Help me respond to this extremely racist email

[adventuregirl]

I am fu*&ing floored! I received this email forward from my FIL this morning and am so worked up over how incredibly ignorant racist and offensive it is to me, I cannot think of words to respond that aren't as angry as I am that someone would send this to me.

HARD TO BELIEVE!

REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of PanAm Flight 103!

REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993!

REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon!

REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the military barracks in Saudi Arabia!

REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the American Embassies in Africa!

REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the USS COLE!

REMEMBER the MUSLIM attack on the Twin Towers on 9/11/2001!

REMEMBER all the AMERICAN lives that were lost in those vicious MUSLIM attacks!

Now the United States Postal Service is making available for sale, a commemorative first class holiday postage stamp to ... REMEMBER and HONOR the EID MUSLIM holiday season.

We are forbidden prayer in schools, forbidden the pledge of allegiance in public, however a branch of our government is allowed to honor and glorify the holiday of the Muslim god. The same god of those who are destroying the USA, murder by murder.

REMEMBER when purchasing your stamps at the post office... this Muslim stamp would be a slap in the face to all those AMERICANS who died at the hands of Muslims. This stamp honors the god of those who have murdered and will continue to murder our citizens and who have and will continue to put fear into our lives.

The USP is forbidden to use the words "In God We Trust", yet a stamp honoring the god of those who are destroying the USA is acceptable.

Pass this along to every AMERICAN you know, whether by e-mail or otherwise.

I am just shaking over this. The fact that this was sent to so many people, it was one of those FW:FW:FW:..., that people think this way and have the gaul to think that others (like me) feel this way as well. I am shocked, hurt, pissed and offended at the highest level right now.

I feel like I need to reply to all people who were copied on this email and let them know what a "slap in the face" it was to read the ignorance and racism that was passed on in this email. There are so many things that I want to scream about here, my mind is spinning.

So, your thoughts, rants, advice, whatever, would be so appreciated so that I can sort it all out and get together a response. I can't let this one go. TIA

-adventuregirl

[turquoise]

Sorry folks, I deleted my post because I was just so mad when I wrote it. GRRRRRR

Sorry to all you who read it before I fixed it.

[kama'aina mama]

Snopes tackled this one a while back.
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/boycotts/eidstamp.asp
That nasty little email has been circling the globe for at least a year. I would also like to point out that Islam is a religion, not a race. So it's a bigoted email but is only racist in the sense that so many Americans can't seem to get it straight that not all Muslims are brown people living in far off countries.
Good luck politely setting your FIL straight.

[Marg of Arabia]

This stamp honors the god of those who have murdered and will continue to murder our citizens and who have and will continue to put fear into our lives.

Follow this link to see the stamp......
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp...nguage=printer



Then tell me what the difference is??? The stamps at this U.S. postal site are the same. Just different religions. Why the hell shouldn't we have a muslim one?? :

http://shop.usps.com/cgi-bin/vsbv/po...ubject/Holiday

I am angry

[kama'aina mama]

Marg... I keep waiting to see a similar essay about the CHRISTIAN who bombed OK City, etc... and how dare they print stamps about THEIR holiday.

[turquoise]

Ok, feeling better now. How about stating that you're proud to live in a country that has freedom of religion. Where people of all religions try to live together in harmony. And you're happy that religious persecution is a crime. Good for you USPS. Isn't that what most of the settlers came to the US for? Freedom from religious persecution?


but I do still wish there was a way to politely throw in something about him being a backwards inbred hick.

One can pick any religion and find a healthy heap of dirty deeds. Bad people are just bad people.

[merpk]

Isn't there a way for ISP's to track down where these originate from? If they could be cut at the start, then this whole chainmail forwarding thing wouldn't be happening, right?

I mean, if something is forwarded, it lists everybody who's got it/sent it, right?

Angry calls or cancellations might get their attention ... or some really negative publicity.

Whaddaya think?

[MelMel]

this is sorta OT, but I thought of this when reading the OP, so in my weird little head, its on topic. ANYWAY, last x-mas, I had to get stamps to send my bills, and some new years letters to family and friends...well, the PO ONLY had stamps with the 'virgin mary' or something on them.....?! no other ones available to give me, so I didnt purchase stamps. I am an atheist and absolutely could not put religious stamps on my new years letters going to everyone I know....it made me so mad, I told the guy there that it was a violation of church and state to only offer religiosely biased stamps in a government office....:LOL he didnt care in the slightest...which is fine, its really not that big of a deal.

They should have all religions, anyway. They should even have a little fish with legs or something for the evolution believing people. It is too much of a given that everyone is cool with a jesus and mary and all that stuff. ...now I'm really getting off topic!

the part of that email that really bugs me is the 'we cant pray in school, etc' he is mad because religion is excluded???? what is he doing??? what freaks.(not your fil as much as whoever supports that email) the arrogance of assuming your right, and everyone else is evil...sheesh.

[zinemama]

That makes me sick. And sad.

It's a gorgeous stamp, by the way, and the story behind it is that a bunch of AMERICAN Muslim kids petitioned the USPS for a Ramadan stamp, went through all the channels that the other special interest groups (breast cancer, etc.) do, and succeeded.

[Ms. Mom]

turquoise thanks for editing! I didn't see your original post - but thanks

This email is so HORRIBLE! I think I'd have been worked up about it as well.

Maybe you could email him back and say something like "thank you for bringing this to my attention. It's a lovely stamp and I'll REMEMBER to purchase them the next time I go to the post office". Ok, I've got a slightly evil side

I don't care for my FIL so I'd probubly go off on him for something like this. I already gave it to him about a forward on Christians banning together as Americans. It insinuated that Americans WERE a Christian society only I'm not Christian by the way!

[3boys4us]

I have received this and sent back a reply that pointed out that I could be muslim or any person on the list could be related to an Islamic person. That it was insulting esp. since. many Americans are not of the Christian right wing - our own Taliban.

[Dragonfly]

A bit T but - what a lovely stamp!

And I wanted to mention that I was very heartened the other day to see NBC put up a little "interlude" (between commercials and programming) that said, "Happy and Blessed Ramadan." Maybe insignificant, but any little step toward recognition and understanding is a positive one in my book.

As for that e-mail, I doubt that any response would make an impact. But perhaps a gentle reminder that prayer is not forbidden in schools and we are welcome to spout the pledge in public any time we like would make you feel better? That could quite nicely be coupled with a request that no further bigoted e-mails be passed your way....

[AnnMarie]

I got this email a while ago too. I was NOT happy. I don't remember what I sent back, but I know I didn't let it go. It angers me that people assume that because I'm white (even though my son's father is from Kuwait) I agree with them. I think attitudes like the one in the email are disgusting and I have to wonder what the heck is wrong with some people?!

[sha_lyn]

here is the response I sent to my cousin and everyone that she sent that horrible e mail too.

I can't even express how angry this e mail makes me. Just because few radicals do something extreme, it does not mean that those beliefs are held by the majority of those in that religion. If that were the case we should also boycott everything Christian, because of all those who have killed and claimed it was for God. Such as those who kill abortion Dr's and blow up abortion clinics.
Sorry but I find this e mail highly offensive

[Dar]

Ugh ugh ugh and yuck :-(

From a philatelic POV, Eid stamps have been coming out at this time of year since 2001, so this is actually the 3rd one.

Dar
(edited to fix year)

[dentente]

Welcome to America! Land of er...free speech? Man, the joker who penned this piece of silliness is looking to get a rise out of people. I think it's a trolly, trolly joke. That people are actually forwarding it is sad. THOSE are the people who deserve your ire. Yell at THEM.

Denny

[adventuregirl]

Thanks everyone, I am going to stew a while on this one before writing my response, all of yours are helping. I don't want to start a fight with my FIL, we have a good relationship, and in 10 years I have never heard him support anything like this and I do want to be somewhat polite, but it is so hard not to just explode.

kama, thanks for pointing out the race/religion thing, you know when I was spouting off to my dh, I was saying how could they say that, I am going to go and collect stats on Christian evils for my rebuttal. How can you compare a religion to one's country of origin (i.e. USA, we are not a race NOR a religion, but a country created based on the freedom of those things)? So I do understand that it is religious bigotry, I guess in my fury, the choice of words was incorrect.

I am going to send this stamp this year on my new year cards.

[AnnMarie]

Originally posted by adventuregirl

I am going to send this stamp this year on my new year cards.

I don't usually send cards, but this year I will, and guess which stamp is going to be on them. Thanks for the idea. :LOL I think I remember now who sent me that email and she will be getting one and I might even write under it what the stamp is because she probably won't know. :LOL

Humm, do they have any gay rights stamps? I have someone that sent a nasty email about banning gay marriages. I'd like to send her a card too.

Edit: If I wanted to go overboard I could have the card be a picture of my kids, each wearing clothing associated with different religions. I'd have to think of a quote to put under it.

[kama'aina mama]

Originally posted by AnnMarie
Edit: If I wanted to go overboard I could have the card be a picture of my kids, each wearing clothing associated with different religions. I'd have to think of a quote to put under it.

"Joy to the World"

[AnnMarie]

Originally posted by kama'aina mama
"Joy to the World"

That's a good one. But honestly, these are probably people that wouldn't know what my kids were dressed in. :LOL I'd probably have to say something about different religions too. I probably won't do it anyway, but maybe just put a quote about religion in the card.