So I get a Dem-slamming email from my hubby's elderly aunt

[Jo March]

In it, it lists supposed quotes from Democratic leaders - only it says "Democrat" leaders. It ends with how the "stupid" Dems are leading this "once great country."

I responded:

"Aunt ******, I should let you know that I am a Liberal Democrat and have been since I was old enough to understand politics. I don't consider myself stupid."

I feel bad now that I replied. I didn't reply to all, just to her. She's old - in her late 70s, early 80s. But I figure that it's never too late to learn something.

The email was so full of lies that I didn't even know where to start so I just kept my response short.

I wish that I could just let it pass, but it I just can't. x(

[villager]

1. I wonder if Auntie remembers her ass was saved by FDR

...back when she was a child?

[Jo March]

Oh, you know repubs. Their memories are short

She didn't strike me as a person who would forward hatefulness and lies. She seems so sweet and nice. :shrug:

[Ian David]

2. As long as the fucker still votes, she needs to hear it. n/t

[Warpy]

3. While my assessment of her isn't quite as harsh

I agree that Aunty needs to know when she's completely in the wrong both as far as her opinions and how she treats other people because of those opinions.

Aunty needs an intervention. This was just the start.

[Jo March]

16. Aunty does need an intervention, but I am still mad

I want to be snarky and rude, but that doesn't get anyone anywhere.

Sigh.

Her grandson died a few years ago from cancer. He was 9. He had the best healthcare going and managed to fight the cancer for 7 years. I am currently unemployed. If my son gets sick... yet I'm sure she does not support the public option because of what she hears on FAUX and from Rush and Beck and the other vomit out there.

How did she get so hateful?

[Warpy]

24. She's probably print handicapped

to the point that if she can still manage to read, it's very uncomfortable to do so. I'm also guessing she's not much of a geek, even if she can handle email.

I had to stop reading newspapers and books for a few years when my eyes conked out, so I know where oldsters are coming from. I was enough of a geek to hit ctrl+scroll to change text size, though, and managed to catch up on news online, albeit laboriously.

People with poor or no computer skills want to know what's going on in the world, so they tune to what they think is news radio and cable news. Like it or not, the Pox News demographic is the elderly. They know their audience and know how to target them successfully.

This is why my assessment isn't quite so harsh. I saw the whole thing happen with my own parents. They never managed to figure email out, so I was spared that much, but they both swilled the Koolaid in their later years.

Still, you aren't her punching bag and she needs to know this. Your response to her was testy but appropriate.

[Jo March]

26. She has AOL.

Don't get me started on AOL. My wingnut mom has AOL and it gives her what she needs - at least that's what she says. :eyes:

Testy? A bit but I wanted to be way testier!!! :mad:

[monmouth]

If she had the nerve to send it to you, and something tells me she

knows you're a liberal democrat, then you absolutely did the right thing. Don't let age intimidate you, they're smart and cunning. I'm looking at 70 hard...sigh....and know exactly who's who and what's what..Haha...

[Jo March]

7. I can't believe that she is just sending stuff on without checking the facts first

I mean, who does that? Who just sends on junk without going to Snopes at the very least???

[theoldman]

8. All of my Republican friends.

They do not want to be confused with facts.

[Jo March]

14. That seems to be in their DNA

Facts are for other people.

[monmouth]

13. Exactly...n/t

[trueblue2007]

35. I have an OLD (well late 60's /early70's) GOP friend

SMART lady. Lives in CA. We just parted ways because she sends "crap" out all the time to our AOL group. A man friend and I always FACT CHECK her stuff and tell HER and the GROUP how wrong she is and that she didn't fact check it. She finally got fed up and told us off.

Tony and I LAFF & LAFF& LAFF because "smart" Anne isn't so smart!!! We are glad to be rid of the "hater". Lots of the people in this group send stuff out and don't bother to fact check it. Only NOW....they leave Tony and I out because we know how to post the TRUTH.

These people ..... CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH ......




##############################################################################################

THAT IS WHY I SAY.....send "them" ALL to the Moon!!

[Jo March]

43. See? It's AOL again!!

Freaking AOL! :mad:

[DKRC]

40. Every single Repub I'm related to did that

I used to Snope their trash, then paste the results with the link in my replies. The flood of hatemail has dwindled to an anemic trickle over the years.

Mom just passes along beefcake angels now. :evilgrin:

[Jo March]

46. Nice!

:thumbsup:

I'd be happy to get pictures of kitties and doggies and little babies. That is cute at least.

[Mopar151]

52. My wife's uncle! n/t

[polichick]

4. Not to worry; your response was polite. She may think twice about...

...painting all Dems with the same brush.

[Jo March]

15. Or she may decide that we aren't worthy to associate with

and that would be a shame.

I was trying for firm but not rude or snarky.

I get tired of reading how "evil" Democrats are. I put up with that shit growing up, and I will not put up with it now.

[T Wolf]

5. ONe thing to do is call them on the "Democrat" term. You can respond with something like,

"I know not this Democrat Party of which you speak. Is this a made-up group (like ACORN) from Fox Propaganda? I cannot take anything you say seriously since you do not even know the name of the political party you are trashing."

There is no need to be gentle with idiots. Age is not a free pass to stupidity and bigotry.

And do not worry about addressing their points or trying to refute them. Repukes are unable to grasp reason and fact, so don't waste your time.

[Jo March]

9. See, the last time her email was against the "retched" ACLU

I did a reply all and refuted every fact that she sent. No one responded. Not one person.

I felt I owed her the facts. :evilgrin:

We are trying to get what's left of my husband's family together and get closer but this shit has to stop.

And I hate that "Democrat" party. It's so childish!!!

[theoldman]

6. I don't give anyone much slack unless they are much older than I am.

Even then I try to correct them in a polite way. If they still vote they need to understand the truth.

[Jo March]

11. Oh, she and her hubby still vote

They are both repubs but they used to be thoughtful and able to have an intelligent argument. Now, I am seeing the FAUX news effect - hate-filled, lie-filled emails to every fucking person they know.

[gateley]

10. My mom was in her 80's when she died, and other than her illness, there

was absolutely no reason to coddle her. She had all her faculties wouldn't have wanted to be given a pass because she was that age (which was probably why she always lied about how old she really was :7).

So, you sent a nice, respectful, letter -- more considerate of her feelings than she was of yours (or of any other recipient's -- how does she know how people feel?)

And if you'd had 'debated' her and stated some facts, IMO that would have been contentious and caused discomfort between you. I think you handled it just right. :pals:

[Jo March]

18. Thank you! I am still a bit worried

After I challenged her anti-ACLU email (The ACLU won't let military chaplains say the word "God"!!), she never responded.

Maybe this will stop these types of emails. One can only hope.

I just told hubby about it. His response? "Did you email her back with the facts?" LOVE MY HUBBY!! :loveya:

[hamsterjill]

12. I can understand how you're feeling, but

I've come to the conclusion that if we choose to say nothing, then the other side takes that as being agreement with what they've written/sent/said.

I'm sure it's hard to have a confrontation of any kind (even email) with an elderly relative, but I think you did the right thing by explaining that you disagreed. At the very least, it will give her food for thought.

[Jo March]

19. I hope so. I really do. What happened to thoughtful discourse?

I have one repub friend left and that's only because he is old-school: he believes in debate, not screaming and yelling.

I hope it will make her leave me off of the chain emails that are basically trashing me and what I believe.

[hamsterjill]

23. Same here

There are several people who are Republicans that I once could have civil discussions with, but these days, there is simply little common ground. I've found that to have a discussion with them means to simply listen to them have THEIR say. When it comes to my turn to present MY side, that's when they seem to get angry, they interrupt, won't listen and repeat the same stale arguments that facts don't substantiate.

And I'm not willing to listen to them if they are not willing to listen to me. I'll gladly let them have their say first, but they need to convey the same courtesy to me when it's my turn.

[Jo March]

25. I have completely broken with family and friends over politics

I am unwilling to have folks scream in my face and call me names. Fuck that.

:hug: to you!

[otohara]

17. Old Folks & Elderspeak

It's best not to patronize or pat them on the back because we think they can't handle certain things - She can't be that fragile if she sent it to you in the first place.


http://www.impactlab.com/2008/10/08/elderspeak-may-shorten-the-lives-of-the-elderly/

[Jo March]

20. True. I shouldn't think that.

She has her faculties. I shouldn't treat her with kid gloves because she happens to be elderly.

Next time, it is ON!!! :rofl:

[maxsolomon]

21. she's the one who sent the email

if you want to play, you assume the associated risks. you were too nice.

[Jo March]

27. Well, she is family and I am the in-law

That factored into the response, too.

I'm not afraid of a fight, but I just didn't want to be mean or nasty.

Next time, it will be different!!

[maxsolomon]

49. well, you won't break through her denial

but you can ask to be taken off her mass-email list.

[nolabear]

22. My late father used to do that. I'd snopes him

about twice a week, without comment. Funny thing was, not only did he never stop, he apparently "willed" me to my uncle, who took up where he left off. But hey. it did help to yank me out of complacency and get me places like here. And I lived to vote for Obama in the last election, which neither of them did. And I miss them, the old codgers. Life's funny that way.

[Jo March]

28. My dad was a racist, KKK supporter

I don't miss his politics at all. He would be lapping up Beck and Rush if he was still alive. :puke:

I love Snopes and Google. I like sending out the facts to people.

It's funny, though. You send out the facts and no one responds back. It's like... crickets. :shrug:

[nolabear]

41. So true. It's as if now YOU'VE said something inappropriate.

No, I don't miss those viewpoints either. In fact, it took me quite a while to stop feeling that little tightening of the stomach every time I opened my e-mail. But I kept on debunking, just in case hell should freeze over. Never got a sign either of them ever got those replies.

[Jo March]

42. I feel that way too: "little tightening of the stomach" when I see my inbox

I had to disassociate myself from one friend, then another, then another, then a family member, then another....

A black man as President sure shakes 'em up, doesn't it??

[PSzymeczek]

51. Snopes.com, Factcheck.org, and Politifact.com

Absolute essentials.

[Mopar151]

53. Use the "reply all" feature

And if she's a typical AOL'r, you can work back thru the layers of forwards - I got to Uncle P's "source" that way, now he sends airplane pictures instead of stupid hate.
Also, I found that just sending a Snopes link does'nt do it - A) Explain how the bogus message conceals another one - particularly useful for the "flag ettiquette" and "patriotisim", to show how distortion of fact twists good intentions into bad propaganda
B)Ask them if their debunked E-mail is the best argument for their position "If this is a lie, what does that tell you about the question?"
C)Examine the ramifications, i.e. If we have school prayer, who gets to decide what prayer we use? And if we rotate religions, who's bringin' the sacrifical chicken for Santeria Day?

(my apoligies to any Santeria or animist - if you can provide a better example, please do)

[PA Democrat]

29. Dear Auntie,

The next time you use your Medicare card or cash your Social Security check, please remember to thank the Democratic party. Both programs were created thank to the Democrats despite the widespread opposition of the Republicans.

And while I do love you dearly, I am not a fan of emails such as this one, which contains so many lies which can be easily debunked by checking Snopes (and post link, possibly specific link to one of the falsehoods in the email).

Love,

XXXX, a proud member of the Democratic Party

[Jo March]

34. Oh, my gosh! I didn't even think about that! She is so on SS and Medicare

I totally forgot about that!!!

Nice letter. Me likey.

[mitchtv]

30. send her this

where this came from originally but I enjoyed it.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF JOE REPUBLICAN

Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his
morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging
liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first
swallow of water, he takes his daily medication. His medications are
safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to ensure their
safety and that they work as advertised.

All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical
plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid
medical insurance - now Joe gets it too.

He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe
to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the
meat packing industry.

In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is
properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in ! the total
contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what
he was putting on his body and how much it contained.

Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes
is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for the laws
to stop industries from polluting our air.

He walks to subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work.
It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees
because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public
transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a
contributor.

Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical
benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy
liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's
employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his
employees to call the union.

If Joe is hurt on th! e job or becomes unemployed, he'll get a worker
compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn't
think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.

Its noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some
bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some
godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers
who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression.

Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market
federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and
the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more
money over his lifetime.

Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his
farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is
among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought
for car safety standards.

He! arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in
the house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers
didn't want to make rural loans.

The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal
stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural
electrification.

He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on
Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking,
cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe
wouldn't have to.

Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk
show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and
conservatives are good. He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans
have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout
his day. Joe agrees: "We don't need those big-government liberals
ruining our lives! After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone
should take care of themselves, just like I have."

[Jo March]

33. Can we update that and have Joe Republican getting fired?

I currently don't have a job, and so neither should he!! ;)

[mitchtv]

39. Joe lost his job, but thanks to some

socialist big government big spender , He can continue his benefits on COBRA and collect a years' unemployment insurance

[Jo March]

44. Beautiful!!

I wish I could collect unemployment. I'm a contractor and my gig ended. I am currently "between jobs." It sucks.

[Jo March]

45. Beautiful!!

I wish I could collect unemployment. I'm a contractor and my gig ended. I am currently "between jobs." It sucks.

[hamsterjill]

37. What a classic!!!

I'm going to save this. If you ever discover who wrote it, I'd love to give that person the recognition he/she deserves. A terrific piece of work.

[CanonRay]

31. I've told off two of my cousins

and one good friend who sent me crap like this. I felt bad for about five minutes. Don't give it a second thought. It's good they know not everyone is as fucked up as they are.

[Jo March]

32. That's why I am thankful for DU

Sure, there's infighting but we are all on the same side for the most part.

Plus, the spelling is better.

[phantom power]

36. You might like this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6555117&mesg_id=6555117

[Jo March]

47. Nice! I sent the email on

I couldn't find it debunked on Snopes. I Googled some of it and found some of it to be outright lies, twisted truth, and a smattering of just made-up shit.

[elehhhhna]

38. Hubs & my grandparents were ALL proud democrats...

union men, immigrants. Thank GOD we never had to deal with wackily-leaning Repuke family members. C'ept for some siblings, and that shit was very short-lived (LOL BUSH RUINED "Conservatism" for a hell of a lotta people !11!!!)

[Jo March]

48. You are lucky. My family is all repubs - the crazy kind

My mom, brother, sister, dad (well, he's dead now), stepdad (well, he's dead now, too, but he was a winger extraordinaire) - all wingnuts. Crazy fuckers.

[Aristus]

50. Does she return her Social Security checks uncashed?

Just asking... :eyes:

[RagAss]

54. Delete Unread.......it's easy.