Chain E-Mails Used to Rally Americans
Mass e-mailings, which have long annoyed people by flooding inboxes with bad jokes, get-rich-quick schemes and“Top 10”lists, are now being used to try to rally
Americans after the devastating terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon .
From lighting candles to wearing the red, white and blue colors of the American flag, several e-mails swirled around the country on Thursday, urging readers to,
in the words of one, show those terrorists that we Americans stick together”.
That e-mail said Friday, September 14 should be“Flags Across America”day, and asked citizens to display a U.S. flag at their homes or in their cars.
“Let's keep the meaning of UNITED in‘United States’,”the e-mail read.
Another declared Friday to be“U.S. Color Day”.
“Red, white and blue should be worn in honor of our fellow Americans that died. The goal is to get the whole nation to participate,”it said, adding,“Send
this to 10 other people.”
A third mass e-mail asked people to stop whatever they are doing at 7 p.m. Friday evening and light a candle.
“We will show the world that Americans are strong and united together against terrorism. Please pass this to everyone on your e-mail list. We need to reach
everyone across the United States quickly.” 电子邮件传“团结”信息 洪水般的蹩脚笑话、致富秘诀及诸如“十大排行榜”等一类的垃圾邮件着实让人恼火,不过就在美国世贸中心和五角大楼遭受毁灭性袭击之后,电子邮件有了新的用途——将美国人团结起来。
9月13日,网上充斥着各种激励美国人团结起来的电子邮件。其中一些邮件是用这样的话语来激励人们的:“让恐怖分子看看我们美国人是紧紧团结在一起的。”
有一封邮件建议让9月14日成为美国“国旗飘扬日”,号召人们在家里或是车上悬挂国旗。邮件中说:“让我们坚持‘美利坚合众国’这个名字里‘合众’二字的含义。”
另一封邮件宣称9月14日将成为“美国国色日”。邮件中说:“为了我们死去的美国同胞,我们应该穿上红白蓝三种颜色的服装。我们的目的是号召全国人们参与进来,所以请将此邮件转发给其他10个人。”
还有一封邮件号召人们在9月14日晚上7点钟停下手里的所有工作,点燃蜡烛。邮件中说:“我们要让世界知道在对抗恐怖主义的斗争中,美国人是坚强的,是团结在一起的。请将此邮件转发给你信箱栏中的所有人。我们需要和美国的所有人都尽快取得联系。”
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