Response to Hateful Loony Righwingnut emails I get from a former relative?

[Honeycombe8]

Every now and then I get a loony rightwingnut email from a former sister-in-law. She is still on good terms with her ex, my brother, so he and I have made into her list that she sends these loony rightwingnut emails to. She KNOWS that I'm not a righwingnut, and yet, I still get these emails, even though I have asked her to remove me from her list.

I just got one today that says, in part:

*********************
A short lesson in welfare economics!!
The folks who are getting the free stuff, don't like the folks who are paying for the free stuff, because the folks who are paying for the free stuff can no longer afford to pay for both the free stuff and their own stuff.

The folks who are paying for the free stuff want the free stuff to stop, and the folks who are getting the free stuff want even more free stuff on top of the free stuff they are already getting!

Now... The people who are forcing the people who pay for the free stuff have told the people who are RECEIVING the free stuff, that the people who are PAYING for the free stuff, are being mean, prejudiced, and racist.

So... The people who are GETTING the free stuff have been convinced they need to hate the people who are paying for the free stuff by the people who are forcing some people to pay for their free stuff, and giving them the free stuff in the first place.

We have let the free stuff giving go on for so long that there are now more people getting free stuff than paying for the free stuff.
(snip)
Let’s take a stand!!!
Obama: Gone!
Borders: Closed!
Language: English only
Culture: Constitution, and the Bill of Rights!
Drug Free: Mandatory Drug Screening before Welfare!
NO freebies to: Non-Citizens!

****************************

What I was wondering was if the following response is too strong to send to a relative:

Christine, I appreciate your concern that I be made aware of your political thoughts. However, as you know, I have an incapacitated sister in a nursing home on Medicaid. I don’t appreciate receiving emails that basically intimate that she should be dumped on the street & left to die, or that in any way shows any disrespect for those who truly are in need, or assigns any sort of hatred or anger on her part. That simply isn’t true.

You know that I am not a loony rightwingnut. Don’t send me any more silly emails like this. They are best left to those who are uninformed, ignorant, and have hatred in their hearts. That isn’t me.

P.S. There are now over 46 million people in poverty in these hard times. That would include you, too, if you didn't have people giving you money...right? I don't get money from anyone. I earn it. And I am more than happy to pay my fair share of taxes to help those who truly need it.


Too long a response? Too weak? Too strong to send to a relative? I plan on responding to the whole list, which includes my brother, who cares for his ex (and is a rightwingnut himself). I would appreciate any thoughts on this.

[ret5hd]

1. excellent response, imho.

[Myrina]

2. Block the person.

Seriously, don't waste your time or energy arguing with an idiot. Eventually, they may come around. Maybe.

[Honeycombe8]

9. Yeah, that was a thought I had. I just got so mad about the email that I

wanted to say something. Otherwise, she'd continue to send them, and they'd go into my spam folder, and she'd continue to think that she's, what, persuading me to her way of thinking?

But you are right...there is no arguing with people like that.

Ironically...she doesn't do anything for a living herself! She doesn't get welfare, but that's because my brother continues to provide for her! Imagine! She doesn't even pay the taxes that her email complains about. She's a deadbeat.

[The Doctor.]

23. I have a better solution.

Invariably, these idiots show their entire 'send to' list. Anytime I get one of these, I send the snopes breaskdown or some other refutation to each and every person on the list.

Everyone gets the chance to see how full of shit the original email is, and eventually, the person stops sending stuff to me.

[lsewpershad]

46. Good idea.

[LaValle]

52. EXACTLY!!

Invariably, these idiots show their entire 'send to' list. Anytime I get one of these, I send the snopes breaskdown or some other refutation to each and every person on the list.

Everyone gets the chance to see how full of shit the original email is, and eventually, the person stops sending stuff to me.

in addition I'd post as much left sided views, but make sure they are irrefutable and true and in no way can be twisted by the right. send that to her and all the list

[The Doctor.]

59. When making an entrance, think a bit more.

There are no 'left sided' views, you know.

Right?

[wizstars]

55. "Never argue with an idiot..."

"...they just drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience."

[Jim__]

3. I think it's a very good response.

You make your position clear, you don't call her any names, and if she has a scintilla of sense, she'll be embarassed.

[HappyMe]

4. I don't think it's too long or strongly worded,

since it seems you have put up with these e-mails for awhile.


If she continues to send them, can you just block her email addy. That is, if she doesn't include family news along with the spewage.

[Mz Pip]

5. It always amazes me

that the right wing can become so enraged over some poor person getting something from the government but seem to be willing to bend over backwards to defend all the benefits/taxbreaks/subsidies given by that same government to giant corporations.

[safeinOhio]

6. Make sure that you

click on reply all. I've done that on my responses to those type of emails and it has ended them.

[Wounded Bear]

7. You should make it simpler....

A simple, "You really believe that hateful bullshit, don't you?" response would be more direct, and accurate.

Then block her.

:)

[Old Codger]

8. For sure

A hell of a lot nicer and more polite than I would have sent... But I also would probably have blocked her a long time ago.

[millijac]

10. just one more thing,

hit reply all

When I started doing that to the wingnut emails I use to receive I p'd off a whole lot of people but the emails stopped.

[The Backlash Cometh]

11. Make no mistake, America is in the midst of a culture war.

All these years we have been told that we are Americans just because we were born here, and now we know the real agenda. It's about making Anglo-Americans feel like their concept is dominant. Which means they get to break the rules, while the rest of us must meet the highest standards.

[MarianJack]

12. I think it's perfect.

Whenever a rightwingnut starts on about the Bill of Rights I always point out that they only REALLY care about the Second Amendment and the First Amendment for them but not anyone who doesn't believe as they do.

My wife has a wingnut co-worker that she's had to tell several times to knock it off with the rightist BS pass-it-ons. I think that they consider this as their missionary work to convert the non-believer.

PEACE!

[Speck Tater]

13. My response to screeds from rigfht-wing relatives is to delete them and not reply at all.

Replying is a pointless waste of time. There's not a chance in hell you will ever convince them of anything. The only reason to reply is to make yourself feel good. The problem is you get all hot and bothered and raise your blood pressure in the meantime. It's just not worth the hassle. Delete and ignore.

[MarianJack]

18. I see your point and to a great extent I agree with you.

However, my concern about not replying at all is that they'd quite possibly consider it to be consent to send more and agreement with their BS. Even if they know your not a rightist, they may think you've "seen the light" and converted.

PEACE!

[Speck Tater]

24. You make a good point. On the other hand, it's been my experience that if I reply...

they are convinced that I need more information to set me straight and they tend to increase their campaign to "help me see the light."

I can see how it could go either way, though.

[duhneece]

62. I started to see my silence as approval or acceptance

I couldn't continue my silence, then, and sent a response like your in a 'reply to all'. I felt better.

[newspeak]

33. Well, my ex BIL sent shite like that

had sent some misinformation about Hillary Clinton, got the actual facts online and replied to all. He quit sending his BS to me. Can't have someone replying with facts.

[yankeeswin]

34. My experience has been interesting

When I reply all usually the original poster is embarrassed by the fact that they are exposed (not that they will admit it) and I get other people replying to the original poster scolding them. It shames them into not doing it again.

Mostly it's futile in the sense that you won't change THEIR beliefs, but sometimes someone on the chain sees the rebuttal and reconsiders. I don't like to let BS like this stay unchallenged.

[Honeycombe8]

36. My thoughts, too. nt

[TBF]

14. "block" is your friend. nt

[struggle4progress]

15. Take out a couple of sentences, shorten and rearrange slightly:

Christine, I appreciate your concern that I be made aware of your political thoughts. But please don’t send me any more silly emails showing disrespect for those who truly are in need.

There are now over 46 million people in poverty in these hard times. I don't get money from anyone. I earn it. And I am more than happy to pay my fair share of taxes to help those who truly need it.

As you know, I have an incapacitated sister in a nursing home on Medicaid. I don’t appreciate receiving emails that basically intimate that she should be dumped on the street & left to die.

[Honeycombe8]

16. I like it. It takes the anger out of it. I think I'll end with "Consider yourself blocked from my

email," as suggested by some other posters.

[Iggo]

31. Nice and tight.

:thumbsup:

[Honeycombe8]

38. Thanks, struggle. I posted the response I sent, and it was basically your suggestions plus

the added "block" suggested by others.

[NNN0LHI]

17. "asked" her to remove me from her list

When I get such crap I shoot an email back to the sender and all the people on their "list", demanding that the sender quit spamming me.

That approach has worked ever time.

Don

[immoderate]

19. I like it. But don't expect positive results. You can't fix stupid.

--imm

[EstimatedProphet]

20. Do you need to get emails from her? IMO I'd tell her to go to hell

That's just me though.

[Mimosa]

21. Excellent and polite reply. n/t

[Vinca]

22. Send it!!!

[Dogtown]

25. She wants to engage.

This is passive/aggressiveness.

You can't win by arguing, she enjoys upsetting you.

I would send a crisp note saying that you're blocking any further emails (without explaining why, because she'd get off on it) and immediately proceed to do so.

The loading of the junk folder is a small burden. "Delete all" will make short work of her.

[Carolina]

26. Send it ASAP

Good response but for someone like her NOT STRONG ENOUGH

[GentryDixon]

27. Send it with no regrets.

[classof56]

28. Oh, my--I guess I'll soon be getting this one from my Texas relative

It's such well-trodden ground, it's really getting boring. The last one she sent was in praise of the Washington Times' article demanding Obama's impeachment. Guess she doesn't realize who owns/runs the Times--Rev. Moon, who somehow confuses himself with God and says Jesus bows down to him. Since my relative's a Catholic, I thought this might cast some doubt as to who's advocating impeachment, but didn't bother to respond. It's really no use. I've countered several of her hate-filled e-mails with facts, scriptures, the Prayer of St. Francis, etc. but to no avail. I like the points you make in your response and hope you'll send them with the changes some have suggested, but my guess is, they'll fall on deaf ears. I no longer reply to my relative and won't when I get the one you got (pretty sure it'll be in my inbox soon), but dang! It's really hard not to!

Blessings.

[Honeycombe8]

29. Thanks for your thoughts. Ironically, that relative gets financial assistance

from my brother. She is a female blue collar redneck type. She and my brother have been divorced for years, but he recently bought her a house, and he helps her out financially. Ironic, huh, that she begrudges others who get govt assistance, and yet she's a big deadbeat who doesn't provide for herself. I guess she sits around and sends out righwingnut emails all the time.

[classof56]

51. Yes, I've noticed they're not big on consistency.

With mine, the Obama hatred just oozes through the cyberspace. I think I know why, even though she would deny it. Our mutual grandfather was quite the racist, sad to say. Guess it became entrenched in the family that stayed in the south. Fortunately, my parents relocated us to the Pacific Northwest at an early age. By the way, I'd say your brother qualifies for sainthood. Hope she's somehow worth all that he does and on some level appreciates him as much as he deserves. Hope I'm not outa line saying this!

Blessings.

[WingDinger]

30. What kind of symbol will you rally under? A swastika?

[jberryhill]

32. Whatever you decide - REPLY ALL

I do not offer my "consent by silence" when I am on a huge list of people to whom the email was sent.

[NoGOPZone]

39. +1

Reply All with a Snopes link, if available, usually gets you removed pretty quickly.

[yankeeswin]

35. Always a good link to have

http://myrightwingdad.com

[Honeycombe8]

37. I sent the response. Thanks for all your suggestions & comments.

Here's what I sent:

********************
Christine, I appreciate your concern that I be made aware of your political thoughts. But please don’t send me any more silly emails showing disrespect for those who truly are in need.

There are now over 46 million people in poverty in these hard times. I don't get money from anyone. I earn it. And I am more than happy to pay my fair share of taxes to help those who truly need it.

As you know, I have an incapacitated sister in a nursing home on Medicaid. I don’t appreciate receiving emails that basically intimate that she should be dumped on the street & left to die.


I have asked you before to remove me from your list that you send these silly emails to, which you haven’t done. So I have had to block you from my email address.
***********************

THANKS!

[Auntie Bush]

40. It's just what I should send to my rightwinged brother who's always sends me this

type of propaganda. I just tell him that's what it is, but the emails keep coming.:(

[B Calm]

41. Good response. Sometimes you have to slap the hypocrites with truth!

I love the P.S.!

[Motown_Johnny]

42. to weak

you need to add in that her Herbert Hoover economic theories have led to disaster every time they have been attempted and it requires an FDR approach to repair the damage, every time. She can call it welfare economics if she wants to but what it should be called is recovery economics.

[B Calm]

43. I like wealth recovery economics! It's past time that we have

a recovery mechanism for all the benefits large businesses and the wealthy have received at the expense of 99% of the population and for all the protection services provided by the US government... Will call it judgment day!

[treestar]

44. I like it

If she's the sort of person that can handle the reference to herself, I'd send it. If not, take that out. She sent the email - she has no right to have it be unopposed.

(I've hit reply all on occasion to express my dislike of one relative's emails, when they are just wrong, or racist. Or just respond to her. She seems able to take it without getting pissed. But some right wingers are sensitive and get upset).

[Gormy Cuss]

45. I'd delete this: "You know that I am not a loony rightwingnut."

and replace it with
"You know that I do not agree with the right wing"

because you may lose her interest in your entire reply with that. The rest of it, well, a relative ought to be able to hear that.

[Whiskeytide]

47. My response...

A short lesson in corporate welfare economics!!

The wealthiest among us and their corporate interests who are getting unprecedented amounts of free stuff, don't like the middle class taxpayers who are paying for the free stuff, because the middle class taxpayers who are paying for the free stuff have been decimated by a several decades of silly Friedman economic policies, have lost their jobs, and can no longer afford to pay for both the free stuff and their own stuff.

The middle class taxpayers who are paying for the free stuff want the free stuff to stop, and the wealthiest among us and their corporate interests who are getting the free stuff want even more free stuff on top of the free stuff they are already getting!

Now... The people who want to continue the silly Friedman economic policies and keep forcing the middle class taxpayers to pay for the free stuff have told the the middle class taxpayers who are PAYING for the free stuff that they are being anti-job creation for wanting to take back or not continue some of the free stuff, and - inexplicably - many of the middle class taxpayers believe that bullshit.

So... The middle class taxpayers who are paying for the free stuff have been convinced they need to hate the middle class taxpayers who are paying for the free stuff, and have been so convinced by the people who want to continue the silly Friedman economic policies and keep forcing the middle class taxpayers to pay for the free stuff and give more free stuff to the wealthiest among us and their corporate interests.

We have let the free stuff giving to the wealthiest among us and their corporate interests go on for so long that they own the collective asses of the middle class taxpayers who are paying for the free stuff, and will use the assets and influence obtained with the free stuff to keep it that way forever and ever.
(snip)

[alfredo]

48. Why so much hatred for her fellow Americans?

[Bigmack]

64. They don't believe "those people" are real Americans...

Of course, by "those people", I mean anybody different from them.

[alfredo]

65. It's easier to kill people once you dehumanize them.

[Blue_Tires]

49. Wow...There has been a sharp decline in the quality of RW astroturf spam

and that's really saying something...

[The Straight Story]

50. I asked a rw'er on FB this - many times - and he still won't answer:

You say that people on welfare/unemployment are lazy and don't want to work because they are getting 'free' money (which many paid into while working, sort of like an insurance policy) and THEN you say:

People cannot find work because of Obama's policies and it is his fault (and the democrats') that they are unable to get a job and that they should vote republican.

So which is it? Obama's fault or are people just lazy?

[SmileyRose]

53. I think you are being too nice. - I think you can be shorter, and harsher.

You really do believe my disabled sister in a nursing home on medicaid is an undeserving parasite. Life is too short and I don't need hateful people like you in my life. Good riddance.

And I agree, reply all.

[sabrina 1]

54. Not too long at all. It is an excellent, thought-provoking response

which should make your friend think a little. If she has not been thoroughly indoctrinated. I wonder how she feels about all those corrupt, Wall St. people who have received more 'free stuff' than all of the people she is so angry about combined?

[Martin Eden]

56. Very, very good response ...

... and remarkably restrained. You showed a lot more thoughfulness for her than she did for you.

[frogmarch]

57. Excellent response.

If I were you, I'd send it.

[donheld]

58. Here's a distorted version of the first sentence. I wonder what the wingnut's response would be

The folks who are getting the free stuff (Huge Corporations), don't like the folks who are paying for the free stuff, because the folks who are paying for the free stuff(working class Americans) can no longer afford to pay for both the free stuff and their own stuff (working class Americans).

[Name removed]

60. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Cassandra]

61. I was thinking, "Get stuffed" but...

your response is quite a bit better.

[bluestate10]

63. Just right. Send it, she and your brother are wrong if they believe the

shit that she is writing.

[Bozita]

66. That's perfect!