My uncle, who I thought was a progressive, totally surprised me tonight

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

by sending me and other relatives, some freeper-ish emails. One was called From the Ghost of Patton and featured pictures of poor Nick Berg after he was decapitated. Has anyone seen this from freepers? It's too disgusting for me to post here, and frankly, the photos and language made me almost puke on my keyboard. It was basically saying how many more Americans have to be beheaded before you stop blaming Bush for all your troubles. Pissed me off!!! The other email had to do with Muslims hating Jews (we're Jewish) and having something to do with the Holocaust. I deleted it without reading the whole thing.

I emailed him and told him not to send me anymore political emails or else I was putting him on my Ignore list. Unfortunately, I keep getting undeliverable messages from his email, saying his server is full (yeah, full of shit!).

We're going to a family get together tomorrow, and he and my aunt are going to be there. Should be fun, huh?

Any advice for how not to ruin a get together (my parents, sister, grandparents, and two sets of aunts and uncles will be there)

[whistle]

1. Someone earlier posted this same scenario from a relative of theirs

...could be more freeper jamming

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

2. What do you mean by freeper jamming?

I also posted this in the Jewish forum.

[whistle]

7. Read the posts below....

[blonndee]

3. My only advice is to WALK AWAY if you hear any kind of

crap start. I personally haven't been to a Christmas or any family function on my dad's side since Christmas 2003 because of freeper, bigot relatives. But if you want to keep the peace, that's the advice I have.

Oh, and I wonder how they'd respond if you sent out graphic pictures of Nick Berg asking how many Americans have to be decapitated before they start holding George Bush responsible for starting an unnecessary, illegal war that lost us all our allies in the world? And tack on some pictures from Fallujah and that one of the little girl with blood all over her in Haditha.

[DainBramaged]

4. Fuck it, ruin it, the Freepers would ruin it for you drop of a hat

I cannot begin to tell you how angry that shit makes me. I'd be in my car pounding on his door, fuck the "mailbox full" bullshit.

Unless, he got a worm from one of the intelligent Freepazoids and it is using him as a forwarding shit box.

Nah.

[PSPS]

5. Sounds like a forged email

That would explain his mailbox being full. A 'bot' somewhere (likely on an infected computer that contains both your uncle's and your email address) probably sent out that message to every email address it could find, and randomly picked your uncle's email address to forge into the "From" line. It happens all the time -- most current mass-mailing viruses work that way.

[jobycom]

6. Don't hurt the reunion over it

If you get along with the uncle, you can joke with him about it. "What the heck was that stuff you sent me? (said in a jovial voice) You know I don't agree with that!" If you feel either you or he would not be able to keep it civil, just ignore the whole thing, and keep trying to email your protest. I have friends and relatives that I have one relationship with in person, and another through email. Things are easier to get over when they aren't said face to face.

Just my thoughts, since you asked. Probably wrong, as always. :)

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

8. I don't know if there is a wrong or right answer. I don't want to upset

my parents, grandparents or other aunt and uncle who are going to be there by starting a fight; then again, I didn't send the assinine email to begin with. This type of thing happened at a family gathering back in Sept. with an older cousin of mine. He was towing the Bush "fight them over there" bullshit line, and I started to get really pissed off and had to walk away from the table.

All input is appreciated here. Just trying to work it out before I go tomorrow.

[jobycom]

15. Walking away is a more powerful statement than arguing

First, you won't convince anyone. Second, you'll give credibility to his arguments by taking him on. Third, you'll upset your family. Walking away from any such discussions shows you don't consider his argument worth discussing. In another venue, maybe, shredding his argument might be admirable. But you won't win anything at a family reunion by doing it.

Again, just my thoughts, more than advice. You know your family more than anyone here does.

[Erika]

9. W started a war with innocents , remind him of that

The Iraqi people never harmed us or threatened us.

None of the 9/11 bombers were Iraqi. The Taliban had no power in Iraq and only an isolated camp or two in Northern Iraq where Hussein had no control.

W brought terrorism to Iraq and I find no moral comfort in the GOP argument we're fighting them there rather than here.

Show him the pic of the 13 year old Iraqi boy who had his arms shot off in our violent shock and awe campaign against an innocent populace.

Then ask him how he can back W or this war in good conscience. Then walk away.

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

11. Exactly!

[barb162]

10. I try not to discuss politics at family parties and if I do it's

very short, like two sentences.

[Maddy McCall]

12. Just don't ruin it. Don't discuss it. Leave it alone tomorrow.

Family reunions and politics do not mix. If he brings up politics, refuse to get into it with him.

Give the guy a telephone call after the get together and tell the guy that you'd appreciate it if he wouldn't send political emails to you anymore, and that if he does, you'll block his account.

You be the one to have class tomorrow. If the others want to engage in an argument over politics, you stand above it. Show class.

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

13. I don't know when the last time he sent me anything that was not

inappropriate, whether it was a sexist "joke" or political (though, this seems to be a new thing). I've decided to go ahead and block the emails for now. Less stress in my life, the better.

[Maddy McCall]

17. Good choice.

:thumbsup:

[Deja Q]

14. He's got a PARTIAL point.

:(

Bush didn't start this mess. It started in the early-70s and was flyin' high by the 1980 hostage issue... never mind the Contra affair which really lit up the stove burner... never mind the events of today, which have been exacerbated by Bush, no doubt about that!

Still, foreign problems are one thing. Allowing the mucking up of our own country's infrastructure is hardly a periphery issue either!

What's needed is common sense. In all things. Not paranoia but not blind trust either.

[AtomicKitten]

16. I completely sympathize.

My Republican family and I parted company in late 2000 coinciding with the Supreme Court judicial coup d'etat. IMO there is no reasoning with them.

It sounds like your uncle's been hannitized.

Good luck. :)

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

18. Yeah. It's fucked up. Thank G-d my parents and sisters aren't

like my uncle and aunt.

[AtomicKitten]

19. I'm glad you have that and look to that as comfort.

Our country is on the brink of civil war and that is manifested right down into the family unit. It's just devastating to witness this. I think the Republicans have worked hard lying to their sheep vis-a-vis Faux News and the rest and demonizing Democrats to such an extent that Republicans apparently believe behaving like assholes is reasonable discourse.

My prescription? Drink heavily. It'll numb the pain.

[gratuitous]

20. You can't go wrong being gracious

Presume that it's a masked bug that sent out crap under your uncle's email address. Who knows, it might even be true. He might be as appalled by the emails once you tell him about them as you are.

On the other hand, if Uncle sent them out, and stands by them, take the time to find out why he sent them to you. You might gently remind him that there are over a billion Muslims in the world, considerably more than the number of Jews (some 14 million). Is a full-scale us against them brawl really something he'd like to foment, encourage, or carry on? If it's not, then Uncle might want to reconsider this path.

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

21. I try to take the high road, always. I have a feeling the email

came from him because the email said from ________, and I think __________ is a distant cousin of ours. I hate tension, and knowing he sent this piece of garbage out to everyone and knowing he's going to be there tomorrow just makes it worse.

[blue cat]

22. Don't take it.

He had no bones about sending it to you, so at least show some anger and tell him that you were offended.

[catmother]

23. i don't have much family left, but they are all dems. my grandpa

was president of a democratic club for as long as i can remember. he owned a bar and you had to be a member of the club to drink there. sometimes i jokingly say that i was a dem in utero. lol seriously though i made my own decisions. my family were blue collar union workers. just always felt the dems were for the working guy.

on the other hand, my husband's family were repubs. both his parents are gone and i don't know what his sis is. she seems to just be interested in wearing designer clothes and impressing people.

my younger sister is nance greggs. i'm sure you've all read her great posts and articles.

good luck to you tomorrow.

[orleans]

24. by the time you read this your family get together will probably

be all over with.

but here's my two cents anyway.

first, where do your parents stand on the political line? dems? or no?

second, is he a brother or a brother in law?

you might want to tell your parents what he's been sending you

then, (if i were you) i'd talk to the uncle and say:

"you know, i got the last two emails you sent me and i wanted to puke all over my computer. you know i can't stand bush so stop sending me this propaganda crap. and i won't send you any bush-sucks emails since you seem to love him so much."

i guess it depends on your age. i don't know you--i don't know if you're a kid or in your thirties. by the time i was 17 or 18 i was able to talk to my uncles as people/individuals and voice my opinion and argue with them about shit. so i guess there are a lot of "it all depends" involved here.

hope it all went well.

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

26. I'm in my thirties (35, to be exact).

Update: As it turned out, he did get the email I sent to him last night that read as follows:

Uncle ______,

Please do not send us any more political emails. Unless you have something else to send me of interest (like family news, etc.), take me off your distribution list. I am well read on the wars and all that is going on and prefer to form my own opinion.

Thank you for respecting my wishes.

Love, me

Before going to the get-together, I checked my email this morning. He responded with this:

Dear ____,

I understand and appreciate your feelings. I can't remember what I ate for breakfast some days; consequently, surely won't remember to leave you guys off any of my e-mails which you may not want. As you can see, my family list is probably over 50 long and each has their own tastes. Rather then chance upseting you again, I shall take you off the list. If you wish back on anytime in the future, please advise.

Love, Uncle ____


I emailed him back and told him thank you and I was looking forward to see him and my aunt.

Everything was fine at the gathering. We talked a little, and what I said was, "Everyone has an opinion, and like assholes, everyone has one."

To me, his email doesn't take responsibility for what he sent, but I feel better knowing that he knows where I stand without getting into a big family feud.

[Uncle Joe]

25. Tell him you will treat him to a movie,

that affects Jews and Muslims and take him to "An Inconvenient Truth". Good luck to you.

[Mz Pip]

27. Attention Maggots!!!

Is that the one??? I got that one. I got it from my cousin-in-law who send all kinds of crap to me. Most of it is just cutsie religious poems and silly jokes.

I kind of lost it on that one and fired off a smart assed reply, to which she said if I didn't agree I should just ignore it. So I emailed back that maybe the idiot who wrote this could use a lesson in ignoring folks he didn't agree with and that calling people maggots might just occasionally illicit a less than favorable response from someone whose inox it ended up in.

Oddly enough, cuz-in-law agreed and said more power to those who are willing to respond. Weird.


My experience in family events with those who are on the other side is that I plan all these snappy comebacks to the talking points I expect to hear but nothing ever happens. We talk about famiy, jobs, food, music - hardly ever politics. That seems to be left to email exchanges.

Good Luck.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

29. I think the word maggots might have been in there, but the

title was something like From the Ghost of Patton. The event was in a public place (we all went for a day at the horse races), so that helped to keep everyone in line; plus, there were several of us there, so I stuck w/ sitting with my hubby and my sister.

[leftofthedial]

28. when you (or he) first arrive,

just kick him hard in the nuts

be as discreet as you can