Thing 002: "Fwd: Thinking of You"

[omteddy2006]

I received an e-mail from my mother-in-law this morning. It was a forwarded e-mail sent from her iphone with the subject line "Thinking of you." It began with a biblical quote and the salutation "Dear Woman of God" and ended with the instructions, 

Now you're on the clock Tell nine sisters you love them, including me. Get going girl!  Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps if you are not willing to move your feet.

MIL had forwarded it to nine people as instructed. I was the ninth on the list.



Yes. Yes, I can see how you were thinking of me (and in what order).



Delete.


Please comment if you feel the same as me on these things. I think I've made myself perfectly clear in the space between the lines. Note the amount of space between the lines. :P

Comments

[whytewytch4.livejournal.com]

Remember they used to have this before with regular mail? It's just easier to cut and paste and hit "forward" nowadays. I REALLY agree with the space between the lines. -_-

[omteddy2006.livejournal.com]

Yes, I remember regular mail and the chain mail that occasionally came with it.

At least with snail chain mail, you couldn't see where you ranked in someone's conscious. I was last on a list that wasn't alphabetical. I was also three or four people behind her other daughter-in-law who is in the process of possibly divorcing (after a year, no one is sure anymore) her favorite son.

OUCH

[whytewytch4.livejournal.com]

Take it as a compliment? You were the last one she wanted to saddle with this annoying message? :)

[jagnikjen.livejournal.com]

Oh, I hate crap like that. My mother sends me select items, but like you, the buck ends with me. :)

[omteddy2006.livejournal.com]

My mom is also bad about it. When I first had e-mail (back in the early 90s), I forwarded these now and then.

You have to wonder, "How many of these do I have to ignore before you take the hint?"

[sarah204.livejournal.com]

I don't do chain mail at all ( well I might make an exception for a knight in shiny chain mail but that's it,)

[omteddy2006.livejournal.com]

Well, we might all make an exception to that one!

[roh-wyn.livejournal.com]

My parents send this kind of stuff all the time, and I'm always wondering why there's isn't an "unsubscribe" button.

Do you think she put you so far down on the list because she knows you well enough to predict your reaction? ;)

[omteddy2006.livejournal.com]

Do you think she put you so far down on the list because she knows you well enough to predict your reaction? ;)

No, I think she got desperate after four or five people and scrambled at the end. Anticipating my reaction to things isn't her strong suit.

[thymelady.livejournal.com]

WHYYYY do people keep forwarding this JUNK!?!? That is not caring. >:-P (And - partly as a church-goer in a very secular country - I am baffled by the use of God here.)

[omteddy2006.livejournal.com]

I am baffled by the use of God here.

American Christianity has gotten completely out of whack. It's almost a commodity now. You either have Jesus, or you don't. And, if you don't I know where you can find him...with the jazziest music, the best sermons, and a coffee/bookshop that can't be beat. Seriously... my brother's church (north of Dallas) has a coffee shop/bookstore in the lobby. :P

The only thing missing now-a-days is reverence.

[thymelady.livejournal.com]

American Christianity has gotten completely out of whack.

The sad truth is that it put the US, all of the US, in a very bad light. That's bad in itself, USA is so big and diverse. But things like this is what the news says about the US here, all the time. The extent does still baffle me, though. Preaching is one thing, having the audacity to say 'God wants you to...' in a situation like this makes me very uneasy. :-/ I'm sad to say that a person like that would scare an ordinary Scandinavian. Not that our secular ways are the best: we know far too little about religion in general, which makes us do unforgivable blunders on a daily basis all over the world. Still... gaaah, it makes my skin crawl. And I shouldn't judge anymore than they do. *shakes head* I'm worried.

[omteddy2006.livejournal.com]

I'm sad to say that a person like that would scare an ordinary Scandinavian.

I must be an ordinary Scandinavian then! That's actually a relief as there are plenty of times when I do not feel like I fit in over here.

It has gotten worse since I started home educating my son. The homeschool community attracts A LOT of religious-types and I am definitely in the minority there. It's hard, but I presevere as a "maybe, maybe not" spiritualist who just wants everyone to get along. I may be going to Hell, but I'll try NOT to take anyone with me (unlike the vocal, placard-carrying ones who are happy to send people that way...)

[thymelady.livejournal.com]

X-D Come to the north, we have cookies!

Your reasoning raises so many thoughts. Heh, they can't all be put down. But what is sin, what is Hell, what is religion. So many people here say 'I believe in something, a benevolent force of some kind'. Loads of people, myself included, feel this force in nature. That doesn't make us Wicca or heathen in any way. (Our drinking makes us heathen.) Love, says the New Testament, is the answer.

No matter what religion, I will always react with mistrust when anyone takes it upon themselves to judge others 'according to God's word'. To me that is quite blasphemous, to be honest. o_O

[shinysparks]

This. I have cousins on my dad's side who were asking for donations to take their kids on a mission trip with them - the mission trip was actually a cruise that stopped in a few places where they could preach. But mostly, it was a cruise. A vacation. That was another one of those "back away from the keyboard" moments, sadly. *sigh*

[shinysparks]

Oh yes. I've actually prevented most of my relatives from having my email address for that very reason, and was one of the reasons I left facebook. The ones that bothered me were the religious and political ones (e.g., God doesn't want you to vote for [insert politician's name here] and here's a list of really scary reasons why! or God kills people who don't believe in him.) Ignoring the fact that I had to drag myself away from the computer to prevent myself from replying (to all) with, "Do you people ever take a moment to think critically and question what you've read before passing on this mindless propaganda/hatred/crap? Oh wait, I think I already know the answer to that..." it actually got on my nerves after a while. So, I changed my email and didn't tell them. >;)

[omteddy2006.livejournal.com]

Most people who repeat the mindless hatred CAN'T think. That's why they repeat stuff. And, I'm not singling out your family here. I'm related to a few myself.

[shinysparks]

The worst is when it comes from relatives that you otherwise really like. There was one in particular that just seemed really angry and intolerant, even though he's usually a nice guy. It blows my mind sometimes. :-/

[ctquill.livejournal.com]

I can't stand chain mail. Delete, every time. If anyone who actually knows me sent me something like this, I'd be very unimpressed.

(And *ouch* to the order of the list.)

[spectralis.livejournal.com]

I'm another deleter of chain e-mails. I don't understand why people pass these things on. Do they *really* think ill luck will befall them if they don't? *Really*? Baffling.