Urban Legend that just won't die! Thank God for Snopes

[Rowdyboy]

Yesterday my partner, a high school teacher, came hope upset over a handout every teacher in school had been given. It was a strong police warning (in ALL CAPITALS!!!) The gist: when driving, never flash your lights to alert another driver that his headlights aren't on. GANGS have started using this as an initiation and anyone who flashes their lights will be shot! The teachers were to warn family and friends to beware this highly dangerous situation. It appeared very formal and he (my partner) was really upset. His job is in a bad part of town.

So this morning, five minutes on Snopes, and I have a reply for him:

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/madmen/lightout.asp

I really love these guys. They provide a wonderful service by helping to eliminate tons of garbage.

[supercrash]

1. Ya right...

Like when they said that the secret Saudi flights after 9-11 never happened

I was banned from their boards after 1 post about Bush sr.

Ya....no agenda there

[bhunt70]

2. ??

[Mike Daniels]

5. Be interesting to see your post that got you banned

Most people who get banned from boards did something that violated posting rules that justified getting banned.

No offense, but I find it hard to accuse any board that spent about 5 pages of text refuting the Clinton "Hit List" person by person
(http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/outrage/clinton.htm)
to be biased in the way you imply.

[havocmom]

3. amazing that myth still making the rounds

I heard it way before most people even entertained the idea of getting a home computer. Have to agree with my daughter, the internet hasn't made everyone smarter. Some just use it to spread their own stupidity.

Since I started sending 'reply-to-all' with links to snopes page debunking the hoax-de-jour, my inbox is much less cluttered. Either a few people are wising up or they took me off their mailing lists because I am such a rude ol bag. :evilgrin:

[Bunny]

4. That particular urban legend always amused me.

One day, one of my colleagues at work breathlessly informed me of this great danger. Gangs will shoot me if I flash my lights!! Be careful!! I laughed my ass off, because we are located in one of the most rural, lily white areas you can find. There's nary a Crip nor Blood within a hundred miles of here, most likely. There's no white, asian, or latino gangs either. But beware those gangs! They're out to get us!

What a story! It's amazing the things people will believe. This particular colleague has a master's degree too, so higher education is no insulation from stupidity.

[Mike Daniels]

7. I'd can see more people reasonably buying this one than some others

When you think about it, yeah, it falls apart under reasoned critical thinking but it has enough elements that make it sound plausible.

I find the ones involving the "welcome to the world of AIDS" catch or the organ thieves to be so out of the realm of possibility that anyone who actually believes those probably needs to be slapped upside the head.

Just my two cents.

[GiovanniC]

9. I Got Into an Argument With My Ex's Sister

About this.

She read the urban legend about the unscrupulous people who were hiding syringes with AIDS in them in gas pumps so that when you went to grab the pump, you'd stick yourself in the hand with AIDS virus.

I told her it wasn't true... she insisted that it was.

I told her it was an urban legend... she insisted that her friend's cousin actually had this happen to her (wow, never heard that one before).

I pulled it up on snopes.com and showed her in black-and-white that it wasn't true, but she insisted on continuing to email and tell everyone she knew about it because it "could" happen. She was also (surprise, surprise) one of the people who "saw" the Arabs dancing in a 7-11 on September 11 and supposedly told them they wouldn't be dancing after we nuked the Middle East.

A charmer, her.

[Bunny]

11. Yeah, I could see where the believability of the gang one

could be more credible if you lived in an environment where gangs actually existed. That's what makes it so funny to me, cause there sure ain't no gangs here!

The organ thieves one IS pretty ludicrous, isn't it? ;)

[LoZoccolo]

6. I remember when I was a kid...

...my mom got a typed, photocopied flyer, I'm pretty sure in all caps, warning that drug dealers are giving out little press-on temporary tatoos that were spiked with LSD! She took it seriously enough to put it on our refrigerator, but I thought it was for real too I remember!

[GiovanniC]

8. My Mom Used to Believe That Stuff Too

Right in the middle of BFE, Michigan. We wouldn't have known a gang if we'd seen one, but they were bent on killing all of us "childrens" with Mickey Mouse tattoos laced with drugs and poisons.

[Rowdyboy]

10. Whats really bad about this one, is that people could die

Tons of less savvy people will believe. Then, when some bozo (like me) forgets to turn on his lights, they're too scared to warn him and he winds up dead (or worse, killing other innocent people).

Its MUCH more believable if you live or work in high crime areas. I ALMOST posted it here as a serious alert but something about it just "felt" wrong so I checked it out first. Thats all that kept me from looking like a fool to you guys.

[rucky]

12. Gawd that one's as old as the hills.

everybody knows gangs signal with their windshield wipers

duh.

[Katha]

13. Hee!

And for REALLY big hits, they always honk their horns.