Tuesday, December 9, 2014

A Necessary Repeat

Three years ago, I wrote a post about fear mongering.  At the time, I referenced an email I had received.  Now the same practice has transferred to social media.  How often do you see a post warning women about some fictitious gang initiation, stranger in the back seat, hundred dollar bill on the ground, or the myriad of other urban legends created for no other purpose than to incite fear?  

And how often do you see otherwise intelligent people repost these myths without checking the information?  You wouldn't believe such rumors if you heard them...does seeing them on the Internet make them more plausible?  With that in mind, here is that post from April 19, 2011.

Spreading Fear

Today I received yet another email warning women about another threat.  This one was a crying child asking to be taking home and the woman attacked upon reaching the address.  In less than one minute, I had checked Snopes and found it to be false...another urban legend.  Hitting"Reply All" (a thing I rarely do), I informed the ladies on the email that it was not true and attached the link containing the denouement.

Why do otherwise intelligent women buy into these rumors?  Women today admittedly face threats to their safety...but why forward something you haven't even checked to be factual?  Is it a misguided attempt to keep a friend safe?  Or is it a gullibility that only exists online?  These same women wouldn't believe half of these stories if they were told them face to face.  Is it because the account purports to be verified by CNN or Fox?  If so, wouldn't a reasonable person check those sources?

What frightens me is that these friends allow this additional fear into their lives.  That they live with yet more reasons to look over their shoulders.  That this fear pushes out capacity for joy.

Please, if you receive ANY email that contains FW in the subject line...check it out!!  Don't forward something that could impact someone's daily life and/or routine without verifying at the very minimum that it is true!!

If you truly want to help a girlfriend...give them a call!  Ask how they're doing...ask if there is anything you can do for them!  This simple action will do so much more than a scary, false email.

And those are my random thoughts for today...

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