"Black" mail...

I often find the gullibility of my colleagues and friends to be amusing, and yet at times, alarming. Because, like every other thing, there are two sides to the matter.

Hoaxes and rumors feed on our gullibility, on our desire to believe in them, either for want of something worthwhile to do, or because they really seem to affect us in a manner we would rather they not, or they are plain fantastic. Not a single day passes without me getting some mail exhorting people to keep the chain going, else bad luck fall on them, or some mail about some really fantastic new thing or happening. I don't really mind the latter type, I really don't. I get a laugh once in a while, thanks to that category of forwards. (Although I do wish people wouldn't send so many of them. I can't laugh that much, can I?)

The former category, the blackmail variety, is something which I find to be the most irritating and offensive of mails. I mean, you want me to forward the mail to as many people as possible, fine, say so! What is the meaning of relating to me the story of this lady who didn't maintain the flow of the chain and lost her boyfriend as a result? Or of the man who lost his entire family because he ignored the call of the mail? Heck, if this were true, there are so many mails that I haven't forwarded, that I should be virtually drowning in a sea of misfortune. And yet I am not, am I? Not that I wish to be seen to tempt the Fates, but I do think they are being insulted here.

If there is something that people fear more than body odor, it is bad luck. You may be a rational man to the world, wedded to Reason, but when a black cat crosses your path, you will be sure to take seven steps backwards and then alone move onwards. People still have the habit of having some or the other good-luck charm with them; they have lucky pens, shirts, even underwear (Don't look at me, I don't care which underwear I am wearing, so long as it's clean!)! The point being, even in this age, we fear nothing as much as the wrath of misfortune, and especially when it concerns our near and dear ones.
And when I get such mails, trying to capitalize on fears, I am offended. I mean, does my friend think I am as big an idiot as he/she is? You feel that by sending a few bytes of data here and there, you can avoid something? Hell no! If it's going to happen, even if you send a million mails per day, it ain't gonna change, baby!

So, don't send me any mail that borders on such shameless blackmail! I don't want your senseless junk clogging my accounts!