Friday has rolled around again and it is time for the Loose Bloggers Consortium to tackle a weighty or not subject. This week it is Half-Truths. I am looking forward to hearing what other writers have to say on the subject and I hope you will follow me on the journey. The writers for the Consortium are listed on the right side of my weblog.
I am sick and tired of having to Snope every unwelcome and unrequested political and religious right email that come my way. I am sick of lies and half truths designed to put fear, anger and dismay into the lives of everyday Americans. Half of these emails now carry the message that it has been Snoped. Not mind you, it has been Snoped and found false or half-true, but just another clever way of telling a half truth. Chances are the person who sent it to me never went to the Snopes link.
Here are bits of two of my favorite examples.The first is a snippet of one of many on Social Security:
It is already impossible to live on Social Security alone. If the government gives benefits to illegal aliens who have never contributed where does that leave those of us who have paid into Social Security all our working lives? . . . . and it goes on about a petition that the reader can sign .
I won’t include more on this email, but it can be checked out at Snopes: Social SecurityT
The second one is a claim that Jesus will be portrayed as a gay in an upcoming movie. It begins like this:
I can’t believe it. There is a movie that is coming out in 200l saying Jesus and his disciples were gay!
...........Please send this to ALL of your friends to sign to stop the movie from coming out. Already certain areas in Europe have started to ban it from coming to their country…......
PLEASE SIGN AND SEND TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW! PLEASE IF WE WORK TOGETHER WE CAN BAN THIS!
Of course when this one came my way, it was updated to 2010 and just in time for a new round of gay-bashing. More on this false email can be read at Snopes: Religion
After I Snope and find a half-truth or an out-and-out lie in these emails, I reply to the person who sent it to me with a message something like the following:
Dear ___’
I am replying to the email you just sent me. I have checked it with Snope and I hope you will take time to read about it. The article was false or it has some truth and some untruth in it. In times like today, where there is so much political unrest, I hope that you will consider the damage an email like this can cause and that you will take time to let everyone on your list know that it is filled with half-truth. (or no truth at all)
Thank you,
Maria
I have one friend that sends back a “Thank You” and tells me she agrees and has sent on my message to all the people to whom she had sent the email, but she is the exception. Most people just ignore my bringing attention to the partial truth or deception in their email and I guess the upside to taking time to Snope and comment is that of late I am receiving many less of these devious and deceptive emails.


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