Miss Marple Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Tis the season - SIGH!!! My inbox is being flooded with lots of "losing our freedoms", etc. e-mails and for the life of me I cannot figure out why these folks aren't using http://www.snopes.com to determine whether they should be forwarded or not. These are people who seem intelligent but apparently are happy to grasp at any content that puts their particular belief in a good light. I'm realizing that when I send back an e-mail showing that the content is FALSE, nothing happens. They just keep sending it out :glare: There are plenty of legitimate reasons for voting a certain way; we don't need the false reasons that are circulating via e-mail. Is there a comparable e-mail flood for those in the left-leaning, liberal camp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I see some, but not as many (and many of my friends are extremely, extremely left). I don't know why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I wonder the same thing! How intelligent, educated people can just believe these things (or want to), and forward them on. If it's someone I know well who forwards them, I usually politely send them a link to an urban legend site that explains why it isn't true. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Oh my goodness. My husband somehow got on my 85 yo grandmother's list and gets these from her all the time. I'm not on the list, just him. They can be sort of entertaining, though. My husband has decided that old people should be required to get a license to use the internet.:lol: Facebook is the same way. There are several people that I have changed my subscription to so I only see "important" posts or none at all. Many of these people have politics that technically I agree with, just not their negativity, you know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davysmom Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Oh my word these emails annoy me to no end.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I had a friend send me a ton of these last election. I sent one back to her with a link to snopes showing it was false, along with a very gentle note.....and I never heard from her again! It was like she got mad at me for questioning it. I ALWAYS check snopes or other sources before forwarding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Tis the season - SIGH!!! My inbox is being flooded with lots of "losing our freedoms", etc. e-mails and for the life of me I cannot figure out why these folks aren't using www.snopes.com to determine whether they should be forwarded or not. These are people who seem intelligent but apparently are happy to grasp at any content that puts their particular belief in a good light. I'm realizing that when I send back an e-mail showing that the content is FALSE, nothing happens. They just keep sending it out :glare: There are plenty of legitimate reasons for voting a certain way; we don't need the false reasons that are circulating via e-mail. Is there a comparable e-mail flood for those in the left-leaning, liberal camp? I get tons of this cr*p on Facebook. When I post a link to Snopes, people tell me that Snopes has an extremist liberal agenda and can't be trusted. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindergretta Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I get tons of this cr*p on Facebook. When I post a link to Snopes, people tell me that Snopes has an extremist liberal agenda and can't be trusted. :D :lol: During the last election, one of my mother's crazy friends kept sending me horrid political forwards with no basis in reality. I ignored for a long while and finally sent a Snopes link. She emailed me back, "Oh, why don't you just move to France?!" :001_huh: Whatevs! :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Is there a comparable e-mail flood for those in the left-leaning, liberal camp? Not that I've seen. Most of the false emails/posts I see are against liberals and in favor of conservatives. I'm pretty in the middle.... and will call out just about anyone that sends me something that isn't true. Except for my dh's uncle (I don't say anything to him because he gets so personally offended & he really supported us when we were having issues with my in-laws). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I get tons of this cr*p on Facebook. When I post a link to Snopes, people tell me that Snopes has an extremist liberal agenda and can't be trusted. :D :lol: Another one that has been proven to not be true...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted October 10, 2012 Author Share Posted October 10, 2012 :lol: During the last election, one of my mother's crazy friends kept sending me horrid political forwards with no basis in reality. I ignored for a long while and finally sent a Snopes link. She emailed me back, "Oh, why don't you just move to France?!" :001_huh: Whatevs! :glare: LOL! I have definitely considered moving during the election seasons :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindergretta Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 LOL! I have definitely considered moving during the election seasons :) No kidding, right? Or camping for 2 months in the middle of absolutely NOWHERE!! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momma2three Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I haven't seen any left-leaning ones this election cycle... mostly just Facebook memes, most of which are at least semi-humorous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer3141 Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 :lol: Another one that has been proven to not be true...... Did you get one of those, "Snopes is a liberal conspiracy!" forwards yesterday?? I've gotten FIVE in the past 36 hours. By the way, factchecker.org is just as "bad." Run from bipartisan facts, everyone! Run away! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I just dock the sender 10 points on my "worth my time and reasonably intelligent" scale and delete. I know a lot of people on the extremes. I get 20+ wackadoodle conservative emails to every 1 wackadoodle liberal email. I think this has to do with the conservative wackadoodles I happen to know being old enough to lack savvy enough to know that email forwards are unacceptable (regardless of content) and not a reflection that there are fewer liberal wackadoodles. They certainly exist in droves. They just don't communicate via email. So 1996! You can certainly find them on my twitter feed. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amey311 Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 A relative I used to get these from frequently has either stopped sending them at all or stopped sending them to me (either way - win!). So far one of my favorite conversations about an email went like this: Relative: so, I got this email that says I won some massive amount in the British lottery Me: have you EVER played the British lottery? Relative: well, when we went the one time there's a chance we bought a ticket. Me: right. a random draw ticket like the pick 6 here? how would they know that it was you, Mr. John Doe, who bought the ticket AND somehow know your email address to contact you? And wasn't that trip like 30 years ago? Hang on - lemme google "british lottery scam" Relative: you can just look it up like that? Me: yes. Oh look. Right here on the official site for the lottery, they have the text of the scam email, explaining that it's not true. A nice dream, I'm sure, but no. England isn't emailing to try to give you a million pounds. Relative: so, it's back to work on Monday, then. Me: yep. Also, Bill Gates won't send you money for forwarding emails. Ever. I Promise. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I just dock the sender 10 points on my "worth my time and reasonably intelligent" scale and delete. I'm always stunned at the otherwise normally intelligent people who send/post this junk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TN Mama Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I often hit "reply all" and send the snopes link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I get tons of this cr*p on Facebook. When I post a link to Snopes, people tell me that Snopes has an extremist liberal agenda and can't be trusted. :D Just goes to prove Stephen Colbert is right, "Reality has a well known liberal bias." I have never been the recipient of any sort of political spam, and all my friends and relations are liberal. Or, if they are not, they send their spam elsewhere, because I am an argumentative lost cause. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I am a conservative and so are most of my friends. I never get thesee though I get numerous appeals for money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Did you get one of those, "Snopes is a liberal conspiracy!" forwards yesterday?? I've gotten FIVE in the past 36 hours. By the way, factchecker.org is just as "bad." Run from bipartisan facts, everyone! Run away! :D The truth has a liberal bias. :leaving: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweed Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Just goes to prove Stephen Colbert is right, "Reality has a well known liberal bias." I have never been the recipient of any sort of political spam, and all my friends and relations are liberal. Or, if they are not, they send their spam elsewhere, because I am an argumentative lost cause. You must've been in a coma during the Bush years, yes? There was even a term for it: Bush Derangement Syndrome. I still remember the email in all caps with a quote from Cameron Diaz who said on Oprah, "If you elect Bush, rape will become legal!!" And the person sending the email believed it. I think the hysteria emails are prevalant towards one party depending on who is in office. Right now it is a democrat in office, so the mass hysteria emails lean that way. I wish I still had my old emails because the unintentially funny emails that I got about Sarah Palin trying to do a mass extermination of coyotes, wolves, whales, etc, etc, were pretty prevalant during the last presidential election cycle. That's why the internet gods invented the delete button. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyK Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Tis the season - SIGH!!! My inbox is being flooded with lots of "losing our freedoms", etc. e-mails and for the life of me I cannot figure out why these folks aren't using http://www.snopes.com to determine whether they should be forwarded or not. These are people who seem intelligent but apparently are happy to grasp at any content that puts their particular belief in a good light. I'm realizing that when I send back an e-mail showing that the content is FALSE, nothing happens. They just keep sending it out :glare: There are plenty of legitimate reasons for voting a certain way; we don't need the false reasons that are circulating via e-mail. Is there a comparable e-mail flood for those in the left-leaning, liberal camp? I don't seem to get them via email or facebook from my liberal friends. They may post political stuff but it isn't of the hoax/snopes variety. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 I've yet to be the victim of a left-leaning stoopid e-mail. But OMG the ones from the right . . . the stupidity boggles the mind. And it makes me sad for our country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 "Snopes isn't always right, you know!" is the last refuge of the stupid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Is there a comparable e-mail flood for those in the left-leaning, liberal camp? There was the "Save Sesame Street" email, but, based on recent events, perhaps that's out of urban legendland. My husband had four people tell him this week they're not voting for Obama, because the only thing he's done right is healthcare, and if he's reelected, they're moving to Canada. :lol: .... But horrifying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Did you get one of those, "Snopes is a liberal conspiracy!" forwards yesterday?? I've gotten FIVE in the past 36 hours. Yeah, the conservative blogs have decided that snopes and other factchecking sites are bastions of liberalism. Several people have posted links on their Facebook this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 I am a conservative and so are most of my friends. I never get thesee though I get numerous appeals for money. I get frequent GOP expensive mailings and emails for fundraisers etc. I have to scratch my head because not only am I not a member of the GOP or even vaguely conservative, I am a registered and active Democrat- I am a precinct captain, I am on the endorsement lists for Democrats in local races and I am on the donor list for several Democrats, including the President and Elizabeth Warren. I know they have a voter file and I know I must show up as a strong blue so I am like, what the heck? A while ago I thought it was because of a donation to an anti sales tax thing and then it stopped. It has restarted with a vengeance and I think a conservative person I know who likes a good joke is pranking me and signing me up for the mailings. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted October 11, 2012 Author Share Posted October 11, 2012 I often hit "reply all" and send the snopes link. I've done that, but then there is this sudden silence. No one even acknowledges the reply :tongue_smilie: But they just keep sending the e-mails :glare: I feel like I'm "talking" to a wall :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 dc and I were just talking about this today! We've only seen these emails from one viewpoint. I find it so mean that people have no qualms about spreading out and out lies about a person, any person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 My MIL is famous for the things she forwards. Some things aren't even political! :lol: I just don't do forwards. Read, reply, forward, whatever. The only thing I do DO is delete! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 The email forwards I see (very rarely these days) are, indeed, usually religious in nature or alarmist conservative in political bent. Or they're incorrect information about computer viruses. My FB feed has a LOT more liberal leaning "shares." To be fair, I do have more liberal friends, but my conservative friends and family tend to quietly post something here and there while a few of my liberal friends tend to post totally over the top stuff. Mostly I just wish everyone would stop calling each other names. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 You must've been in a coma during the Bush years, yes? There was even a term for it: Bush Derangement Syndrome. I still remember the email in all caps with a quote from Cameron Diaz who said on Oprah, "If you elect Bush, rape will become legal!!" And the person sending the email believed it. I think the hysteria emails are prevalant towards one party depending on who is in office. Right now it is a democrat in office, so the mass hysteria emails lean that way. I wish I still had my old emails because the unintentially funny emails that I got about Sarah Palin trying to do a mass extermination of coyotes, wolves, whales, etc, etc, were pretty prevalant during the last presidential election cycle. That's why the internet gods invented the delete button. Nope, wasn't in a coma during the Bush years, I've got the t-shirt. I never saw anything like what you are mentioning. But, I did declare myself an official Sarah Palin free zone, so that might have helped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivka Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Uh, guys? Let's save the moderators trouble and shut this one down ourselves. You know there's no way it's going to stay within a hundred miles of civil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 I find it so mean that people have no qualms about spreading out and out lies about a person, any person. :iagree:1000% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Hmmm..the only ranting ones I've had on FB have all been liberal. I have one family in particular that posts the most amazing stuff. I've seen liberal ones but they are usually able to be proven as true.... to me there is a big difference in posting something that can be backed up & posting something that can be proven false. And no, I'm not a liberal, so I'm not biased. Solidly independent, in the middle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TN Mama Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Mostly I just wish everyone would stop calling each other names. :iagree: Yes. Please. Thankyouverymuch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Here's an article I thought was rather interesting and relative to this discussion. The gist is that if more of us would view politicians as real, live people who've all had their own share of struggles, we'd have a kinder opinion of them and be less likely to engage in the over-the-top e-mails and postings on social media. Link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 I've seen liberal ones but they are usually able to be proven as true.... to me there is a big difference in posting something that can be backed up & posting something that can be proven false. And no, I'm not a liberal, so I'm not biased. Solidly independent, in the middle. There's also a difference between posting something that is unashamedly an opinion (this person/that person is awful) and something that purports to be a fact but is untrue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 There's also a difference between posting something that is unashamedly an opinion (this person/that person is awful) and something that purports to be a fact but is untrue. True... often the opinions I see posted include the reason, which is often not something true though, and then if one corrects them on the facts, they say "I have the right to my opinion". One does have the right to their opinion but it is wrong to try to sway others with false information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 (edited) I wonder the same thing! How intelligent, educated people can just believe these things (or want to), and forward them on. If it's someone I know well who forwards them, I usually politely send them a link to an urban legend site that explains why it isn't true. :) :iagree: except I do a "reply all" with the Snopes link. Not that I've seen. Most of the false emails/posts I see are against liberals and in favor of conservatives. I'm pretty in the middle.... and will call out just about anyone that sends me something that isn't true. :iagree: Edited October 11, 2012 by Amy in NH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Element Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Tis the season - SIGH!!! My inbox is being flooded with lots of "losing our freedoms", etc. e-mails and for the life of me I cannot figure out why these folks aren't using www.snopes.com to determine whether they should be forwarded or not. These are people who seem intelligent but apparently are happy to grasp at any content that puts their particular belief in a good light. I'm realizing that when I send back an e-mail showing that the content is FALSE, nothing happens. They just keep sending it out :glare: There are plenty of legitimate reasons for voting a certain way; we don't need the false reasons that are circulating via e-mail. Is there a comparable e-mail flood for those in the left-leaning, liberal camp?[/QUOTE] Not that I've seen, thankfully! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 I don't mind the political stuff. I don't get much of it. Maybe it is because I don't know that many people over 60. I did have one well-meaning yet seriously over the top retiree send me stuff all the time. I politely requested he take me off his list. The stuff that bothers me are the ones that essentially tell women that they need not leave the house for fear of attack in their driveways, grocery stores, mall parking lots, etc. Oh, and watch out for the lunatic guy who has a baby that he leaves crying in the middle of an empty lot so when some poor unsuspecting woman goes to tend the baby she is kidnapped, r@ped, mutilated, and left for dead. I just want to scream, "Really? Where did the guy get the baby?" Where is the logic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 True... often the opinions I see posted include the reason, which is often not something true though, and then if one corrects them on the facts, they say "I have the right to my opinion". One does have the right to their opinion but it is wrong to try to sway others with false information. I will agree here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 The stuff that bothers me are the ones that essentially tell women that they need not leave the house for fear of attack in their driveways, grocery stores, mall parking lots, etc. Oh, and watch out for the lunatic guy who has a baby that he leaves crying in the middle of an empty lot so when some poor unsuspecting woman goes to tend the baby she is kidnapped, r@ped, mutilated, and left for dead. I just want to scream, "Really? Where did the guy get the baby?" Where is the logic? Those ones drive me crazy too. Thankfully, I haven't received any of those lately.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted October 11, 2012 Author Share Posted October 11, 2012 I don't mind the political stuff. I don't get much of it. Maybe it is because I don't know that many people over 60. I did have one well-meaning yet seriously over the top retiree send me stuff all the time. I politely requested he take me off his list. The stuff that bothers me are the ones that essentially tell women that they need not leave the house for fear of attack in their driveways, grocery stores, mall parking lots, etc. Oh, and watch out for the lunatic guy who has a baby that he leaves crying in the middle of an empty lot so when some poor unsuspecting woman goes to tend the baby she is kidnapped, r@ped, mutilated, and left for dead. I just want to scream, "Really? Where did the guy get the baby?" Where is the logic? This, too! However I'm getting fewer of these than previously. Have you ever noticed that it is claimed that "my sister whose husband's cousin knows the police chief and he says that this is true" :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 (edited) i rarely get political emails ever, but i do get tons of snope worthy forwards. and god bless my awesome mom, but she loves to send me emails that i must forward to 11 people and back to her to receive my blessing or wish, lol Edited October 11, 2012 by mytwomonkeys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted October 11, 2012 Author Share Posted October 11, 2012 The funniest one recently was headed "Forward this Without Commenting". This was repeated at the end of the e-mail as well. Obviously the first time it made the rounds (2006) people commented about it being false. So the new 2012 version had to make sure no one mentioned that it was false. Just pass it on without comment :lol: THAT should have clued folks in to the fact that there was something fishy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 (edited) Opps, 2x post. Edited October 11, 2012 by kijipt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 This, too! However I'm getting fewer of these than previously. Have you ever noticed that it is claimed that "my sister whose husband's cousin knows the police chief and he says that this is true" :lol: I hate that. It's also always a local mall parking lot. Like somehow if women were being attacked all the time in the local mall parking lot, it wouldn't be plastered all over all media outlets. They really believe it but they are fear mongering and controlling women. While a political email forward gets someone docked points, a women need to stay inside under lock and key email just gets someone blocked. Not going to argue but not going to listen either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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