Breaking the chain
read this and sign it if you do not then you are an asshole!
Well, that's certainly a new one, I thought, glancing over the chain letter. Here's the rest of the text portion: Do you remember February 1993 when a young 3 yr. old was taken from a Shopping mall in Liverpool, NY by two 10-year-old boys? Jamie Bulger walked away from his mother for only a second and Jon Venables took his hand and led him out of the mall with his friend Robert Thompson. They took Jamie on a walk for over 2 and a half miles, along the way stopping every now and again to torture the poor little boy who was crying constantly for his mommy. Finally they stopped at a railway track where they brutally kicked him, threw stones at him, rubbed paint in his eyes and pushed batteries up his ass. It was actually worse than this... What these two boys did was so horrendous that Jamie's mother was FORBIDDEN to identify his body. They then left his beaten small body on the tracks so a train could run him over to hide the mess they had created. These two boys, even being boys, understood what they did was wrong, hence trying to make it look like an accident. This week Lady Justice Butler-Sloss has awarded the two boys anonymity for the rest of their lives when they leave custody with new identities. We cannot let this happen. They will also leave early this year only serving just over half of their sentence. One paper even stated that Robert may go on to a University. They are getting away with their crime. They disgustingly and violently took Jamie's life away - in return they get a new life. Please read it carefully... then add your name at the end... and send it to everyone you can! Please add your name and location to the list and send it to friends and family. Please copy this e-mail (highlight text, right click, copy and paste into a new email) instead of forwarding so we do not get arrows at the beginning of the sentences. If you are the 500th person to sign, please forward email to cust.ser.cs@gtnet.gov.uk and attention it to Lady Justice Butler-Sloss. Then start the list over again and send to your friends and family. The Love-Bug virus took less than 72 hours to reach the world. I hope this one does as well. We need to protect our family and friends from creatures like Robert and Jon. One day they may be living next to you and your small children, without your knowledge. If Robert and Jon could be so evil at 10 years old, imagine what they could do as adults!dont send this back to the person who sent it to u cuz they cant sign twice...plz sign...thank you
My first question was, if you care so much about the issue, why don't you all just email Lady Justice Butler-Sloss individually? Or better yet, WRITE HER A HANDWRITTEN LETTER?
I was curious to see what the current state of the case was, so I googled (or rather Yahoo'd) "Lady Justice Butler-Sloss," and what was the very first link I came up with? BreaktheChain.org: "Stop Junk Mail and Disinformation." Their take: "Unfortunately, this tale of a bizarre child-on-child crime is true, but this call to action is too little, too late. While the basic story told above is true, it is peppered with rumors and exaggerations not supported by official accounts." Example: the batteries were put in the boy's mouth, and so on. Anyway, continuing: "Versions of this e-mail "petition" have been circulating since early 2000, but gained widespread popularity only after the boys' release in 2001, rendering the petition's primary purpose - the prevention of Venables' and Thompson's release - a moot point. In the spring 2005, versions of the chain began alleging that the killers were being relocated Australia (a totally unsubstantiated claim). Another version surfacing in 2005 'Americanized' the tale, incorrectly placing the horrendous events in Liverpool, NY."
Check the original I posted: I knew the story so well (what? True crime buff) that I didn't even notice the substitution of New York while I was skimming.
And at the end, most interestingly:
"Many folks have told me that they don't care that the petition is outdated - they were going to forward it, anyway, in hopes that knowledge of the case may prevent a future tragedy. However, BreakTheChain.org recommends against participating in or propagating any e-mail petition because they are relatively ineffective and rife with problems, as illustrated by the Seven Tests of Armchair Activism." These tests include the facts that the facts in the email are incorrect, the boys are already released, that we have no idea who (if anyone) is compiling these protest signatures at the end of the line, and that you're giving your email address to God knows who. Honestly, I'd rather prevent future chain emails than try (and fail) to prevent future tragedies with ineffective petitions, which is why I'm posting this.
A final touch that made me smile:
A September article in the same paper reported that Robert Thompson, now 24, had been prescribed methadone, presumably to treat a heroine addiction.
Hey, there are worse things to be addicted to (she said with a wink).
P.S. The Fleur icons turned out particularly well.
