So, if you’ve been following along, on Tuesday, I posted about some pro-Obama mass e-mails I had received from a friend. Those e-mails had been replied to by someone else on the mailing list, a woman who had obviously imbibed the Republican/fundamentalist/right-wing Kool Aid. Repeatedly. I then responded to her, in what I thought was a (mostly) civilized and rational manner, and sent my responses to the whole list, as she had.
The next morning, I received an e-mail from several people who supported my remarks, and a couple from people who did not. Mostly, the “nots” requested that I not e-mail them with my views. A wholly irrational concept, if you think about it. After all, it was not my e-mails that originally began the exchange, and it is not my address list. I’m not psychic, people.
As it turns out, the original responder (“R”) is a sister of my friend who sent the original correspondence. And one of the people who requested that I not tax their brains with an opinion that runs counter to their deeply-held Rove-inspired fantasies or – God forbid! – actual facts, is another of her sisters (“A”). This last, privately sent e-mail, got under my skin for some reason. I guess, because of its sheer childishness. And because it’s a core sample of Uber-Conservative American thought. It’s classic avoidance behavior – I don’t like what you have to say, so shut up so I don’t have to hear it.
Again, I have reproduced her e-mail and my response. The names have been redacted to protect the guilty.
“Please do not copy me on your email replies. I do not know you and do not care about your political stance, stupid or otherwise. If you received a reply from me in regard to an email, it was an accident – I hit “reply all” when replying to my sister M. I am not interested in your views and would appreciate you not sending me anymore emails.
M – please talk to your angry democratic friends and tell them to stop emailing me.”
My response:
A –
I wasn’t going to reply, but you have succeeded in irritating me sufficiently that I can’t write my Project Runway recap until I did.
I’m sorry that you were upset by reading my responses to R’s e-mails. They were not directed to you. R chose to respond to M’s e-mails via the entire e-mail list. Hardly an accident, since she did it 3 times. I merely did the same thing she did, only I happen to have actual facts on my side. I did receive your reply. Despite what you say, yours was not directed to M, either. It was obviously intended to be seen by the group as well. What did you say? Wait a minute, let me dig it out of the trash…… Oh yeah, here it is:
“R – thanks for speaking up for all of us that know the REAL truth.” Whatever that is. Would you be at all interested in knowing that the New Testament bible that you cling to so fiercely, was assembled by a barbarian (non-believer) king? He picked and chose for inclusion only the parts he felt wouldn’t incite the newly-minted Christians to rebellion against him and his fellow monarchs. Left a lot of the good stuff out. Actual, historical, documented fact. No, I guess you wouldn’t be interested.
I’m not angry, A. No, I take that back. Yes I am. I’m angry because this country that we all love and call home, was founded by immigrants looking for religious freedom. They left their homes, countries, and everything they ever knew to come to a place where they could worship as they pleased, without fear. Our families immigrated to this country, because it is the best hope for freedom and prosperity in the world. That includes your family, too.
Yet, here we are, several hundred years later, and we’re back at the beginning, with one group of people who believe that their way is the only way, trying to impose their beliefs and their way of thinking on the rest of us. And when someone calls you on it, instead of having a reasonable conversation or civilized debate, the best you can do is stick your fingers in your ears like Peewee Herman – LALALALALALA! I can’t hear you! and tell me that my opinion is stupid and I should just go away and never darken your doorway again. Figuratively speaking, of course.
I can’t guarantee that you won’t get anymore e-mails from me, A. If M sends something out to the list and I feel like responding to that, or to someone else’s comments, by way of the mailing list – which is my prerogative, by the way, just like you and R – you just might get another e-mail from me. I’m not going to sit here and pick through all the names on the list simply to make someone whose name I’ll probably forget next week, more comfortable. As I see it, if you see my e-mail address in your mailbox, you have three choices: 1) You can read it and act like a grown-up; 2) You can tell M to remove you from her mailing list; or 3) click “Delete”.
And by the way, you do sort of know me. I am a friend of M’s for many years, and you and I met at your father’s funeral. I am still very sorry for your loss.
Best regards,
RJ
