Propaganda

Oh boy. I have this dumb ass Republican friend who constantly bombards me with these ridiculous forwards. Last year he sent me one about Oliver North explaining to Congress about why he spends so much money on his own home security. Then, supposedly, he references Osama and states that the US better follow his own personal heed for home security because Bin Laden worries him. Of course, all of this is prior to 9/11.

I thought this was very odd because when in grad school - shortly after 9/11 - I received a similar forward but this one dealt with Al Gore warning Congress about Osama.

All untruths. A quick visit to this site http://www.truthorfiction.com/ confirms that both stories are total BS. Actually, the only truth I've ever found concerning these types of email urban legends is that if you watch Silence of the Lambs, Agent Starling (Jodie Foster) searches the FBI's database for Hannibal Lecter and, sure enough, just to the left of Lecter is Bin Laden's picture. So should we really declare that the film's director, Jonathan Demme, should get credit for predicting 9/11 a full decade before it actually happened?

But what scares me is that some knot heads - like my Republican friend - actually fall in line with this crap.

Which brings me to his latest email. It asks the viewer "Who are you going to vote for?" (apparently, they've never heard of NOT ending a sentence with a preposition). Then you are urged to scroll down until you come to two pictures. The one on the left is of a young Obama wearing some funky clothes (right out of the 60's), but the implication is that he is wearing some Muslim religious garb (like my idiot Republican friend could even identify a Muslim or tell me five quick things about their religion or beliefs) and will likely sabotage the entire country if he were elected president (somehow if George 2.0 can't pull this whole damn country down, I doubt anyone could!). Now on the right hand side of the email (a nice little touch of symbolism by the forward designer) is a picture of McCain standing in front of a fighter pilot proudly holding his helmet in his right hand. This is a great picture. Yet, are we supposed to base our decision to elect a leader of this country solely on two pictures?

Give me a break.

Of course, in such wonderfully elegant prose, the Republican propaganda ends with the endearing statement: "Don't be a dumb ass."

The answer to which should be forever etched across George 2.0's forehead "Too Late."

I just wonder how many people fall for crap like this? Luckily, when I see my friend again this fall (he volunteers as a 9th grade football coach), I will remind him how he would like it if he were running for a public office and I were to download some of the pictures he had sent around detailing him as a manager (oh boy) for some semi- amateur (heavy, heavy emphasis on that adjective phrase) wrestlers where he is wearing a God-awful purple robe and a ten pound medallion (the 70's are over buddy) along with some sort of faux-gold scepter (I'm not making this up. Oh, how I wish I was, though) and then sent them around to the public asking them if this is the type of person they would like having anything at all to do with our community!

But in our age of ten second soundbites and instant images, an innocuous picture or quote can be twisted into a smear campaign. And many will be fool enough to fall for it.

At least I've gotten an assignment out of this experience. I'm going to have my students collect all of the forwards they get warning or advising them to do something. Then we'll stockpile them and begin a fact finding research project. What are real and what are false? Better yet (for I fear zero will prove to be legit), what is the real purpose behind each forward. Now that sounds interesting. A great way to wake kids up to the ways in which others try to manipulate us.