Erick Erickson’s mother has no recollection of the family’s tradition of boycotting Asian food on Pearl Harbor Day, a charming anecdote the conservative blogger shared online Monday to commemorate the 74th anniversary of the attack.
Gawker’s J.K. Trotter called up Kathleen Erickson, the blogger’s mother, who told him that she’d never heard the story her son tweeted before and that the family loves Asian food.
“Whatever you heard, I think that is completely your idea, I have never heard of that before,” she told Trotter. “Somebody is making that up about my son.”
Trotter pointed out that Erickson’s perennial story, which the RedState editor-in-chief first circulated in 2010, is particularly suspect given that his mother hadn’t been born yet when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Records show Erick Garwood Erickson, her husband, was only two years old at the time, according to the report.
Gawker’s delightful story also includes an exchange where Erickson’s mother pressed the reporter for his opinions on Jesus Christ:
Ms. Erickson: What do you think of Jesus Christ?
Gawker: What do I think of Jesus Christ? He is obviously an important figure in Christian theology.
Erickson: Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior, Mr. Trotter. He is the King of Kings. And he is coming again. So I hope and pray that you are Christian, Mr. Trotter. I will add you to my prayer list. [Hangs up.]
About Pearl Harbor, she later told Trotter: “I’m very grateful that many of the Japanese people became Christian. We know many people who are Japanese, they are a very nice people.”
Erickson later responded to the story on Twitter:
My 73 year old mother does not remember a 27 year old event, so it is a news story to attack me. At least the reporter was witnessed to.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) December 9, 2015
