Mail list fucknuttery
9/1/09 10:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wobblerlorriOkay, I belong to a mail list for people with vestibulopathy, called wobblers. Because we, well, we wobble when we walk. And we fall down.
Anyway, this list is largely composed of people in their mid to late 50's and older. A lot of them are nominally Christian, and there are a few that are on the fundie end of that spectrum. Mostly conservative politically. Thus the topics of religion and politics are taboo on the list.
However. Religion being taboo doesn't stop the fundie types from constantly sending out those stupid prayer spams -- you know the ones, "pass on this prayer rose to 20 people and God will love you forever" and such like. Even though I'm an atheist, I don't say anything, just delete the email when I see what it is. Thanks but no thanks, you know.
(Sidebar: Why am I on the list at all? Well, it's a support list for people with vestibulopathy, as I said, and it's a good place to go to whine, to share small victories, to get advice, or just talk with people who know what it's like to stagger like a drunk all the damn time. And we also share medical information.)
Along with the religious spam, the typical internet stupid spams are sent around with regularity -- the virus scams, the trojan hoaxes, the political calumnies, all that shit. A few of us have made it our unofficial job to dutifully look these up on Snopes or FactCheck (I do both, since Snopes can be wrong) and report back with whatever the truth is. We look at it as doing a public service, and presenting truth instead of spreading hysterical lies. We do not do it in a way that is intended to make anyone feel stupid. Generally we say something like "This is false" then give the link. No judgement is passed on the original poster.
Yesterday one of the nuttier members of the list passed on this little nugget, attributed it to Billy Graham and said Paul Harvey had presented it on his program. I read the prayer, and was astounded at the level of bigotry in it, and couldn't believe Dr. Graham had said something so heinous. At the end of the email was the line "one nation under GOD!!!" So I checked it out on Snopes, and sure enough, he hadn't.
Tired of the constant haranguing about religion and one nation under GAWD and suchlike, I posted this:
Fundie is in #0099CC, my responses are in #990099
Ignorant fucknut fundie wrote:
This was forwarded to me by my cousin (also my best friend and relative in the world -- we grew up together). Hope it doesn't offend anyone, but I don't think it will.
This was not written by Dr. Graham nor was it presented on Paul Harvey's show. It was originally written by Bob Russell in 1995 and offered at the Kentucky Governor's Prayer Breakfast, and then reworked a bit and delivered by Rev. Joe Wright in 1996 as the opening prayer at a session of the Kansas House of Representatives.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/prayernation.asp
Incidentally, the Pledge of Allegiance didn't originally contain the line "One nation under God". That was added in 1954. Personally I'd like to see the line removed. There are very patriotic, loyal Americans who are not Christian, or even believers in God...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pledge_of_Allegiance#Addition_of_the_words_.22under_God.22
Lorri
GA 12/04
She responded back:
Lorri, Lorri, Lorri -- what in the hell are we going to do when you leave (or whatever) -- we'll have nobody to burst our bubbles, look everything up on Snopes in hopes you'll make somebody look like an idiot or tell us that God doesn't exist -- that is your opinion and you are entitled to it but believe me kiddo, you are in the minority. I doubt that I have insulted you, because I think it just will roll off your back.
Just plain Ignorant fucknut fundie , because I'm not ditzy at all,
La 07
PS I'm sorry Gary, if you want my resignation just let me know and sign me off, but I just couldn't take anymore. Thanks for all you've done and have tried to do,, but we just can't express our true feelings anymore. IFF
The gauntlet has been cast, and I have accepted it. Nothing I like better than a good argument with a self-important, butt-hurt fundie fucknut. I responded:
IFF wrote:
Lorri, Lorri, Lorri -- what in the hell are we going to do when you leave (or whatever)
Gosh, you aren't inviting me to leave (or whatever) in a backhanded way, are you? That's not very nice at all...
Care to explain the (whatever) you're wishing upon me?
-- we'll have nobody to burst our bubbles, look everything up on Snopes in hopes you'll make somebody look like an idiot or tell us that God doesn't exist -- that is your opinion and you are entitled to it but believe me kiddo, you are in the minority.
No, I look stuff up on Snopes to prevent misinformation from going around. The prayer (or whatever it was) was attributed to Dr. Graham; it wasn't his work. Simple as that. And it never aired on Paul Harvey.
Not trying to make anyone look like an idiot. I always thought people would rather know the truth instead of passing on rumor, half-truths, or out and out falsehoods... Maybe I'm wrong.
My spiritual beliefs are mine, and I don't bandy them about. Certainly not on a list that (according to you) is full of good Christians. But it's a fact that there are many loyal Americans who are not Christian or who don't have religious beliefs of any sort. Just because I make that statement doesn't mean I'm one of them... but it doesn't mean I'm not, either.
Which is why it's always best to just keep one's religious maunderings to oneself. You don't embarrass yourself and you don't irritate other people.
but we just can't express our true feelings anymore. IFF
See what happens when I express *my* true feelings? Seems it's okay to trample on the sensibilities of those who don't share your religious beliefs as much as you want on this list, but let someone say "Excuse me, but I'd rather not hear it" then YOUR rights and feelings are being trampled upon.
Funny old world, isn't it.
The butt-hurt and oh noes continues... IFF moans:
Well -- guess you all told me off --- mea culpa to you all (except Lorri who did what she wanted -- got yet another to stop posting but I'm going to go one step further -- am going to ask Gary to take me off both chat groups -- will keep in touch with my friends, and I do have some on this group, by private chat). Since I am quite illiterate with the computer, it will take me a little while to find the "unscribe" (no need for you to let me know how Lorrie, I will figure it out). Meanwhile I've enjoyed most of the banter we have had since I joined and 99% of you have been my lifeline and my gateway to sanity, but when we can't say anything without somebody going to Snopes daily (and I don't mean just the medical stuff - we should know about that, but I mean the "Bubble Plant" and prayers, which incidentally, I didn't think you cared about Lorrie), it's just gotten to be too much. I have enough problems in my life without all this. I'll think of that 99% of you daily and will remember you always.
Take care and please know that I care for that 99% of you.
Oh, poor IFF!! I poured the balm of human kindness upon her butthurt...
Everyone needs to just calm down. I have never posted anything in an effort to make people on this list quit or stop posting or feel stupid. I fact check some postings because I was trained as and worked as a scientist for years, and I don't take anything at face value.
As for the Dr. Graham prayer, I checked it because Dr. Graham is a very fair-minded and Good Man, and he would never -- *never* -- say the bigoted things that were in that prayer. If you want a definition of a Christian and all they should be, just look to Dr. Graham. I couldn't believe that came from Dr. Graham, or that Paul Harvey would have put it on the air. I was glad to find out it wasn't true, and was less than surprised to find out it was written by yet another small-time hatemonger posing as a Christian.
In my ignorance, I thought maybe other people would like to know Dr. Graham wasn't a small-minded bigot. Guess I was wrong there.
Most prayers I just delete without reading. Yes, I'm a positive practical atheist -- go look it up if you care. You'll find out some interesting stuff about atheism with a small "a". The prayers don't bother me per se; but I find the amount of semi-fundamentalist Christian stuff posted here somewhat annoying. I don't constantly post about my spiritual choice because I know most people here aren't interested or would be upset; why can't the same filter be run on the other end? Just asking...
IFF, if you want to unsub, then by all means do so. But don't use me as an excuse -- I have neither to power nor the interest in making anyone on this list quit. You'd do better taking a long hard look at yourself, find out why trivial things upset you so much, and figure out how to straighten that out. You don't solve anything by getting mad, taking your ball and going home.
After this salvo, the truth comes out. IFF is more than butthurt, she's trying to get me kicked off the mail list for some reason -- I guess because I don't slobber all over her prayer spam and belong to her little brush arbor church or whatever...
This is the last post I will make to Lorrie or anyone else who doesn't want my input and I'm sure there are a few. Lorrie, you don't intimidate me and you have no idea what I meant - maybe I was hoping you would be asked to leave. From now on when I see your name I will just delete it - okay?
Please let this be the last post from you, as I won't read another one, so just say what you want. And as far as I'm concerned, this is the end of all this crap that I'll admit I started, but am not sorry.
IFF
"maybe I was hoping you would be asked to leave." WTF?? This made my jaw drop. Asked to leave because I've tried to cut down on the number of email falsehoods coming through the mail list? The arrogance of the average fundie fucknut knows no bounds, apparently....
Oh, she decided not to unsub from the mail lists. I guess not enough people crawled up her ass begging her not to.
At any rate, she's in my killfile now, so I don't even see her emails. I invited her to put me in one of her own, but since she's so computer literate, I told her to just Google how to do it. (I think she resented my helping other people with computer stuff too... I'm just a big know it all.)
I need to say here that there were a LOT more emails backing me than backing her, and the list mod asked us to take it private. I told him I was going to drop it, put IFF in my killfile, but that if I was attacked in public I was going to defend myself in public. No ifs ands or buts about it.
So that was MY day. How was YOURS?
Anyway, this list is largely composed of people in their mid to late 50's and older. A lot of them are nominally Christian, and there are a few that are on the fundie end of that spectrum. Mostly conservative politically. Thus the topics of religion and politics are taboo on the list.
However. Religion being taboo doesn't stop the fundie types from constantly sending out those stupid prayer spams -- you know the ones, "pass on this prayer rose to 20 people and God will love you forever" and such like. Even though I'm an atheist, I don't say anything, just delete the email when I see what it is. Thanks but no thanks, you know.
(Sidebar: Why am I on the list at all? Well, it's a support list for people with vestibulopathy, as I said, and it's a good place to go to whine, to share small victories, to get advice, or just talk with people who know what it's like to stagger like a drunk all the damn time. And we also share medical information.)
Along with the religious spam, the typical internet stupid spams are sent around with regularity -- the virus scams, the trojan hoaxes, the political calumnies, all that shit. A few of us have made it our unofficial job to dutifully look these up on Snopes or FactCheck (I do both, since Snopes can be wrong) and report back with whatever the truth is. We look at it as doing a public service, and presenting truth instead of spreading hysterical lies. We do not do it in a way that is intended to make anyone feel stupid. Generally we say something like "This is false" then give the link. No judgement is passed on the original poster.
Yesterday one of the nuttier members of the list passed on this little nugget, attributed it to Billy Graham and said Paul Harvey had presented it on his program. I read the prayer, and was astounded at the level of bigotry in it, and couldn't believe Dr. Graham had said something so heinous. At the end of the email was the line "one nation under GOD!!!" So I checked it out on Snopes, and sure enough, he hadn't.
Tired of the constant haranguing about religion and one nation under GAWD and suchlike, I posted this:
Fundie is in #0099CC, my responses are in #990099
Ignorant fucknut fundie wrote:
This was forwarded to me by my cousin (also my best friend and relative in the world -- we grew up together). Hope it doesn't offend anyone, but I don't think it will.
This was not written by Dr. Graham nor was it presented on Paul Harvey's show. It was originally written by Bob Russell in 1995 and offered at the Kentucky Governor's Prayer Breakfast, and then reworked a bit and delivered by Rev. Joe Wright in 1996 as the opening prayer at a session of the Kansas House of Representatives.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/prayernation.asp
Incidentally, the Pledge of Allegiance didn't originally contain the line "One nation under God". That was added in 1954. Personally I'd like to see the line removed. There are very patriotic, loyal Americans who are not Christian, or even believers in God...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pledge_of_Allegiance#Addition_of_the_words_.22under_God.22
Lorri
GA 12/04
She responded back:
Lorri, Lorri, Lorri -- what in the hell are we going to do when you leave (or whatever) -- we'll have nobody to burst our bubbles, look everything up on Snopes in hopes you'll make somebody look like an idiot or tell us that God doesn't exist -- that is your opinion and you are entitled to it but believe me kiddo, you are in the minority. I doubt that I have insulted you, because I think it just will roll off your back.
Just plain Ignorant fucknut fundie , because I'm not ditzy at all,
La 07
PS I'm sorry Gary, if you want my resignation just let me know and sign me off, but I just couldn't take anymore. Thanks for all you've done and have tried to do,, but we just can't express our true feelings anymore. IFF
The gauntlet has been cast, and I have accepted it. Nothing I like better than a good argument with a self-important, butt-hurt fundie fucknut. I responded:
IFF wrote:
Lorri, Lorri, Lorri -- what in the hell are we going to do when you leave (or whatever)
Gosh, you aren't inviting me to leave (or whatever) in a backhanded way, are you? That's not very nice at all...
Care to explain the (whatever) you're wishing upon me?
-- we'll have nobody to burst our bubbles, look everything up on Snopes in hopes you'll make somebody look like an idiot or tell us that God doesn't exist -- that is your opinion and you are entitled to it but believe me kiddo, you are in the minority.
No, I look stuff up on Snopes to prevent misinformation from going around. The prayer (or whatever it was) was attributed to Dr. Graham; it wasn't his work. Simple as that. And it never aired on Paul Harvey.
Not trying to make anyone look like an idiot. I always thought people would rather know the truth instead of passing on rumor, half-truths, or out and out falsehoods... Maybe I'm wrong.
My spiritual beliefs are mine, and I don't bandy them about. Certainly not on a list that (according to you) is full of good Christians. But it's a fact that there are many loyal Americans who are not Christian or who don't have religious beliefs of any sort. Just because I make that statement doesn't mean I'm one of them... but it doesn't mean I'm not, either.
Which is why it's always best to just keep one's religious maunderings to oneself. You don't embarrass yourself and you don't irritate other people.
but we just can't express our true feelings anymore. IFF
See what happens when I express *my* true feelings? Seems it's okay to trample on the sensibilities of those who don't share your religious beliefs as much as you want on this list, but let someone say "Excuse me, but I'd rather not hear it" then YOUR rights and feelings are being trampled upon.
Funny old world, isn't it.
The butt-hurt and oh noes continues... IFF moans:
Well -- guess you all told me off --- mea culpa to you all (except Lorri who did what she wanted -- got yet another to stop posting but I'm going to go one step further -- am going to ask Gary to take me off both chat groups -- will keep in touch with my friends, and I do have some on this group, by private chat). Since I am quite illiterate with the computer, it will take me a little while to find the "unscribe" (no need for you to let me know how Lorrie, I will figure it out). Meanwhile I've enjoyed most of the banter we have had since I joined and 99% of you have been my lifeline and my gateway to sanity, but when we can't say anything without somebody going to Snopes daily (and I don't mean just the medical stuff - we should know about that, but I mean the "Bubble Plant" and prayers, which incidentally, I didn't think you cared about Lorrie), it's just gotten to be too much. I have enough problems in my life without all this. I'll think of that 99% of you daily and will remember you always.
Take care and please know that I care for that 99% of you.
Oh, poor IFF!! I poured the balm of human kindness upon her butthurt...
Everyone needs to just calm down. I have never posted anything in an effort to make people on this list quit or stop posting or feel stupid. I fact check some postings because I was trained as and worked as a scientist for years, and I don't take anything at face value.
As for the Dr. Graham prayer, I checked it because Dr. Graham is a very fair-minded and Good Man, and he would never -- *never* -- say the bigoted things that were in that prayer. If you want a definition of a Christian and all they should be, just look to Dr. Graham. I couldn't believe that came from Dr. Graham, or that Paul Harvey would have put it on the air. I was glad to find out it wasn't true, and was less than surprised to find out it was written by yet another small-time hatemonger posing as a Christian.
In my ignorance, I thought maybe other people would like to know Dr. Graham wasn't a small-minded bigot. Guess I was wrong there.
Most prayers I just delete without reading. Yes, I'm a positive practical atheist -- go look it up if you care. You'll find out some interesting stuff about atheism with a small "a". The prayers don't bother me per se; but I find the amount of semi-fundamentalist Christian stuff posted here somewhat annoying. I don't constantly post about my spiritual choice because I know most people here aren't interested or would be upset; why can't the same filter be run on the other end? Just asking...
IFF, if you want to unsub, then by all means do so. But don't use me as an excuse -- I have neither to power nor the interest in making anyone on this list quit. You'd do better taking a long hard look at yourself, find out why trivial things upset you so much, and figure out how to straighten that out. You don't solve anything by getting mad, taking your ball and going home.
After this salvo, the truth comes out. IFF is more than butthurt, she's trying to get me kicked off the mail list for some reason -- I guess because I don't slobber all over her prayer spam and belong to her little brush arbor church or whatever...
This is the last post I will make to Lorrie or anyone else who doesn't want my input and I'm sure there are a few. Lorrie, you don't intimidate me and you have no idea what I meant - maybe I was hoping you would be asked to leave. From now on when I see your name I will just delete it - okay?
Please let this be the last post from you, as I won't read another one, so just say what you want. And as far as I'm concerned, this is the end of all this crap that I'll admit I started, but am not sorry.
IFF
"maybe I was hoping you would be asked to leave." WTF?? This made my jaw drop. Asked to leave because I've tried to cut down on the number of email falsehoods coming through the mail list? The arrogance of the average fundie fucknut knows no bounds, apparently....
Oh, she decided not to unsub from the mail lists. I guess not enough people crawled up her ass begging her not to.
At any rate, she's in my killfile now, so I don't even see her emails. I invited her to put me in one of her own, but since she's so computer literate, I told her to just Google how to do it. (I think she resented my helping other people with computer stuff too... I'm just a big know it all.)
I need to say here that there were a LOT more emails backing me than backing her, and the list mod asked us to take it private. I told him I was going to drop it, put IFF in my killfile, but that if I was attacked in public I was going to defend myself in public. No ifs ands or buts about it.
So that was MY day. How was YOURS?
