# Bugging the ever-living sh\*t out of a bigot **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 28, 2004, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bugging-the-ever-living-sh-t-out-of-a-bigot/242487 "2004-04-28T15:00:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bugging-the-ever-living-sh-t-out-of-a-bigot/242487/1 "2004-04-28T15:00:34Z")
Oh man [this](http://www.ebaumsworld.com/mrbergis.html) has had me and my coworkers crying laughing all day. Forgive me if this has been posted before. I know nothing about it, other than some radio station is harassing this guy in Mississippi with prank calls. He’s racist, homophobic, bla bla bla, and they really know how to push his buttons. And when his buttons get pressed enough, he freaking _loses it_. (It’s laced with barely covered obscenity, so headphones are advisable if you’re at work.) I actually started to feel sorry for him at one point, but his bigotry is so intense that it’s difficult to. _Wipes tears of mirth from eyes_ ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bugging-the-ever-living-sh-t-out-of-a-bigot/242487/2 "2004-04-28T15:53:09Z")
Oh man, these are funny. On the Nascar one, when they called him the third time and just played the commercial songI nearly wept. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bugging-the-ever-living-sh-t-out-of-a-bigot/242487/3 "2004-04-28T16:52:42Z")
Brilliant!!! Thanks for the link 😃 ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bugging-the-ever-living-sh-t-out-of-a-bigot/242487/4 "2004-04-28T17:07:56Z")
Color me confused, but it doesn’t sound all that entertaining to me. What do these people hope to achieve by repeatedly tormenting the guy? He ain’t gonna change his mind because somebody abuses him over the phone. In fact, were I him, I’d call the cops and ask if they could get the radio station to stop harassing me. There are laws against harassment, and probably nusiance calls - even in Mississippi. > [@](#): > > Mr. Bergis is accused of screwing a stripper and owing back child support. Needless to say he gets really, really ticked. This sounds actionable. Defamation of character, slander, and maybe libel, too, since they’re in essence publishing the information. Were I him, I think I’d be calling a lawyer in addition to the cops. ---
**Author:** ![smoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smoke)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bugging-the-ever-living-sh-t-out-of-a-bigot/242487/5 "2004-04-28T20:38:44Z")
Another thing that’s messed up about this is that, in the first call (Big Brothers, Little Bros), they barely bleep his address. We have the town/state, his first/last name, and the number and enough of the street name to deduce the rest of it. These guys are assholes goading a dude who may be a racist, but who is nonetheless being provoked without cause. ---
**Author:** ![smoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smoke)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bugging-the-ever-living-sh-t-out-of-a-bigot/242487/6 "2004-04-28T21:09:29Z")
Alright- I kept listening, and now they’re trying to mess with his daughter. I don’t understand why this stuff isn’t prosecuted. ---
**Author:** ![Wonko\_The\_Sane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/258eb7/32.png) [@Wonko\_The\_Sane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wonko_The_Sane)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bugging-the-ever-living-sh-t-out-of-a-bigot/242487/7 "2004-04-28T22:43:14Z")
I suspect it’s completely real, and not a puton at all. Yep. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bugging-the-ever-living-sh-t-out-of-a-bigot/242487/8 "2004-04-29T00:09:05Z")
> [@smoke](#): > > These guys are assholes goading a dude who may be a racist, but who is nonetheless being provoked without cause. The first half of that sentence does not seem to agree with the second half. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bugging-the-ever-living-sh-t-out-of-a-bigot/242487/9 "2004-04-29T00:29:20Z")
I find it hard to believe that the station management would allow them to call and harass anyone. BTW…here’s who’s doing it. [http://www.orock1059.com/promos/promo27.shtml](http://www.orock1059.com/promos/promo27.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bugging-the-ever-living-sh-t-out-of-a-bigot/242487/10 "2004-04-29T00:35:32Z")
Although I’m still fairly sure the calls in question are real, there’s other stuff on that site that’s both old and copyright - the airport announcements are from Chris Morris on BBC Radio 1 ca 1996, and the ‘meaning of fuck’ is a Monty Python sketch. (Maybe I’m just a comedy-geek ☹ ) ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bugging-the-ever-living-sh-t-out-of-a-bigot/242487/11 "2004-04-29T00:37:45Z")
> [@UncleBeer](#): > > This sounds actionable. Defamation of character, slander, and maybe libel, too, since they’re in essence publishing the information. I thought (and if I’m wrong I’ll be completely unsurprised) that it was only slander etc. if it was false. Granted these radio station folks are not exactly Perry Mason with 35 years of detective work and the man’s police and legal files in front of them … but IF it’s true, how is it anything but A) a poison pen and B) intended to be embarassing? Or are you saying that putting the stuff out on the air like that (and publishing it) without proof is slander, libel and defamation of character? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bugging-the-ever-living-sh-t-out-of-a-bigot/242487/12 "2004-04-29T00:40:38Z")
How on earth is publishing something that _the guy himself has said_ be slander or libel? ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bugging-the-ever-living-sh-t-out-of-a-bigot/242487/13 "2004-04-29T00:48:22Z")
While I have no tolerance for bigotry in any form, and I’m a great audience for any kind of vengeful comedy, I have a few problems finding this stuff funny: They play up the stereotypes that are, of course, bigoted. When they call as black people, they talk in stereotypical “black accents”. They also throw out their share of white-oriented racial slurs. Acceptable? When they call as gays, they lisp and try hard to sound effeminate. They push this guy until he’s pissed off - he maintains a fairly reasonable and civil conversation until they start intentionally pushing buttons, and then, surprise, he gets pissed and says what he thinks. Is it acceptable to be bigoted? Of course not. But every person _is_ entitled to think and feel whatever they want to. Whether or not they act on it is an entirely different matter. Pushing someone to the point of seething anger just to get them to act on feelings that they would otherwise probably have kept to themselves is just as bad. That, and they seem to find his bigotry funny; they relish in getting him to spew his hateful, vile crap all over the air. I just want to know what it was that led him to being targeted in the first place? I didn’t see anything that explained “Why him.” Sorry, I love a good joke, but I didn’t think this was one of em. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bugging-the-ever-living-sh-t-out-of-a-bigot/242487/14 "2004-04-29T00:51:56Z")
What I found particularly funny was not the bigotry (which is all too easy too find) but the ease with which these guys could push this guy’s buttons, again and again and again - I couldn’t help wondering how this guy could function in a normal life if he’s so capable of exploding at a couple of mentions of things he dislikes. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Carter_of_Mars)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bugging-the-ever-living-sh-t-out-of-a-bigot/242487/15 "2004-04-29T01:35:06Z")
Am I the only one that thinks this whole thing is probably a whoosh? If it’s not, someone could get killed. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bugging-the-ever-living-sh-t-out-of-a-bigot/242487/16 "2004-04-29T02:00:37Z")
K and T were here in Detroit before going to Florida, they live for stuff like this. Nothing tweaks their nipples like being called shock jocks, they’re the ones who got into a big legal battle years ago by breaking the news Britney Spears had died…as a prank. I highly doubt it’s any sort of whoosh. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bugging-the-ever-living-sh-t-out-of-a-bigot/242487/17 "2004-04-29T02:07:21Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Although I’m still fairly sure the calls in question are real, there’s other stuff on that site that’s both old and copyright - the airport announcements are from Chris Morris on BBC Radio 1 ca 1996, and the ‘meaning of fuck’ is a Monty Python sketch. (Maybe I’m just a comedy-geek ☹ ) The “Soul Glow” product and commercial in the NASCAR bit are from _Coming To America_, too. This ain’t a puton. I was listening to O-Rock back when they ran these for the first time… f’cking hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Carter_of_Mars)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bugging-the-ever-living-sh-t-out-of-a-bigot/242487/18 "2004-04-29T02:51:27Z")
> [@Queen Tonya](#): > > \they’re the ones who got into a big legal battle years ago by breaking the news Britney Spears had died…as a prank. > > I highly doubt it’s any sort of whoosh. **Queen Tonya** : You and several others here have posted that these guys are known for falsifying news as a prank. They whooshed people with the Britney Spears thing. Then you say you don’t think this is a whoosh. I’m not usually TOO dense about things. Why do you think this is real, when the guys are known pranksters? It would be very simple to have someone pose as “Mr. Bigot” on the other end of a phone call with both parties using scripted material . Help me, _someone_? ---
**Author:** ![Beauty\_Personified](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e480ec/32.png) [@Beauty\_Personified](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beauty_Personified)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bugging-the-ever-living-sh-t-out-of-a-bigot/242487/19 "2004-04-29T03:08:53Z")
When exactly did these calls supposedly take place? Just today I [read](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=583&e=3&u=/nm/20040428/od_nm/odd_castro_dc) about those Miami radio guys who called Fidel Castro (pretending to be the President of Venezuela) being fined $4000 by the Federal Communications Commission. (They’re trying to get people to send in pennies to pay the fine. 😃 ) Apparently, there are rules stating that someone who gets a phone call must be told if the call is going to be broadcast on the radio. Anyhoo… ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bugging-the-ever-living-sh-t-out-of-a-bigot/242487/20 "2004-04-29T10:41:10Z")
> [@](#): > > The first half of that sentence does not seem to agree with the second half. If bigotry is cause for this sort of harassment, then the bigots are right to be what they are. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bugging-the-ever-living-sh-t-out-of-a-bigot/242487.md?page=2)