pet peeve of the week: chain letters
Dear Mr. Anthony de Croud,
This week I received an e-mail that purportedly was originally written by you.
I perceived from your letter, Mr. de Croud, that you meant to enlighten me by putting, in said letter, what you claim are “Chinese proverbs”. The bottom line of those little sayings seems to be that money can’t buy you happiness.
I am so glad you told me.
I worry, however, that your wisdom may not reach those who really need it. Do they have broadband in Sudan? How about laptops? I mean, I’m pretty darn sure there are craploads of children there who think that money could help get them food and clean water so they’ll actually survive, which they might think would bring them happiness. But that is apparently a mistake.
If I wanted to be rude, Mr. de Croud, I could tell you to stick your sanctimonious bullshit somewhere where it won’t bother me. I am, however, a very nice girl, and wouldn’t dream of doing such things.
I will, however, tell you that if I ever receive similar crap again – especially if it contains veiled threats about misfortunes that will befall me if I don’t forward it – I shall kindly ask God to make a sea gull take a dump on your head.
Yours sincerely,
Agneta
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Agneta,
I agree with you,nobody can get his happiness from some prayers or sending a -called-lucky-letter.
Nguyễn Cảnh Thọ - November 22, 2007 at 7:04 am
Hiya, I agree…. there seems to be a conflict of opinion in the guys own mind, money can’t buy you happiness, so send this email on and get loads of money ….. uh??
I do like the sentiments re money not buying you happiness though
Philip R - December 18, 2007 at 9:33 am
What got me riled up was the smug clichéing on how money can’t buy you happiness when we have a world where millions of children could avoid a painful death if they only got clean water, mosquito nets and vaccines. So maybe money can’t buy them happiness, bit it could buy them survival and all I’m saying is that it’s pretty hard to be happy if you’re DEAD.
On a related note; I’ve gotten quite a few more chain letters lately and I’d like to know why so many are allegedly written by missionaries? Like, the missioning isn’t keeping them busy enough? I always figured chain letters was Satan’s greatest invention since rush hour traffic because you get how many souls the anger they generate have won him, right?
Seriously missionaries, you need to STOP that shit. Take up crocheting or something that does no harm. Or you could just go home and let everybody believe wtf they want…
Just a thought.
Agneta of Sweden - December 18, 2007 at 8:19 pm
I AGREE, LET THEM BELIEVE WHAT THEY WANT!
Pio Porta - December 28, 2007 at 5:30 am
Unless it’s that aliens built the pyramids. That certain idiocy really bugs me. No one should be allowed to believe that aliens built the pyramids.
Agneta of Sweden - December 29, 2007 at 12:00 pm
I have to agree with you Agneta and the rest of you leaving comments. After I read what you had to say I sent it to 18 of my friends, yes, not 20 as they instruct you in the letter. That means I should come by some luck and if I happened to win money because, I did send it I’ll be definitely giving some of it to the needy, but until then keep helping my friends gather wheelchairs and such to fill a container and send it to Africa.
Sincerely, Brigid
brigid - January 6, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Mr De Croud, if he exists, should take spelling lessons as well. What a crock.
Jay Bee - January 9, 2008 at 10:44 pm
Agneta, really enjoyed reading your letter!… and if only the orginator would look up “Anthony De Croud” on the internet.
but the fact that we are here leaving responses means that they are lots out there who still forward them! to those who genuinely forward to 20 people (or bcc all) out of greed for “luck”, I suggest you reply with a link to this site to educate your particular “friend” about the idiosyncracies of such a chain letter. In my case, my friend had only 15 people on the mailing list (and not bcc), so she did it purely ‘cos it’s meaningful. Would have appreciate it more if she took out the loads of anti-climax crap in the second half, but learned to ignore these long time ago.
Took the trouble to look up ‘cos I am from South Africa, and just in case this Anthony really existed, it would have given me great pleasure to confront the a**hole… well, he doesn’t exist, but Agneta’s letter kind of made up for it. Tks!
Marco of S.Africa/Hong Kong - January 12, 2008 at 8:12 am
Whoa, thanks, Marco!
And yeah, I got this several times so lots of people are still forwarding it.
Agneta of Sweden - January 13, 2008 at 11:03 pm
Hey,
I just got the email and googled “anthony De Croud” and found this blog. I can’t believe that people would actually believe this and send it on in some small hope that fortune would land their way. I sincerely doubt this guy is actually a missionary at all seeing as the main theme is focused around “luck” and not say, a blessing from God or anything to do with God. I reckon the mail just says hes a missionary to give it some kind of credibility. If however he is a missionary then I can say that yea he has far too much time on his hands, and is defiantly belittling the work and name of missionaries the world over. Hopefully nobody takes this guy too seriously and passes him off as an idiot and spammer! k
kyle - January 16, 2008 at 11:17 am
Many fools are still forwarding the mail. If Rev Antony originated the mail he would have been the luckiest person on earth.
Agenta – there is mosquitoes and bad water because of the vaccine. Vaccine means money for the multi billionaire multinational giants. Think of it.
Arunachalam - January 18, 2008 at 3:46 am
Me, I always thought mosquitos had to do with the climate. I don’t think we can blame them on the mega corps. But yeah, the lack of focus on clean water and mosquito nets might be because there is more money in pharmaceuticals.
But what do I know, I’m just a stupid music blogger!
Agneta of Sweden - January 18, 2008 at 5:16 pm
I live and work in Nigeria and i agree totally with ‘miz music blogger’. We can’t blame the corps; it’s the corrupt governements and the tropical climate of Africa that aggravate the suffering of African children esp the orphans.
The change MUST start from Africans. no matter how many mosquito nets y’all send down here, if the mentality doesnt change then someone who couldnt get the fortune from forwarding the silly chinese mail will try making it by selling all the mosquito nets sent in for aid!
The NIgerian girl - February 1, 2008 at 12:02 pm
It’s the veiled threats that’s creepy with these mails…
Kristoffer - February 14, 2008 at 8:58 pm
I just received this email from a so called friend. This was received minutes after she learned that my son deployed to Afganistan today. My dilemma is that I an torn between superstition (concern for my son) and a hoax. That is how I found this site. Why in God’s name would a missionary create such an email. I bet it was not created by a man of God, but rather a man of man…. one who likes to torment people and their minds.
Thank you for this site, it should ease my mind about this damned email.
Patty - March 9, 2008 at 3:19 am
patty,
Chain letters are always hoaxes. Someone with extra time to bother others.
A fake for certain.
tidewatch3r USA
Don m - December 11, 2009 at 12:36 am
Agneta, totally agree! og du er smuk.
sjurdur hammer - March 13, 2008 at 9:41 am
I just got the same letter myself, and i have to say it really creeped me out.Not the letter itself though but the fact that people still belive this kind of bullshit.And my letter was also translated into estonian which is even more unbelivable, because what person would waste his/her time on rubbish like that?
In my opinion missionaries are supposed to help people find inner peace by connecting with God not make them feel threatened by some mystical powers and crap like that.
Birgit from Estonia - March 31, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Hi, I just got the email, and googled the “De Croud” guy, and found this site.
Hey, I could use some luck, and some money, but if I irritated twenty of my friends, I would lose one of the few parts of my life in which I feel fortunate and blessed.
None of the insights of the email were unknown to me. It’s funny tat some many of these things come from “missionaries”. As if someone bent on converting people to his way of seeing the Absolute was an authority on anything at all…
Belazaire - April 13, 2008 at 1:48 am
LOL. i just received the chinese version of the De Croud’s money-thingy email this morning. did a little goole on the net and turns out this guy’s wisdom fetish email dated back to year 2000. i sort of aggreed on money cannot buy you a lot of things he mentioned; but most importantly, WITHOUT $$$, almost all of the things he mentioned CANNOT be happening to all. and the so-called good morale email stabs its own back by saying at the end: “forward these out and you will be granted good luck and 2 out of 3 REAL examples it listed tells ppl won the lottery” how amusing…
divotor - April 13, 2008 at 2:44 am
I think it is irrelevant if this guy is real or if the proverbs origin from China. I agree to the fact that posting threats about misfortune and illness is a stupid thing to do. He could easily had left out that part and still make people forward the idea about personal development. I guess what he could have done was to tell people to read Paulo Coelho’s The alchemist. Takes a bit longer, but it can really start to change the way you think.
Peace!
Kai - April 13, 2008 at 12:35 pm
the specific letters are coming from companies that they want to collect as much emails they can to sale those to spam companies!
lia, cyprus!
liaki - April 18, 2008 at 6:24 am
Dear Agneta
I have been in 27 african countries wroking with refugees children and i did not hear NEVER IN ALL MY LIFE, HIS NAME.I THINK SO THAT HE DOESNT EXIST.
THE INTERNET CREATED.
TAKE CARE
Grace Olsson - April 22, 2008 at 6:55 pm
It truly troubles me that many still are living in the age of superstition. My God condemns witchcraft and false prophecies. Only He knows the future. Certainly much of life has to do with our personal circumstances and how we act upon them, and the way God has programmed our planet’s life. These E-mail messages that promise good luck all smack of the “tooth fairy” and make-believe. It’s too bad that we allow our childhood cinderella-like fantasies to continue on into adulthood, still believing that they are reality.
Imagination is fine as long as we don’t believe it is truth and fact. We need to develop the capacity to sort out what’s real and unreal. Yet, how wonderful it would be to live in a world of our own imagination. Still, I don’t permit my wild dreams to become reality.
Reality perhaps is too real and harsh for some, and these dear folks grab on to and accept every promise that comes along even if it’s a lie. I’m sure the perpetrators of these spamming E-mail promises take great delight in seeing how far their messages are spread. These messages begin with wonderful platitudes and premises that draw one into a spider web of deceit, leaving one in a quandary of how to escape instead of the good feelings that were early on in the message.
“Will you walk into my parlor?” said the Spider to the Fly,
“‘Tis the prettiest little parlor that ever you did spy;”
exerpted from The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt
Carolyn - May 25, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Hmmm…. Cant say I will be forwarding the chain letter, as I am one of these people who quite njoys the prospect that cosmic forces are battling to put us on paths of destruction…
COME ON YOU PANSY FATE!!!!!!! DO YOUR…… not quite worst, because that could be bad, but you can do something bad I am sure.
LOL
Dominic Backer - July 8, 2008 at 10:24 am
This is my own opinion of course, and I’m quite sure other people out there will feel the same – this letter is a pile of bullshit. It is a CHAIN email – whoever created it wanted you to send it to lots of other people. While the Chinese proverbs are certainly valid, I seriously doubt that a probably fictionary missionary has managed to help by sending an email to those that are needy.
Stanley - July 28, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Hi Agneta ! I loved the “vintage” Swedish models title…
You said it. Just a load of time wasting bullshit. I loved ther part about the guy winning the lottery after sending the 20 copies… just after he’s raving about money being useless in happiness, health, love… what the hell can he do with $99 million? he could send $5.0 million to each of the 20 letter recipients?… or organize water & food supply in Sudan?
Anyway, just some time wasting fun before I start my workday. Have a great day and I hope luck finds you and the people who need it !
xx
Alain - July 30, 2008 at 6:31 am
Chain letters are of course rubbish. There is an irritating “Mother Theresa Blessing” email going around aparently since the late 1960’s which threatens your head will fall off or something equally as nast if you don’t forward it to 9 and a half people while standing on your left foot and facing Mecca. It states that the chain has not been broken “ever” and you should not be the one to do so otherwise bad s**t will happen to you. Needless to say I have NEVER EVER forwarded on to anyone. In fact I always reply to the sender of my intentions yet I somehow end up getting the same email back a few months later FROM THE SAME PERSON. It says a lot about the mentallaty of these people. Anyway, Mother Theresa is in Heaven praying for us and arguing with Princess Diana about why she dodn’t get as big a funeral as her. God Bless.
Sean - September 10, 2008 at 11:49 am
Hi Agneta,
I read your letter,but I have One question,
Have you tried forwarding the de croud letter to 20 people?cause recently,I have read an article on havemacwillblog.com.The person with the same thought that you have,wrote about this.So i ask him,Have he tried it or not?he said,to be honest,I have not tried yet,but u tell me the results when you tried it.SO i do not want to fall for another SMARTASS Person’s blog about this when they even not tried it.Please tell me wether have you forward it?Thanks.
Roger - September 28, 2008 at 9:31 am
Sweet sweet Roger, have you read the post? Did you ever heard about chainletters? How old are you? Your dear mail tells me that you maybe should consult you parents before you visited this site that is constructed for adult readers…. In some cases “parental guidance is REALLY adviced”. Anyhow…. gonna try to answer your really STUPID question…… and believe me… this is the fact because I, as well as Anthony, has a direct line to God… and to me she said that :ANY CHAINMAIL IS A FUCKING ABUSE AND IF YOU FORWARD IT I AM GONNA PUT A BUTPLUG IN YOUR ASS SO THAT YOU`LL SEE THE LIGHT……
Inga of Sweden - October 7, 2008 at 12:47 am
i hate this type of pet peeves it issss the most annoying of all and crap ppl do believe it how sad
Anderson - November 8, 2008 at 7:20 am
sad but soo true… and therefore a bit scary…..
Inga of Sweden - November 15, 2008 at 1:48 am
I think if you do your research, you will find that there were no 99 million dollar sweepstakes, in 1953…….mnj
Mike Johnson - December 11, 2008 at 1:56 am
Mr. Johnson is spot-on. 99M USD would have been impossible in ‘53 as it was the equal to most national budgets in that day.
Reading the above, looking at the snopes.com site makes me just sigh* and reminds me that REAL miracles take common sense with nothing more than a teaspoon of courage.
I find it better to follow the French site on the internet: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and remind myself that education and a well read citizenry is best.
Nick Kershaw - January 10, 2009 at 8:36 pm
I got this stupid chain mail today – again. None of the people who have sent it to me has won millions or in any other way run into luck, which should answer Roger’s post above.
I do so dislike these threats – because that’s what they are, not blessings! I you don’t forward this trash bad things will happen to you… Seriously, a) who is stupid enough to believe it, and b) who wants to put her/his friends through that??
Eva, Sweden - January 12, 2009 at 4:16 pm
Dear Agneta,
Thank you, for your elequoent, and insightful comments into this piece of rubbish.
I can tell, that, you are, indeed, a very nice girl, and wouldn’t dream of being rude to anyone…….
I, however, am an Australian…….and am more than happy to be rude to a bunch of slimy, manulipative, backdoor, tiny penis, pathetic, cocksuckers.
Should you ever hear back from this “Missionary” please advise God (or Me ..I know someone, that’s sort of religious.)….I think this “Missionary” has got a few thousand years of pain for all the veiled threats that have been made.
Al - September 29, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Them ISPs just circulate this so that we can browse more internet:P, thats what we are just doing by blogging and commenting on this bullshit letter:P. They still got us this way:P
khurram - September 30, 2009 at 8:08 pm
I have never understood chain letters. Why the urgency to pass them on? Who really cares?
Darleen - October 20, 2009 at 4:42 pm
i find it funny that this email is about what money cann,t buy but the luck is about winning alot of money
rrr - October 24, 2009 at 2:09 am
Hi, I from indonesia,and 5 minutes ago I received a massages via my blackberry massager, and it is from anthony de croud, so I check who is this stupid boy, and I found this site…yeah I agree with you, nothing in this world can buy LUCK…
Tommy - November 7, 2009 at 7:14 am
I am from Norway. I got this letter today. I am a christian and have found reel and true hapiness and it`s for free! The Father God has promised me everything through his Son Jesus Christ ( God can not lie ), all that is good for me and that is not always money for example. All I and others have to do, is to repent from our sin and recive/say yes to Jesus and invite him into your heart ( He is standing at your heartdoor, knocking to get in). You will then be newborn, a child of God and get iternal life and salvation. You will never be the same again! Try it, you have nothing to loose, but everything to gain!!
Cannet Sautoglu - December 3, 2009 at 2:12 pm