Rant and Rave

You must forgive this post. I discovered something I feel quite strongly about today and need to let off some steam on this subject. A blog entry allows me to do so without stepping on anyone's toes. So, this is my rant and rave. Please feel free to discontinue and come back to a better and more friendly entry later.

What set off this rant and rave was a couple of "chain e-mails" I found in my in-box. I really have some issues with these things and think that the vast majority of them are a waste of space and time; particularly when it comes to religious and political propaganda, if I may call it that. (Although, frankly, propaganda may be too strong a word for this poorly concocted stuff. Propaganda generally involves more shrewd planning.) What these latest two were about: Islam and social security. Goodie.

So, in an effort to be sensible and discover exactly why I hate this stuff, here is my list of reasons:

• Impersonal. If it's these messages are aiming to be sent to over a thousand plus people, for whatever reason, it's too impersonal. All I am is a number on your list of hits. Who wants to be a number?
• Overly emotional. If it's trying to appeal to my emotions by ending with some little saying about how bad a person I am if I delete the message without sending it off to some other person, pleeeaasee. You just hit my spiteful side with a dead aim that guarantees I will delete it. Yes, I am that perserve. And if the message is only full of the overly emotional and the melodrama, well, I get enough of that with PMS thanks. I don't need yours too.
• Poorly presented. Am I honestly expected to take some this stuff seriously? A couple of clipart images pasted together with some bold lettering and blinking icons is NOT serious. I know young kids who can put together a more convincing arguments with powerpoint than this stuff. You'll have to do better than that for me to believe what's being said. The presentation is a major selling point. And you just sold out.
• Ill-informed. I'm sorry, but I refuse to spread your stupidity. Or, on the other hand, my own stupidity. If I don't know anything on the subject, am I really expected to just hop on the bandwagon because an unknown e-mail source said to? I'm saving us both the embarassment of our own ignorance by not sending your e-mail forward through another cyle of forwards. Really. I have your/our best interests at heart.
• Poorly argued. If I can find the fallacies in the facts as they are given, well...
• Narrow minded. These things never include the opposite point of view. And everything has at least two sides to every story, usually more. I would prefer a dialogue of open-mindedness instead of a persistent and overruling statement of right and wrong. Especially when I disagree with what's "right" and what's "wrong" with the topic :)

Phew. OK. Thanks.

I just needed to get that out before Bobby comes home and I blew up in his face. Poor man, he wouldn't know what hit him.