Mass e-mailings, which have long annoyed people by flooding inboxes with bad jokes, get-rich-quick schemes and ``Top 10'' lists, are now being used to try to rally Americans after the devastating terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon . From lighting candles to wearing the red, white and blue colors of the American flag, several e-mails swirled around the country on Thursday, urging readers to, in the words of one, ''show those terrorists that we Americans stick together''. That e-mail said Friday, September 14 should be ``Flags Across America'' day, and asked citizens to display a U.S. flag at their homes or in their cars. ``Let's keep the meaning of UNITED in 'United States','' the e-mail read. Another declared Friday to be ``U.S. Color Day''. ``Red, white and blue should be worn in honor of our fellow Americans that died. The goal is to get the whole nation to participate,'' it said, adding, ``Send this to 10 other people.'' A third mass e-mail asked people to stop whatever they are doing at 7 p.m. Friday evening and light a candle. ``We will show the world that Americans are strong and united together against terrorism. Please pass this to everyone on your e-mail list. We need to reach everyone across the United States quickly.'' (Agencies) | 电子信箱里莫名收到大量蹩脚笑话，迅速致富捷径等垃圾邮件让人们大为恼火，不过就在美国世贸大楼和五角大楼遭受毁灭性袭击之后，电子邮件有了新的用途--将美国人民团结起来。 9月13日，美国网上充斥着各种激励人们团结起来的电子邮件，有的邮件中人们点燃蜡烛(为遇难者祈祷)，有的邮件中人们披上象征美国国旗的红白蓝三色的衣服，这些邮件中都用这样的话语来激励人们："让恐怖分子看看我们美国人是紧紧团结在一起的。" 有一封邮件建议让9月14日成为美国"国旗飘扬日"，号召人们在家里或是车上悬挂国旗。邮件中说："让我们坚持'美利坚合众国'这个名字里'合众'二字的含义。" 另一封邮件宣称9月14日将成为"美国国色日"。邮件中说"为了我们死去的美国同胞，我们应该穿上红白蓝三种颜色的服装。我们的目的是号召全国人们参与进来，所以请将此邮件转发给其他10个人。" 还有一封邮件号召人们在9月14日晚上7点钟停下手里的所有工作，点燃蜡烛。邮件中说"我们要让世界知道在对抗恐怖主义的斗争中，美国人是坚强的，是团结在一起的。请将此邮件转发给你信箱栏中的人。我们要尽快联系国家中的每一个人。" (中国日报网站译) |
Updated: 2001-09-17 01:00
