Don’t you just hate it when things seem to be going so well, and then suddenly things start crashing down?
I was so happy for my friend, who was going to have a baby – only now, the news is that it doesn’t have a heartbeat, it will miscarry.
It’s been a few days since I’ve talked with my friend, I expect she’ll let me know what’s happening when she can.
So, it’s been a rather crummy week.
Top it off with somebody sending chain mail! Argh!
http://www.breakthechain.org/exclusives/aussiedentist.html
Dental Misattribution
(2/3/2003) In the days following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Americans were deeply touched by what appeared to be a global outpouring of support. Unfortunately, many of these essays, rants and commentaries have proven not to be the icons of international support they are suspected to be.
SAMPLE CHAIN LETTER TEXT
You probably missed it in the rush of news last week, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American.
(Cut rest of chain letter junk)
END CHAIN LETTER TEXT
In the weeks following the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington D.C., the e-mailing American public was bolstered by several chain letters that appeared to be rousingly supportive entreaties from international authors. Under scrutiny, however, most of these proved to be misunderstandings (as in a 30-year old Canadian Editorial), under-attributed (as in a Romanian “Ode to America), or cases of mistaken identity, as in this one.
This essay was not written by “an Australian dentist,” but by an associate law professor at Virginia’s George Mason University. Titled “What is an American: A Primer,” it was published in the National Review on September 25, 2001. The e-mail version differs from the original not only in attribution, but also contains several edits and editorial comments and omits the author’s closing paragraphs.
We can’t be sure where the “Australian Dentist” attribution came from, but can safely assume it is another case of “False Attribution Syndrome.” Most likely, such an individual received the essay and forwarded it, inadvertently adding his identity to it. This is just one of the many hazards of forwarding chain letters. If you wouldn’t want to be accused of writing something like this, you shouldn’t forward it. Break this chain.
Category: America At War
References: National Review Online, Snopes.com
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Please stop sending chain mail, and please look up these things on breakthechain.org snopes.com and truthorfiction.com instead of continuing the spread of this stuff all over the net.
