| Synopsis |
Since the September 11th attack, donations from around the world have
come in to New York, to help the city and its population recover.
Automobile manufacturers have cashed in on the wave of patriotism by
offering 0% financing on new cars, generating a good deal of news. This
email purports to say that US car companies have further donated
generously to relief funds for New York, while most foreign car
companies haven't done a thing.
See the email here.
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| Why? |
For starters, CNN/Headline News never surveyed automakers on their September 11th donations.
Many of the foreign car makers listed as having done nothing have
done quite a bit. Nissan and BMW have each given $1m to the Red Cross and have donated
vehicles, for starters. Honda has given over
$1.5m through a variety of different donations, despite being the
most excoriated company in the email. Most other auto manufacturers
mentioned have donated many hundreds of thousands of dollars, or matched
employee donations of similar amounts.
|
| Commentary |
The email is just another one of the bogus anonymous emails that
surface during any significant media issue in the US. Whether it is the
Marines not watching Bill Clinton's back, or Hillary Clinton snubbing
the Gold Star Mothers, these emails are almost always right-wing
propaganda to discredit the typical "enemies" of the American
conservative right: liberals, foreigners, immigrants, environmentalists,
homosexuals, whatever.
The rumor ignores relationships between companies, saying Audi gave
nothing while praising Volkswagen. Nevermind the fact that Volkswagen
AG *owns* Audi, that's apparently not helpful in deriding foreigners.
The fact that Daewoo went bankrupt in November is no reason for them to
not give millions, either. And where is Renault, Land Rover, Lada, or
any other the other dozens of car makers? I guess their lack of
commercials on US television renders them immune to attacks from
lunk-headed bigots that write emails like this. What makes this rumor
all the more ridiculous, targeting "foreign" car makers, is the fact
that all of these car makers have factories in the United States, and
employ hundreds of thousands of Americans, and many of them have high
investment by US car companies. It is the height of ignorance to paint
these companies as somehow enemies of the USA.
If you receive an anonymous email that either gloats about or
condemns a current media topic, chances are you're being lied to. Don't
forward them on: that only gives the lie more power.
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Urban Legend Zeitgeist: Those Heartless Foreign Bastards!