Does Email Make It True?
I have a relative, albeit a distant relative who, in his golden years, has discovered the remarkable ability of email communication to stay connected to his widely extended family. Weekly, if not more often, he sends out family updates, jokes, cartoons, and the occasional diatribe about politics and global injustice. Suffice to say that his taste in jokes and cartoons rarely tickle my funny bone but I had no problem getting them and having a quick look, if for no other reason than my respect for his ability and desire to connect the family in whatever tenuous way that email affords him.
Occasionally though, he uses this platform to write about, or forward articles and cartoons that are questionable at best. By questionable I don’t mean pornographic or misogynistic. I mean questionable in that he takes stabs at those in power that do not have his views in ways that can be described as racist, insulting and often blatantly untrue. He also rails against other religious groups that he feels move en masse in a way that is detrimental to his religious upbringing and to world peace. In the past, I have mostly (and regrettably) just deleted the email with a mental note that the next time I would respond to him and scold him for his untruths and exaggerations. Now, I am one that has strong political views and rarely keep those views to myself. I also believe that I am not a racist in any way(at least I hope that is true). What I did unfortunately prove to myself is that I can be a silent partner to others who spew trash and bile simply because it is easier to delete an email than to respond to an elderly man who, at heart, is just trying to stay connected.
That ended this week when yet another email from this relative landed in my inbox. It was a forwarded piece that described how the UK school system voted to institutionalize racism and denial. Of course, this just didn’t sound right to me so I did what every person who received this email should have done…..I went to Google and found scores of sights that have debunked this now old story (origins are 4 years old). It was then that I had to make a decision. Do I berate this relative or quietly feel self satisfied that I found the truth and do nothing?
I decided that I needed to tell him what I thought mainly because I understand the power of email. I know his circulation is quite large for a family email and I assumed that a high percentage forward his notes and those that receive that forward, go and forward to others and so on and so on. I also knew that by responding to this, I would probably end with my name deleted from his circulation list. Something odd happened though. I began receiving emails from other relatives thanking me for highlighting this lie and showing everyone which sites they could go to when they wanted to verify various assertions made. I was very happy about this because, if nothing else, I have shown that just because you get it in an email; it doesn’t mean it is true!
Larry
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