Just not HER.
If you haven’t heard about it yet, Ann Coulter, the wicked witch of the religious right, has once again stuck her foot in that gigantic gaping maw of a mouth. Seems she had this to say at the Conservative Political Action Conference:
“I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word ‘faggot–so….’”
I don’t know why everyone is so surprised. Scott wants everyone to express their outrage and anger on their blogs and hopefully pressure the GOP into distancing themselves from the bride of Beelzebub.
However, I seem to have long ago reached my annoyance tolerance with Ann. She makes her living by saying stupid shit that is designed to be controversial, and hate filled. Think about it, she’s got herself quite a niche of being the most offensive woman on the planet.
Need proof? Here are some sound bites from Princess Personality, courtesy of The Washington Monthly:
“God gave us the earth. We have dominion over the plants, the animals, the trees. God said, ‘Earth is yours. Take it. Rape it. It’s yours.’”—Hannity & Colmes, 6/20/01
To a disabled Vietnam vet: “People like you caused us to lose that war.”—MSNBC“I think [women] should be armed but should not [be allowed to] vote.”—Politically Incorrect, 2/26/01
“If those kids had been carrying guns they would have gunned down this one [child] gunman. … Don’t pray. Learn to use guns.”—Politically Incorrect, 12/18/97
Here’s more from Wikiquote:
On the 9/11 widows: “These broads are millionaires, lionized on TV and in articles about them, reveling in their status as celebrities and stalked by grief-arazzis… These self-obsessed women seemed genuinely unaware that 9/11 was an attack on our nation and acted as if the terrorist attacks happened only to them… I’ve never seen people enjoying their husbands’ deaths so much.”
“I don’t know if [former U.S. President Bill Clinton is] gay. But [former U.S. Vice President] Al Gore – total fag.”
“Six imams removed from a US Airways flight from Minneapolis to Phoenix are calling on Muslims to boycott the airline. If only we could get Muslims to boycott all airlines, we could dispense with airport security altogether.”
I feel like I need a scrub brush for my brain after reading all of that in one sitting. My point is simply this: She thrives on controversy, sells books by saying the most offensive, bigoted, racist things that pop into her head. Why should anyone give her even an extra minute of coverage for doing what she does? I’m guessing she’s just going to continue escalating the rancid vitriol she spouts until even Jerry Falwell won’t have anything to do with her.
And here’s probably my favorite quote from her:
“They’re [Democrats] always accusing us of repressing their speech. I say let’s do it. Let’s repress them. Frankly, I’m not a big fan of the First Amendment.”
Oh, how I love irony.
I’m not surprised Coulter said that. She’s a media whore and will say anything to get in the spotlight. She will never apologize for her remark.
My point is that we should put pressure on the Republican Party to decide whether they are going to allow people like her to make such remarks unabated or if they are going to publicly announce her remark was wrong. How they respond will say a lot about bigotry in their party.
I don’t think that gay community should let anyone in the media get away with calling us the f-word. If we make exceptions for people like Coulter because their frackin’ idiots, then we lose our ground to stand on. It’s either right or wrong to use the f-word, period.
Scott – I’m not going to hold my breath waiting for the Republicans to make any statement. Their response will be a non-response. They couldn’t/wouldn’t stand up against her when she made her comments about the 9/11 widows… and that was a fairly easy statement to condemn. They aren’t going to touch this one with a ten-foot pole.
I worry that we’re beginning to do ourselves more harm by crying out when such idiotic statements are made. I think sometimes the best response to idiot statements like this is to let the hate mongers just look foolish instead of turning it into a soapbox for everyone to scream at each other.
I don’t think the Republicans will issue a statement either. That in and of itself is a statement. They refuse to take a stand against bigotry within their own party. That may be important to point out with a Presidential election coming.
As for doing more harm, I think the days of acceptable use of the f-word are over. Should the NAACP allow Coulter to use the N-word? I don’t think so, and I think we need to draw the same line in the sand.
P.S. Watch John Amaechi’s response here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC5kBN3KtOI
Scott – I agree, I have yet to see a Republican that can stick up for homosexuals… Guiliani gets a couple of points, but that’s about it.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that the use of the word “faggot” is ever acceptable. All I’m saying is that there are some people that will continue to use that word no matter how much we kick and scream about it, and it’s probably better for people to just ignore them until they go away. Ann Coulter falls into the category of people who don’t deserve even another moment of publicity. Publicity for her equals book sales and public appearances. If everyone learns to ignore her, she’ll have trouble booking a local cable access show.
Comments from unexpected sources, say Tim Hardaway and Isaiah Washington should be met with a slap down, and usually are.
Does that make any sense?
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