it's not that I feel uncomfortable, I feel like a petulant, whiny child. I think if I can't manage to feel like something other than a child lecturing a parent while writing the durn thing then I shouldn't send it.
Well, you're not petulant, but you have to consider why you're writing and what it'll accomplish. Basically, I made a decision for myself some time ago that fanatics will always remain fanatics until something urges them to think; and until I deem myself a writer skilled enough to make people really think, I don't write about things I don't understand thoroughly
( ... )
Your comments are completely sensible, and the email you're responding to was silly.
As to what to do -- Do you think your aunt read it carefully, thought about it, and really agrees with it? Do you think responding to her would make her think or change her mind? Might be worth just saying "hey, can you stop forwarding things to me"
she hasn't sent me anything in two years, 'cause I sent her something saying basically "don't send every piece of spam you get on to me, kthnx" so she's prolly fairly serious about this one.
Wow, I got this same email from my grandma. And it made me mad, too! It's nice to see that I wasn't the only one outraged by this.
I think your feelings are completely justified and I like your response...but in my opinion responding to "fanatics" (as Oleg puts it) never does much to change their mind. At least not in an email. A long face-to-face discussion might be a different matter, but somehow I doubt that's going to happen in your case as you don't see your aunt much. I, too, thought about responding but in the end I figured that it was unlikely to change her mind and would only alienate me from someone I actually do love a lot. So I pressed delete and stewed for another hour or so.
For the most part, I really like your response. In fact, the only part I don't like really, are your last two sentences.
OTOH, I've got to agree with Oleg and loveandoj: it doesn't matter what you say, because, in the end, it's impossible to convince someone who fervently believes an irrational position.
the last two sentences were written after I'd gone away and stewed more. mostly I don't get how people can really believe that god likes for them to do this.
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As to what to do -- Do you think your aunt read it carefully, thought about it, and really agrees with it? Do you think responding to her would make her think or change her mind? Might be worth just saying "hey, can you stop forwarding things to me"
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I think your feelings are completely justified and I like your response...but in my opinion responding to "fanatics" (as Oleg puts it) never does much to change their mind. At least not in an email. A long face-to-face discussion might be a different matter, but somehow I doubt that's going to happen in your case as you don't see your aunt much. I, too, thought about responding but in the end I figured that it was unlikely to change her mind and would only alienate me from someone I actually do love a lot. So I pressed delete and stewed for another hour or so.
Hope you are well!
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OTOH, I've got to agree with Oleg and loveandoj: it doesn't matter what you say, because, in the end, it's impossible to convince someone who fervently believes an irrational position.
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