I get more than my share of email and my spam filter does a pretty good job of protecting me from the worse junk. I haven't been solicited to help a Nigerian widow in months.
But every now and then I do get some chain letters from one cause or another. Some of them send me to Snopes.com because their charges are so unbelievable. Invariably, they prove to be bogus.
By the way, neither end of the political spectrum seems to have a corner on mis-leading emails, but for some reason the ones that plop in my inbox tend to come from my more conservative friends.
What bothers me most about these emails is not only the misinformation they spread -- though that's bad enough -- but that they seem designed to deepen the chasm that separates one end of the political spectrum from the other by frightening or firing up people who already agree with them.
Here's a case in point. I received the following email from someone who I know is intelligent and usually fair-minded.
"This is just sickening. Only 62% have voted on the FOX poll to NOT ban the flag in school and something like 29% voted YES, to ban it. What is going on in this country??? Read below.
"Fox is running a poll about whether the flag should be banned in schools in order not to inflame Hispanic students. The poll is being sandbagged by
SEIU [i.e., the Service Employees International Union] and we should mount a counter action if you agree with me that the flag should be taken down for no one.
"Moveon.org, Organizing for America, and SEIU have been twittering today to go to Fox Poll and vote to ban the Flag .... and right now it is working.
"SHOW THEM WHAT TRUE PATRIOTS BELIEVE!!! Let's flip those numbers and show the leftists we are organized and on the move... flip the numbers now-FLIP THE HOUSE in November!
"GO HERE: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/05/06/american-flag-banned-america/ ..........and then pass it along!"
Now, this fell into the category of "too bizarre to be believed" as far as I was concerned. So I checked it out. Fox News was indeed running a poll asking people whether or not flags should be banned from schools. And when I checked about two-thirds of respondents were in favor of banning the flag.
As my kids would say, WTF? Well, here's the background.
No one is proposing that flags be banned from schools. This all came up because five kids in California (where else) decided to wear tee shirts and bandannas emblazoned with Old Glory to protest a Cinquo de Maio celebration at their school.
The principal thought it was purposely provocative and designed to irritate the Hispanic kids. He asked them to put something else on and sent them home when they refused.
The principal was wrong on all counts and I don't know anyone who thinks otherwise. That's it. End of story.
Fox decided to run a poll on the subject for reasons only they will ever understand. It should have ended there, but apparently some people who are probably not regular viewers of Fox News are reloading their browser to register a "vote" in favor of banning the flag. All to tweak Fox News and get its viewers upset.
It would all be good fun if it weren't feeding negative attitudes towards immigrants in general and Hispanics in particular.
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