Today, we remember those who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks and the heros who gave their lives in the service of others on that day.  This includes the firemen and emergency providers, and the brave passengers who acted to save as many lives as possible.  We also offer our condolences for the families who now live with memories of the tragic events.

    But, today’s darkness arrives in the inbox of many people. This is the flood of email containing one of several Wingdings Hoaxes.  The hoaxes are without honour on this day.  The emails are intended to encourage as many “innocent” people as possible to pass it on to as many people as possible.

    Some of the emails contain malicious code, spyware or viruses and/or email address harvesting spiders.

    The hoax tells readers to open Microsoft Word type in Flight No. Q33 NY and then highlight, “Q33 NY”, and change the font to Wingdings font to reveal a hidden message.

    Another tells the reader to open Microsoft Word and type in NYC, then change it to the Wingdings font to produce a hidden message that is supposed to prove that Microsoft is anti-semitic.  

    Although, many people today like to poke fun at Microsoft for it’s failing OS, it’s really absurd, evil and definitely NOT funny to take things to this level.  

    At least the recent Apple commercials they are poking fun at issues that are actually true.  These 911 and NYC hoaxes are based on outright lies that have become urban email legends.  Rather then reveal the truth, they promote falsehoods, anti-semitic views and racial hate crimes, which should never be tolerated in any situation.

    Thankfully, Microsoft has addressed the problem with it’s newer Webdings font.  Typing NYC in that font changes the symbolic gesture to say, “I Love New York”.

    A third Hoax makes an intriguing connection between 911, the Twin Towers and the number 11. Again this is based on a Machavillian combination of coincidence, myth, truth and outright lies.  Oddly enough it’s a lot like the myths and lies spread by uneducated Microsoft Windows advocates over the years.  But the truth is Bill Gates loves Mac.  

    The Bill Gates home story doesn’t have any ties with racial or anti-semitic views.  It may be based on facts that were known to the UPS driver (who are quite often invited inside businesses to witness things personally) and it may be based on rumour, but it is not based on the kind of evil that the 911 hoaxes appear to be based on.

    Unfortunately, we have many real life hoaxes purposely designed to propagate hate crimes and racial division in our everyday lives.  They can include phoney official documents, rumours, mistruths and myths directed against smaller minority groups and people of different racial backgrounds.  

    One real life is example that is local and wide spread is that Candian taxpayers pay for government cheque collecting “Indians” on welfare rolls in Six Nations.  Although, I personally have never been on the Canadian welfare system, I grew up with this rumour.  My mentors where friends and relatives and other members of Six Nations who have worked all their lives and worked hard.  The problem is that the whole truth is too complicated for the simple minds that populate racial hate groups.

    The partial truth is that there are Six Nations members on welfare. What isn’t known is that when a Six Nations members goes on the Canadian welfare system, the Province of Ontario “fronts” the money then bills the Federal Government of Canada to get that money back.  The Federal Government of Canada bills the Six Nations Band Council who are expected to pay over 90% of that money before the year is out.  

    But it gets more complicated than that, the Band Council takes it out of the 4 million dollars in services that belongs to the Six Nations Confederacy government.  The 4 million in services represents a reduced amount of the 95 million in cash owed from annual lease payments for one of many properties leased to Brantford, Ontario by Joseph Brant.  By eliminating parts of the whole truth, the bent truth gives cause to a life time of racially based hate directed against people based on their skin colour, rather than their political or national significance.  Thus the argument could be equally stated that Six Nations partially finances Brantford annually by forgiving millions of dollars in annual debts by accepting a fraction of the payment in the form of services, which includes a temporary welfare loan that is repaid back to the Federal Government of Canada within the year.

    The SIx Nations welfare-taxpayer myth has spread far and wide over the decades.  As recently as this year the myth was reiterated by a local government official which served to propagate the views of a racially directed hate group who have launched their own campaign of terror claiming to be the official viewpoint of an entire local community, the local news media, the local government and ALL the people of Canada.

    So, today is a good day to pass on the info that may shed light on the hoaxes.  Exposing the truth is the only defense we have against many urban myths we face.

 

Read more on this Hoax and the Microsoft Word connection:

 

Read more about the 911 and Number 11 hoaxes.