some of my friends keep forwarding me these stupid wingnut emails, and they think they are funny. When i snap back at them and tell them these emails are garbage, they patronise me with fluff psychoanalysis and tell me to take a chill pill. Here is one such email and the exchanges I had with my friend. Let me know what you think. I think we need to stand up to these stupid non-funny "joke" emails going around. The memes must be killed.
the "joke":
A man is walking through the zoo when he sees a little girl leaning into the lion's cage. Suddenly, the lion grabs her by the cuff of her jacket and tries to pull her inside to devour her right in front of the little girl's screaming parents.
The man runs to the cage, hits the lion square on the nose with a powerful punch. Whimpering from the pain, the lion jumps back letting go of the girl, and the man returns her to her terrified parents.
A New York Times reporter has seen the whole scene and says to the rescuer. "Sir, this was the most gallant and brave thing I saw a man do in my whole life," he says.
"Why, it was nothing," the man says. "Really, the lion was behind bars and I knew God would protect me just as He did Daniel in the lion's den long, long ago. I just saw this little kid in danger, and acted as I felt was right."
I had noticed the bible in your pocket -- are you by chance a republican?" asked the journalist.
"Yes, and I'm a Christian on my way to a bible study," the man replies.
"Well, I'll make sure this act won't go unnoticed. I'm a journalist and tomorrow's paper will have this on the front page," he says before leaving.
The following morning the man buys a copy of the New York Times to see if it indeed brings news of his actions, and reads on first page:
"Right Wing Republican Christian Fundamentalist Assaults African Immigrant and Steals His Lunch."
my response:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/...
his response:
Some hear, but do not hear. Some see, but do not see.
my response:
hate crimes against blacks are a sad reality, and black people have to deal with it on a daily basis. it is not a joking matter.
He comes back with fluff psychoanalysis, including with suggested fluff psychoanalysis reading:
You internal state is troublesome my friend, if only we lived closer. Have you read any of Eckhart Tolle's material? Not sure of your commute and/or if you're into audio books, I'd be happy to share if you're interested.
my response:
the world is a troublesome place. you can't just blow things off by saying "take a chill pill". your "joke" suggests that reports of "Right Wing Republican Christian Fundamentalist" attacking black people are just silly exaggerations, and they are not. any such suggestion is irresponsible, and definitely not funny.
more fluff:
yes, it is a troublesome place. we both know this story illustrates the problem on the other end of the spectrum, where there are MANY silly exaggerations of hate crimes. This story obviously points to those cases, and not to the other side of spectrum as your url exemplifies. This atrocity is simply the result of the mind taking over the body, pure possession, identified with the external mind made world of madness. Respresentative of the better part of human kind. The residue of the past which becomes collective, no sense of Being. There's a revolution in the world today, and it has nothing to do with politics old friend. Stop in barnes and noble and read the chapters on "pain body" in Ekhart Tolle's book called "A New Earth". Being consumed by anger, resentment, and hate only adds to the problem causing both of the above situations. Thing about this - or better yet, see how long you can go without thinking at all, a couple times a day - whenever we exchange opinions, there is nothing but anger and resentment behind your thoughts. I urge you to at least explore the possibility of Being, and for humanity's sake don't shrug this off as "take a chill pill" - really look inside and see what's going on there. I know that you don't believe in God. Inside you is a beautiful place, the real you, Being, not the mind identified ego which your anger comes from.
response:
i don't always respond to your emails with anger. only when you forward wingnut stuff. send me some real silly jokes, and i'll have a hearty laugh :) are there silly exaggerations of hate crimes? maybe. but some things you just don't joke about. did you hear the one about the Jew in Auschwitz? get my point?
fluff:
you're comparing apples and oranges.. the story was about how the media and how it twists the truth (as they all do, in both directions) to meet the political slant of the organization, which is normal. it was just an illustration of that end of spectrum, you compared it to hate crimes, which makes sense based on your internal state. Indeed if you read through your responses to the "wingnut stuff", they are very much entrenched in anger, but it's hard to see that when identified with egoic mind. peace.
response:
for every 1 exaggerated report of hate crimes, there are 9 which are not, and 10 crimes which don't even get reported. to pass around the internet a "joke" which points to the possibility of that 1 exaggeration out of 19 reported and unreported hate crime, is to distract from the real problem: the permeation of our society with racism. the "other side of the spectrum" as you call it, doesn't need any more highlighting. it is already bad enough that most people don't realize how deeply racism permeates our society. you're not doing anybody any favors by passing around such "jokes". yes i get mad when i see my friend forwarding this stuff around. if i didn't care i would just ignore you. it's because i care about you that i bother to respond.
peace2u2
extra fluffy:
I agree that it's always worth the dialogue, however I'm afraid we're in complete disagreement on this topic old pal.. As history and our current state of affairs shows, the mind is capable of atrocious acts when allowed to possess the human body. Our Being, or presence, is the only way to persevere. Until the revolution fully takes hold on the humanity, through spiritual teachings and meditation, two guys just like us will be having THE SAME conversation 200 years from now. Primary reality is within, secondary reality is without (mind and body). To assume a mental position on a topic or debate is perfectly normal, but attaching your identity to it has been the cause of madness since the evolution of civilization. To be wrong in an argument is true death to the egoic mind. The only moment you will ever have is NOW, nothing ever happens in the future... it happens in the now, nothing has ever happened in the past, it happened in the now. This concept will never be understood by the mind as it will result in its death.
Two men of the same belief system, Bill and John, were walking along a path in the country came upon a town where the streets were very muddy. There was a finely dressed woman waiting to cross one of these streets, and Bill picked her up and carried her across to the other side. They continued out of the town and as they walked, John kept thinking about how this act goes against their beliefs, and how could Bill have done such a thing in pure acceptance, without guilt, etc. Finally after festering over this to the point where he couldn't take it any longer, John question Bill on his action in the town with great disgust. Bill simply responded, "John, I put the woman down hours ago - why do you still carry her?".
The duck with a human mind.
- Two ducks were in a pond, one with a human mind John, and one with the mind (or as they say "no mind", pure presence in the here and now) who will we call Bill. They get too close to each others territory or natural space in the pond and have a fight. After the fight, Bill flutters his wings, releases the negative energy and swims on. John on the other hand, swims away Thinking. Thinking, how could Bill have come that close to me, who does he think he is swimming in my area of the pond. Bill doesn't respect me or any one else in this pond. John continues to think and repeat the past. Then he goes on and has a disagreement with a snake, and the cycle continues. Over time, the residue from his past consumes him subconciously without him knowing it. Welcome to the pain body.
response:
you've got me all wrong. this is not about me and my ego. open your eyes to the issues that affect our society. think a few minutes before clicking the forward button, about the implications of these internet emails on people's mindsets and attitudes on social issues. you might think that these emails are insignificant and just give you a chuckle, but in fact they perpetuate damaging memes (google meme if you don't know what it is) in people's minds. thoughts and mental states are precursors to actions. if people have the mindset that racism and hate crimes are a minor issue in our country, then they will do nothing to fight against it. they might even contribute to it subconsciously.
One of the most important tools of propaganda is to keep repeating the lies that are to be propagated. The more you repeat a lie, the more it gets ingrained in people's heads, and no matter how many times the opposing side refutes the lies, people will only remember the lies. This is why you must not contribute to this constant repetition of the lies by forwarding these emails. How do you think the lies about Obama being a moslem, terrorist, etc. got started? Some loser started making up stories and emailing them around to people, and people kept forwarding them around, and before you know it people started believing the garbage.
Take a look at the strategies used by master propaganda machines, and compare them to foxaganda and the wingnut propaganda that you see on the news and in the emails. You will see a striking resemblance.
http://www.psywarrior.com/...
so next time you forward me these emails and I respond by strongly opposing the propaganda, don't respond to me with fluff psychoanalysis, and think about the propaganda factor of the emails you are forwarding.
will update as/if the exchange continues....