Periodically I receive emails with emotionally manipulative photos and a request to add my name to the bottom. It also hopes I will pass it on to 30, 100, or a million friends so my voice will be heard in the fight against some injustice.
These emails promise that by adding my name and sending it along I've actually saved a blue footed boobie, or a whale, or the world. I always scroll to the bottom to see how many names I know and then mentally add them to the category of "Are You Freakin' Kidding Me!"
I generally don't have dumb friends, but I do have a few bleeding hearts who will do absolutely anything if they think it might help a baby penguin survive its first year.
This includes believing that at some point the millions and millions of emails with as many names will somehow be aggregated by the email petition fairy and sent along to the appropriate animal rights activist group who will be so happy that so many people cared.
Now this may sound harsh, but even if the email makes you want to cry and pet puppies for an hour, DON'T SEND IT TO ME BECAUSE I DON'T CARE THAT YOU CARE. Maybe the ALL CAPS was uncalled for but please....if you really care that much about saving whatever it is that made you cry, get your Google on, and find an organization that is actually saving something and write them a check or spend a week volunteering.
And because I think it's an important point worth repeating THERE IS NO EMAIL PETITION FAIRY WHO CAN MAGICALLY FIND AND AGGREGATE ALL OF THE EMAILS THAT ARE SAVING THE WORLD.
