36 Comments
Jan 14, 2021Liked by Michelangelo Signorile

Heard this live. He needs to come out to California and see exactly who is producing and harvesting almost all produce that shows up in his grocery store. 2/3 of the country’s fruit and nuts produced here (80% of the world’s almonds) and 1/3 of the nation’s vegetables. If he wants all the undocumented immigrants to leave he can get off his ass and go pick. I bet he wouldn’t last 10 minutes. Do you recall years ago when immigration bans so adversely impacted the south Alabama had to use prisoners to try to pick melons and they couldn’t do it? And he thinks he and his fellow “Christians” can just snap their fingers and cut everyone off from food. What a macho UN-Christian little power trip, in addition to being completely false. This guy made me madder than almost any other Drump caller have heard on your show for awhile. You were MUCH nicer than I would’ve been. I live in the agricultural heartland and see how hard people work. Asshole.

Expand full comment
author

Yes, the idea that he and white Christians are producing and harvesting and delivering really pissed me off.

Expand full comment
Jan 15, 2021Liked by Michelangelo Signorile

I’m a trucker, haul food every so often, never identified as a Christian. That guy is full of manure.

Expand full comment

This man and others like him are delusional .My partner and I we’ve been hauling produce for over 20 years now and have never seen any links to “Christianity”. We certainly don’t believe in organized religion and we take pride in what we do. It’s a good feeling knowing we help other Americans/Canadians have quality products to consume.

Expand full comment
author

Truckers are very diverse group -- I've known many and obviously our listeners include many. They come from so many different backgrounds. But because of the lifestyle they do tend to be people who go their own way, less likely to be connected to some larger group -- like a radical evangelical church.

Expand full comment

My first issue with the guy is he admits to being a Christian nationalist which means he is not loyal to America but his church. His church is some televangelist, it’s not even the doctrine in the Bible.

They don’t send us food that all the brown people pick, we don’t send them medicines, artificial hips, knees other technologies that they depend on. also, just like China we stop selling stuff to them they went elsewhere I’m sure Canada and Mexico would love to sell us produce. China’s invested heavily in Brazil to produce food I’m sure Brazil would love our business.

Expand full comment
author

Exactly --- as if we need his wheat and tomatoes.

Expand full comment
founding

Incredible. Delusional, uneducated rural 'country folk' (as he calls himself) - these people listen to AM radio, to Alex Jones, Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and some very crazy preachers. They spew hatred, conspiracy theories, and toxic lies about democrats that are far from the teachings of Christianity. Your caller was clearly emboldened by the Capitol insurrectionists attack. It is great to hear you stand up to these kooks, but scary that there are a lot of them.

Expand full comment
author

They are very insulated where they are, and it's easy to make a call on the radio and come into our world -- I think it gives us a window into what they're about, and how scary it is, which is why I engage them.

Expand full comment
founding

Yes! I have some very conservative relatives that are Fox News junkies. They believe the far right propaganda because they are narrowly focused on it and do not go outside that bubble to read or consider other sources of information. They truly live in another reality.

Expand full comment

Dolly Parton came from rural TN roots with minimal education in the Bible Belt and did pretty well.

Expand full comment
founding

I LOVE Dolly Parton, she is an angel. To be clear I did not mean to disrespect all rural Americans, just the ones that buy into the hatred and bile broadcast to them from AM radio.

Expand full comment

Understand Craig. ✌🏻

I’ve lived all over the U.S. so am used to being around different socio economic/cultural groups but didn’t run into a lot of David’s. (It does make me sad that the South may always be viewed like a slice of “Deliverance”) even though most of our great writers were from the South.

Expand full comment
founding

I absolutely love the south and lived in Alabama for seven years before retiring to a beautiful semi-rural area south of Atlanta, GA a few years ago. Wide diversity here in every way. Love the people, the food, the accent, and especially the weather (as I spent the first five decades of my life with ice and snow winters, I am glad we hardly ever see that where we live now).

Expand full comment

The South has great food and the cost of living is incredible.

One can filter out the things that turn you off as long as you have wi-fi and maybe a screened-in porch for a glass of sweet tea in the afternoon. Atlanta is pretty diverse now culturally which is why it became a blue state and some of the most liberal friends I've ever made are from TN.

Expand full comment

Please don't apologize! They [RA] gave us tRUMP which cancels out Dolly....anyway she's got her own city........what's in your wallet? lol.

Expand full comment
founding

Certainly he was he sees himself as “true” christian” at least, that’s what they have attempted to convince us over the years.....we are just not buying it. The question to ask David...Would a true christian deprive the nation of sustenance?

Expand full comment
founding

I desperately need to edit my comments/letters, writing a plethora of letters of late...and miss things...in the last comment...the “was” is excised!

Expand full comment

Your intent was clear. And I understand how typos happen, ESPECIALLY when responding to people who claim "Christian Nationalist." We are furious when we see it and type quickly. When I responded, I had by jaw open and one hand clutching my teeth.

Expand full comment

Just hearing "Christian Nationalist" scares the hell out of me.

Expand full comment

Ah, another ignorant x-tian right-wing goober giving us this superiority BS.

Expand full comment

Christian Nationalist = I'm really a confused church-going white supremacist who supports insurrection.

Expand full comment

If you had a teenage child, they couldn't get away with anything Michelangelo!

I'm also tired of how much we subsidize red states. TN was once a moderate state politically when Al Gore was a Senator until the 90's when it turned bright red. John Siegenthaler was a major influence in the media and worked with RFK and even Howard Baker, a prominent Republican, was well respected. Let's face it, every state has stupid people! Look at Devin Nunes and Kevin McCarthy!

Expand full comment

Also, the state where David is from has COVID-19 rates through the roof.

Expand full comment

When was the last time this moron David ever picked crops?

Expand full comment

I laughed so loud while driving when i heard this. People stopped at the red light with me probably thought I was crazy. This kind of mentality is just plain hilarious, but scary at the same time.

Expand full comment

And for what it is worth, here is what I say to "Christians."

I am a Christian. Jesus was one (not the only, but ONE) of the first "philosophers" who proposed compassionate love to deal with the brutality of the Roman Empire. He so espoused this new concept of love, that (in my opinion), he became Love. So when he said "The path to God is through ME," he was no longer speaking as Jesus Christ, but as Love. He had become Love. My problem with Christians is that they think the way to the God is through Jesus the man; rather, it is through Love (capitalized: as in compassionate love -- a new concept for that region of the world).

And "Christian Nationalist?" What the fuck is that?

Expand full comment
founding

We can make up our definition of “Christian Nationalist” Mine is: “fake”. christians who believe that “christians” can only be white fascists & racists, and that christian shariah law should run the country according to “their” bible & all other religions should be banned .

Expand full comment

an oxymoron...

Expand full comment

I love the way you slap these guys around with the facts! Its hard for them to argue so they try to change the topic. But bam you hit em again! Even if David from Tennessee doesn't appreciate it I do!

Expand full comment

Buon Giorno Commendatore! This one is special! I loves me some country folk and they above all else should realize when they squint through their myopic peepers that the only Jesus out in those fields picking our "food" is named Rodriquez for a big reason which obviously escapes this lint headed clod from Tennessee.....if only "He" could see............

Expand full comment