There are a lot of things I could blog about this morning, and I'm sure I will get around to all of them, but something happened to me this morning that compelled me to write. I came to work, sat down at my desk and opened my email and I had a note from a colleague who i respect a great deal. I was excited to hear from her. Who knows what wonderful information she had to share about what's going on in our field, who got fired or hired, upcoming programs, etc... I have a lot of respect for her. Well, at least I did.
This MORON sent me an email that has been circulating for years now about the Post Office destroying African-American histroy stamps, because black people don't buy them!!!! It infuriated me and disappointed me...and let me tell you why. My parents were very big on how we obtained information. One of the worst tongue lashings I ever got was because a kid at school told me that you coul dget chicken pox twice, and I believed him. My mother (who is a nurse) wore me out! She made me go and look up chicken pox in the Encyclopedia and told me to stop believeing what everybody told me. She taught me to look for proof and evidence and not to just go on somebody's words alone. My father was the big reader and news watcher. Every day, he would read the paper and watch the news and often times made us do both things with him. He taught me that while you can't believe everything that you hear on TV or read in print, it's a great place to start. It pays to be informed about what's going on around you, and it keeps you from being tricked and taken advantage of, and falling for stupid shit like the email that was sent to me this morning.
Please be clear. I don't work for othe Post Office and I never have, but I know for a fact that this mess about the stamps is not true! Why do I know this? Well, for a few reasons. First off, I haven't read or heard about it anywhere. Second, just a few weeks ago, the Postal Service released a new Ella Fitzgerald stamp (THAT I actually read about in the newspaper). Third, it's just common sense. So in the spirit of refuting ridiculous myths here is a list of other shit that I have been told, and I know for a fact are not true. You may recognize a few and if you have ever repeated this shit as fact, you may want to check yourself.
I never worked for Snapple but I know it's not owned by the KKK.
I also don't know Eddie Murphy and Johnny Gill personally, but I know that they are not homosexual lovers.
i'm not in a gang but I know that if I flash my headlights at somebody, they won't follow me home and kill me as some sort of gang initiation.
I have never worked for Microsoft or AOL, but I know that Bill Gates will not donate $1 for every email I send, to some lil sick girl.
I don't work for Glade or the fire department but I know that Plug-Ins dont cause fires.
I don't work for the bank, but I do know that entering my pin number in reverse will not summon the police.
I'm not involved in tennis and I don't know Serena Williams, but I do know that she didn't make any negative comments about dating black men.
I don't work for Citibank but I know it's not owned by Osama Bin Laden.
I don't even watch Oprah, but I do know that Tommy Hilfiger never appeared on her show and made racists comments about black people wearing his clothes.
I have never worked for Dominos Pizza but I know that they did not end their "30 minutes or it's free" guarantee because a speeding delivery driver hit and killed a child.
And I also know that forwarding that email to somebody else will not make an automatic donation to that child's family!
I know that Darius McCrary who played Eddie Winslow on Family Matters does not have AIDS.
I know that drinking Mountain Dew will not shrink your testicles and lower your sperm count. (Diabetes maybe, but not that)
I know that bananas will not be exticnct within ten years.
I have never worked for McDonald's but I know that they are not the world's largest purchaser of cow eyeballs.
I also know that fast food restaurants and schools do not use meat that is labeled "Grade D But Edible."
The phony Willie Lynch Letter, the fake Maya Angelou poem...need I go on?
Monday, February 5, 2007
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5 comments:
Wow, man...
This a Certified Grade A RANT. I commend you!
It's hard to come across a good rant these days.
Some of these I've never heard of. Come on...entering your PIN in reverse?
I just got the entering your pin number in reverse one. Ohhh, the other day, I got one saying that congress was considering a bill that would eliminate all of the televised and broadcast preachers in America. Like, they wouldn't be able to do their thing on the airwaves anymore. Cats wanted me to sign it.
It took me less than one minute to debunk the myth. I sent the Web page back to the person and all the people they forwarded it to. Even though I was diligent this time, I am a sucker for some of them. Like, Christmas, there were bogus forwards with mad coupons for all these stores. I sent those bad boys out. I mean, who can resist a bargain? :-)
And thanks for the compliment. I get paid to write, so to know that when I'm not on the clock, people actually enjoy what I do means a lot.
Well, I appreciate the forwarded emails with store coupons. I haven't had one fail me yet.
I am truly enjoying reading all of your post....
This one was one of my favorites. You inspired me to start my own blog. Keep it up
All very interesting....coming from the guy who called me to say that Shug Knight had confessed to murdering Tupac!
-Ya Brotha from Anotha Motha
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