A Trip into Madness

I like to listen to conservative radio talk shows occasionally to see how their callers’ brains work. It’s instructive to hear people struggle with their prejudices. It’s an anthropological trip into the dark corners of the culture. Here’s what shiny gems I’ve taken away from my latest foray:

1. Some of the conservative listeners who called the program, the Concallers, were convinced the Texas church shooter hated Christians and, or white people. Not true. The shooter was white, mentally unstable, insanely rage-filled about a family situation and had made death threats against his mother-in-law who attended the church. However, the host of the show agreed that there are a lot of people who hate Christians.

2. The so-called “good Samaritan” with his own AR-15 who shot at the escaping shooter did not kill him, but wounded him in the leg and torso. He and another man followed the shooter in a high-speed car chase. The murderer’s car went out of control and crashed in a field where he shot himself in the head. It was a suicide. One conservative caller called the armed citizen a hero. He would’ve been a hero if he’d shot the murderer before he killed 26 and wounded 20 people, a death toll that will probably rise.

One Concaller, a minister, said he has certain people attend his services on Sunday who are packing. I’d like to know what church it is so I can avoid the neighborhood on Sunday morning. You never know when a stray bullet will come flying out of that beautiful stained glass window.