Twitter user D.G. Davies apologizes to NPR
(Lisa Fernandez/KTVU) - While quite a few people thought NPR’s July 4 series of 113 consecutive line-by-line tweets of the Declaration of Independence was an act of subterfuge, at least one man is making a public mea culpa.
“Humble pie is like veggies to kid (sic),” tweeted D.G. Davies, whose Twitter handle is @JustEsrafel, and whose bio reads: I love debate and will not block people with different opinions. Don’t mind being PROVEN wrong.
“It can taste awful,” he continued, “but it’s good for you. Thank you America for feeding me.”
Davies did not return a tweet from KTVU Thursday seeking more clarification on his apology, but he did state on his account that he “screwed up with @npr. I jumped the gun and tweeted when I should have waited for them to finish. I offer my apologies.”
He was referring to the public radio station tweeting out the text of the 1776 historical document (which accompanied its 29-year-old tradition of reading it aloud on air) that seemed to shock and surprise many Tweeps. Many, if not all of those critics, obviously didn’t recognize the prose, and instead thought it was a liberal organization trying to over throw the Trump administration.
Davies was one of those critics, at least, at first.
When NPR tweeted, “it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government,” Davies responded in a now-deleted tweet, captured in a screen grab, “So, NPR is calling for revolution. Interesting way to condone the violence while trying to sound ‘patriotic’. Your implications are clear.”
On Wednesday, Davies told his 381 followers that he realized he tweeted a “VERY dumb comment.” It’s unclear who Davies really is, although his string of tweets definitely land on the right. It’s also unclear where he lives or what he does. His profile picture shows him with long hair and orange-tinted sunglasses. His background photo highlights the actor Brandon Victor Dixon, who plays Aaron Burr in “Hamilton” and who thanked Vice President Mike Pence for attending a show last November, adding, “We hope you will hear us out.”
Davies added: “But ask yourselves; if read to the average American, would they know that you were reading the DOI? I do now.”