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Sparkle (6)
They first appeared around 1997, when my email was xena@earthlink.net, and they've become more creatively outrageous every year. You get them too -- the carelessly forwarded email from your mom's friend, your arch-conservative brother-in-law or your late bloomer friend who checks her email bi-monthly: The Misinformed Email. These are the mindless forwards that beget Snopes and Hoax Slayer and I'm here to warn you, I absolutely live to debunk them.
They primarily use real photos with fabricated stories to fit somebody's (Who? WHO???) personal political or religious beliefs. The mythical messages usually includes sentences like, "Why isn't the media covering this?", "Forward to your entire address book - if you dare!" and without fail, "GOD BLESS AMERICA!" The subject line is usually filled with glaring evidence: "FW: FW: Fw: Fw: Fw: FW: Must read!!" so it is clear the note has traveled the land far and wide with no one minding the Gate of Truth.
Well, I have taken up a volunteer position at said Gate, alongside many others. And much like the Minutemen along the Arizona border, our mission is resolute: Stop The Flow. My BlogHer editor, Julie, admitted to the same compulsive habit, saying, "My family calls me 'The Debunker.'" And I think it's safe to say that Andy Rooney is also a member.
My habit began years ago when my mother's neighbor, Herman, forwarded a heart-tugging email about the statue of a U.S. soldier made by a "grateful Iraqi." The photo showed a Middle Eastern man holding sculpting tools sitting before a bronze sculpture of a man in mourning. It went something like this:
"The statue was created by an Iraqi artist named Kalat, who for years was forced by Saddam Hussein to make the many hundreds of bronze busts of Saddam that dotted Baghdad. Kalat was so grateful for the Americans liberation of his country; he melted 3 of the heads of the fallen Saddam and made the statue as a memorial to the American soldiers and their fallen warriors. Kalat worked on this memorial night and day for several months.Do you know why we don't hear about this in the news? Because it is heart warming and praise worthy. The media avoids it because it does not have the shock effect that a flashed breast or controversy of politics does. But we can do something about it. We can pass this along to as many people as we can in honor of all our brave military who is making a difference. Thank you!!
Send this to at least 1/2 of your address book!!!!!"
This reeked to me of Iraq war propaganda, which then caused me to froth at the mouth. So, I did the tiniest bit of digging and discovered that the artist, statue, and bronze sourcing were all quite real. However, the sculptor, Khalid Alussy, created the statues not because he was "grateful" but because he was paid $18,000. (He'd also been paid similarly by Saddam.) A Wall Street Journal article at the time noted that Mr. Alussy is not a huge fan of America and remains bitter about a relative killed in a US rocket attack. Nuggets of truth with a fabricated back story -- the standard recipe.
With truth in hand, a decision had to be made:
A) Ignore the ignorance and move on with my day.
B) Reply to Herman and let him know the truth.
C) Reply to everyone on the list, risk embarrassing Herman, and possibly be removed from his address book.
Right then and there I began a policy of always choosing "C" and facing the consequences. (A befuddled Herman sent back a polite response: "Thanks for the information.") Although it may seem rude on my part, I consider it equally impolite to stuff my inbox with fabrications. I've thought long and hard about this and always come to the same conclusion.
After a while, I may have developed a reputation of sorts as the emails dwindled. Some folks I never heard from again, which remains a glorious victory. Then, about a year ago, my sister-in-law, Mary Ann, included me in a group forward that renewed my habit. As per usual, I stopped whatever I was doing, plunged into research, hit "Reply All" and prayed that I hadn't destroyed our relationship.
Well, she got mad all right, but her anger was directed at the person who'd sent it to her. "How
