Do we need more meanness??? I sent this reply to a "friend" who sends me e-mails...

full of man-bashing "jokes" because she was in a bad marriage 30 years ago: I don't object to you sending me jokes, cartoons, or photos. I object to the jokes that imply women are better than men, or where some woman gets all smug about the stupidity of some man. The funniest jokes are based on truth, and this concept of female supremacy is no more valid than male supremacy ever was or is. Yeah, so men do stupid things. Women do stupid things, too. Everyone does stupid things. If the target of the contempt had been "ni**ers" or "fa**ots" instead of "husbands" you would have realized how destructive the sentiments were, and not passed them along. But because the contempt is aimed at men you think it's ok. Bigotry is bigotry - it's not ok. So you had a bad marriage, well so did I, so did [her daughter], so have a lot of people. Actually, [her ex-husband] has had more bad marriages than you have. Let it go. Those jokes didn't hurt any of the men who hurt you, they only poisoned your own mind with toxic meanness. And poisoned the minds of the women you sent them to. I like the cute pictures of animals and kids, funny road signs, silly people (in general) doing silly things, weirdly decorated vehicles, awesome scenery... things that are inspiring or amusing. Things that expand my world, not shrink it down. Aside from being based on an untrue concept ("women are better than men") the man-bashing stuff is just plain mean. It's not YOU or hearing from you that's the problem. I just don't want extra helpings of meanness. I see and hear so much mean, stupid, ignorant, ugly, anti-social stuff while going to & from work, and deal with ignorance and prejudice among the management staff where I work. I don't need more. It's depressing. I try to stay positive, and look forward to the future, and do what I can to pave my way to good years ahead. Things like the content of that e-mail just bum me out. So it's not a matter of the jokes, photos and cartoons you pass along not being funny; some of them are hilarious. And I'm always receptive to a [grandchild] story, or some pics of [her daughter's] family, or anything personal about you and your family whether it's happy news or sad. That's the stuff life is made of - the true things that happen to us all. Just please don't send me packets of hatred and prejudice. Thank you.

By Anonymous on General,