended to promote mistrust, dislike, and maybe even a bit of fear of Muslims by pointing out that they are more dangerous than non-Muslims. Ironically, if the e-mail does promote fear, doesn’t that mean the sender has that little bit more in common with the very terrorists it describes? CJ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-bigots-in-which-i-pit-the-history-test-e-mail/288855.md?page=2)