The type of e-mail I get

[Bgno64]

Gil Smart at Smart Remarks:

This is the narrative that drives much of elderly, consevative, Fox News-viewing America. It’s all here. Undeserving lazy minority family that hardworking, virtuous you are forced to support. Muslims coming to get us!!! Obamaphones!!

And recall the quick note attached to the e-mail: “Have not checked the numbers.”

Of course they haven’t checked the numbers, or anything else. Why would they? This reinforces what they already believe about the lazy welfare moochers.

What percentage, do you think, of self-identified conservatives are motivated primarily by this resentment as their #1 political impulse?

And see, it’s entirely pointless to point out to these people, as I used to do, that it’s untrue, that it’s unverified. Because this is what they believe: That America is going to hell in a handbasket due to the all the lazy moochers.

They’re losing their America, they think – the America of industrious strivers. Who now, of course, draw Medicare and Social Security and unemployment if they lose a few hours at work.

This is the type of e-mail I get. And I can read learned conservative essay after essay; I can try to understand the arguments of the many informed conservatives who also reach out and want to debate things.

But this – this type of e-mail, and the frequency of it – makes me believe that those learned arguments are simply a smokescreen for people who’s political position is formed entirely by this burning resentment of the lazy “others,” coming to take their America away.

[handmade34]

1. "Smart Remarks"

[lunasun]

2. Wow working in a Muslim takeover and minoirtties on "welfare" all in one email !!

Haters gotta hate and I wish it was all old people who buy this BS but it is not . They breed hate too

[JohnnyRingo]

3. I used to get those..

Because I reply and debunk in detail, my RW friends have just crossed me off their email list. I usually teased them for being so childishly gullible. I'm not saying I convinced them, but at least I don't have to read them anymore.

I've always considered that Howard Dean pioneered harnessing the internet to rally and coordinate support. Democrats have since perfected the practice. During the same period, republicans have mastered the email hoax.

Older people who are not so tech savvy uniquely believe what they read in their email. From under car knife slashers and hoodlums who flash their lights, to Nancy Pelosi flying her family around in a corporate jet on our dime, they clickety click it to everyone in their address book.

I believe much of the racist nonsense about this president come from groups funded by the usual billionaire suspects and get distributed at viral speed.

[zeemike]

4. They are simply using the well tried and true propaganda model

Articulated by Hitler...tell the big lie and tell it often and people will come to believe it.
And even if they don't actually believe it they will use it anyway as a form of intimidation and to keep the other side on the defensive.

Fascism is not dead, it just wrapped itself in another flag.

[Populist_Prole]

5. Oh hell, don't get me going...

I luckily at present don't get but a few per year like that but up to a couple of years ago I received at least 25 a week from my very conservative father before he finally took me off his political forwards list.

Cliche after cliche abounded in them and it was easy to begin cataloging them by certain traits. like thse:

- Outrageously vivid multicolored large fonts with with a liberal use of exclamation points to induce a hysterical mood

- Heavy use of videos like youtube with admonitions to "you MUST watch this awesome video before it's pulled down by the liberals in the media" or just some righteous indignation rant by some angry old white person "awesome video...this guy really tells it like it is!"

- Either mentioning Snopes and in some cases providing a link. What's funny is snopes will debunk the emails claim but the sender and his intended audience suffer from confirmation bias and will never bother to actually view the snopes entry. The term is just supposed to be an appeal to authority.

- Hysterical exhortations to "SEND THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!!"

- Blatant falsehoods/pulling numbers out of their asses supported by ultra-lame disclaimers: "I haven't verified these to be true....but they probably are"

- Weak-assed attempts at sounding non-partisan: "I don't care if you're a democrat or a republican....this is funny" or "this should make you wake up!!!"

You want to laugh at some of these winger's works of art, here's a site; a "museum" if you will of right wing email forwards from 'My Right Wing Dad.net"

http://myrightwingdad.blogspot.com/

[lovemydog]

6. It's amazing how gullible some folks are

to believe that stuff and forward the emails to others.