It’s been said that there are lies, damn lies, and statistics. In this time of Brave New War, you can add panic e-mails to that list.
My wife and I seem to be getting a new deluge of these terror emails from right-wingnuts who we either know or are related to. You know the kind, they begin with: “Y’all know that I don’t send out hoaxes and don’t do the reactionary thing and send out anything that crosses my path, but this one is from a friend of a friend and I give it enough credibility that I’m sending it out to all 287 of you.” It usually ends with “this may not pan out, but why take the chance. Pass it along”.
I’m left to wonder how and why otherwise reasonably intelligent people buy into warnings that supposedly stolen UPS uniforms indicate terrorists are plotting to deliver anthrax and/or dirty bombs directly to the comfort of your home if you’re foolish enough to not ask for the “UPS” driver’s ID card. “Honey, did you order uranium coated in white power from Afghanistan?”
Part of this mindset no doubt relates to the state of fear the Bush administration seems intent on perpetuating. Don’t get me wrong, I’m aware that al Qaeda would love to deliver another attack on our shores, but it just seems oddly convenient that every time the administration finds itself in an embarrassing situation, there’s another leak about a threat to a shopping mall in Ohio or something.
Another reason people believe these kinds of panicky messages could be the president’s new credo, “Trust me if you love America” or “The reason I keep insisting that there was a relationship between Iraq and al-Qaeda is because there was a relationship between Iraq and al-Qaeda.” That damn, lying 9/11 commission.
My personal inbox favorite is: “The President has asked that we unite for a common cause. Since the Islamic people cannot stand nudity and consider it a sin to see a naked woman that is not their wife, tonight at 7, all women should run out of their house naked to help weed out the terrorists. The US appreciates your efforts, and applauds you. God bless America.”
Hey, it may not help, but why take the chance? Pass it along.
This article appears in Jun 23-29, 2004.
