A HERETIC I AM
A HERETIC I AM's JournalAs an OTR driver with better than 30 years behind the wheel, here's my take;
1) As you state, this is from a Trade Publication, which means it's audience/readership is by definition, slim.
2) As someone who has been a trucker as long as I have, and have talked to and listened to many hundreds of drivers all across this country, I can say without reservation, that the vast majority of truck drivers are morons. OK..let me rephrase; Most truckers are not highly educated (it doesn't take a post graduate degree to pass a CDL exam), not very well informed in general, have a skewed perspective of history, and most of them tend to be "conservative" in their thinking, not to mention many of the white guys certainly, have serious racist leanings (Ever notice how many Confederate flag stickers there are on trucks? Or at least, used to be? Finally trucking companies are beginning to realize that the message their trucks send is as important as the service they offer). They are also, on average, overwhelmingly Christian, not very well read, do not come from upwardly mobile families, haven't traveled overseas, and tend to have a very narrow worldview.
2a) This industry attracts nitwits, plain and simple, AND I AM A TRUCK DRIVER!! Is every single truck driver a moron? No, of course not. But I guarantee you that if you got into any kind of lengthy, intellectual conversation with an average American truck driver, it wouldn't take you long to realize who you were talking to.
3) As stated in a response above, a HUGE number of them do listen to Limbaugh, Levin, O'Reilly and Hannity on the radio, nonstop. The advent of satellite radio has done away with the need for constantly having to change radio stations every hundred miles or so, and there are several right wing or right leaning stations to choose from on Sirius. As such, their worldview is constantly reinforced.
4) Drivers who work for firms based outside the Northeast have been bitching about having to drive in New England for as long as I have been OTR, and for me that started 1987. Many, MANY companies will advertise in their recruiting literature "No New York" or "Bonus for N.E. Trips" or similar. So while this article does not mention New York City specifically, keep in mind that a large percentage of the nations truckers have a bad perspective of that region anyway.
5) Truckers tend to hate Law Enforcement as much, if not more, than anyone else. No one likes having to cross weigh stations and think inspections are a waste of time and an infringement on their ability to make money. Hell, one of the primary reasons for putting a CB in your truck back in the day was so you could find out where the cops were so you wouldn't get caught speeding!
These quotes from the article prove how contradictory and hypocritical this perspective is;
( Italicized comments are mine)
Seriously? How often have you had to "take matters into your own hands"? Do you have huge lettering on the side of your trailer that says "Please come and rob me!"?
“This is not an area you need to act fearless and think you you’d look like a fool for saying no…Imagine what kind of fool you look like for driving into a hot spot and putting your life in danger.”
"Hot spot?!? I swear some of these guys must think that the entire country is on fire and going to stay that way.
“I will not deliver to an area with a disbanded police department. My life matter and I do this for my family. We are already at the mercy of these towns and cities with laws and hate against us for parking, getting a meal or even using a restroom.”
This one takes the fucking cake, without a doubt! "I get hassled by the cops so I won't go where the cops have been disbanded!" What a fucking dipshit.
“Simple. We may not like it all the time, but laws and order is necessary.”
Except when the speed limit is lower than I want to drive, or the 4 wheeler in front of me is driving too slow, or when I am overweight and need to go around a scalehouse" Dumbass.
“Most places we go already can be dicy an about only time you see a cop is when lights is on behind you.”
"MOST places"? Seriously? What the ever loving fuck are you talking about? He's full of shit, he just answered that question in a way that helps the narrative.
“For my own safety and security of my customers’ loads, I have already informed my dispatcher that I will refuse all loads to cities that have defunded their police departments.”
Then you're a fucking moron, plain and simple and if I was your dispatcher, I would tell you to clean out your fucking truck.
Sure, if I was given a load that delivered on 16th Street NW in DC last week, it would have been a serious concern, but other than the very specific areas where large protests have been occuring, I have nothing to fear from people who are protesting for reforms I am in favor of!
In conclusion, I wouldn't put too much stock into this at all. The overwhelming majority of freight will continue to be delivered, and the only drivers that won't deliver to a town like Minneapolis or LA are the ones that their dispatchers already know are a pain in the ass to work with, anyway.
If you're not hearing those ideas, then perhaps you aren't listening in the right places.
We need massive police reform in this country, and there are already numerous examples of how that can be done, both in large municipalities and small.
The entire judicial system needs overhaul, and the movement to undertake that has begun.
It's late and I am not going to take the time to research articles and post them for you, but the information is out there.
People are finally waking up to the knowledge that the police are out of control in this country, something I have been saying for several years.
As far as the economics of this country is concerned, this needs to be the next wave of protests, frankly.
There are only a few ways to legitimately promote sustainable economic growth, and the easiest is to raise wages, full stop.
Raising the minimum wage to $15/hr is a start. Google and understand the economic term "The Velocity of Money"
Putting more money in the hands of people that live paycheck to paycheck will do untold wonders for the economy. Proper tax reform that induces the very wealthy to reinvest and raise salaries and wages for workers means those workers have more money to spend, increasing demand, and so on.
The fucking cops need to stop being assholes about the job they do, go back to being "Peace Officers" instead of "Law Enforcement" and quit whining about their lot in life. There is nothing more telling about how fucked up the mentality of the police is currently than this video of that asshole President of the Police Unions in New York, Mike O'Meara, whining about how badly they're being treated, as if he wasn't aware that the folks he represents, harass, illegally detain and arrest, beat the shit out of, and kill citizens on a regular basis;
For better context, here's a mashup of portions of that assholes speech with scenes of NYPD beating and pepper spraying protestors.;
In short, this country needs to follow the Camden, New Jersey model. Methodically and carefully tear it down and start over
Profile Information
Name: SchmengieGender: Male
Hometown: Podunk, FL
Home country: USA
Current location: Various.
Member since: Mon Aug 4, 2003, 03:56 PM
Number of posts: 24,380