Ann Coulter, revisited

Becuase I feel so passionately about this subject, I thought I'd actually post rather than simply commenting on yours, Kevin.

So here's my take on the Coulter Chaos that has been attacking campus for the past few months:

First of all let me admit, I did not attend the Ann Coulter speech in Cintas this past week. It was an extreme struggle for me to decide whether or not I wanted to go. On the one hand, I did not want to form my opinion about her on simply biased things I had heard. This was a chance to actually see the "woman" first-hand and formulate my own reaction. One the other hand, from everything I've read/seen/listened to about her, I find nearly everything she says absolutely appauling and cannot imagine taking time out of my very busy schedule to listen to her bash anything and everything she could think of.

Then, God called and answered my predicament for me...or so to speak. I got a call from a woman who needed a babysitter. I was recommended by a Unitarian minister whom I'd babysat for a couple times before. This particular family was Jewish and the father was a Rabbi. I found the opportunity to be offcampus in a house with a beautiful meditation room, crystals all over the place, issues of "The Sun," environmentally friendly cleaning products and an overall environment of peace and tolerance a sign.

It struck me, too, that when Paul Farmer came to campus last year, there was a great deal less coverage about the event (though there was a lot of coverage, don't get me wrong) and a lot less hype, even though the man is a Saint gracing us mere earthlings. Yet, I didn't take the time to see him speak, though I followed other aspects of his visit very closely. Why, then, was I making such a big deal to go see Satan's mistress spew hate and get paid thousands for a hap-hazard, close-minded speech.

Ann Coulter is able to spew the hate that she does because other people, ancestors of the very people she now bashes, took a stance and dedicated their lives to the principles that allow her to speak and live so lavishly. For example, the "woman" belives that the United States would be a better place if women couldn't vote. The only reasons she can even say such a thing is because thousands upon thousands of women were tired of being subordinated and treated as less than human creatures. They marched, fought, sacrificed and persevered so that some day women would be able to pursue the avenues they desired and be treated as equals. The most basic of those equalities is the right to cast a vote, also considered having an opinion. Were it not for those women, Ann Coulter could not stand in front of a crowd of people (because she'd be stuck in the kitchen or raising her children) as an author (because only the most elite women would know how to read let alone write let alone be actually published as a woman) saying her opinion (something so fundemental she bases her fortune off of, yet believes that other's should be allowed to express). If she truly believes such a thing--just like she truly believes she's a so-called Christian--she should stop the hypocracy, get pregnant, get in the kitchen, make her husband a sandwich, and shut her loud mouth up. --Briana Hansen