Re: Important Follow-up Message

In a message dated 04/12/2002 9:09:38 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[email protected] writes:

<< a message went out from a member concerning the urgent support of National
Public Radio (NPR). This issue illustrates how NPR advances its mission:
through "listener support." >>

A couple of points should be made:

1. Whether or not someone supports NPR or not, a message about it has
no more to do with behavior analysis than, say, were someone to post
a message urging support for the John Dillinger Died for You Society
(see Shea & Wilson, 1975 for extensive coverage of this vital Society).

2. The "Help NPR!" message was a HOAX message, one that has been
making the rounds of the internet since two college students started
the HOAX (how many times must it be repeated that it was a HOAX
anyway?).  They sent out the original HOAX message in 1995.

Back then, the hoax claimed that Newt Gingrich and the Republicans
were all set to wipe out funding for NPR, PBS, and Big Bird of
Sesame Street.  The Big Bird bit dropped out after a while.  Variations
of the message also cropped up over the years. Sometime in 1998
someone added an "urgent message" stated "last week" by Nina
Totenberg to the chain letter.  Since the hoax continues to make the
rounds of the internet, and since no matter which week it is, there is
always a "last week," poor Nina must be speaking the same "urgent"
warning week in and week out....

3. What's incredible is that in spite of several messages delibertely
written by me to point out the hoax, there are still people hitting
Behav-An with the same letter, dutifully, but one should add, ignorantly,
adding their name to that hoax letter's online "petition."  This, after
giving links to the snopes.com Urban Legends site!  This goes to
show that ideology can blind people to fact, I guess.

4. "At least their hearts are in the right place."  Yes, perhaps, but one
wishes their minds were as well.

  -- JE