July 07, 2006
Ann Coulter is Bad for America
At the risk of becoming a hatemonger myself, (oh, well, what the hell), I am more than pleased, nay, I am positively ecstastic, that Ann Coulter has been nailed to the "Godless" cross for plagiarism.
On Sunday, I was shocked to note that her stale collection of fascist rantings had reached the top of the New York Times Best Seller List, in spite of the fact that I buried a whole pile of the putrid texts under Scott Turow at Costco the other day. Please do your part when you are able.
As Jon Stewart said about "Crossfire", I would say about Ann Coulter. She's bad for America. We have seen the horrible consequences of generating needless hatred in the former Yugoslavia and in Rwanda. Let us not give anymore airtime or attention to this narcissistic, anorexic plagiarist. She's also bad for women with eating disorders.
As Ismail Serageldin so eloquently states in his essay on the Muslim cartoons, "Accumulated Fuel and Dangerous Sparks"
I do not seek legislation, but social consciousness. For it is social consciousness that establishes the norms of acceptable behavior. Freedom of expression remains our most precious right, and how we practice it tends to be conditioned more by social consciousness than by legislation. In the US, where stereotypes were widespread, and epithets for the various ethnic groups that make up the American population were commonplace, it is no longer admissible to mock the Jews or to make racist remarks about the blacks, or to show native Americans as bloodthirsty savages. Movies and shows that featured “Steppin Fetchit” and “Amos and Andy” have given way to shows like “Roots” and to films that show blacks as well-rounded human beings. Gradually, every group is allowed to keep its dignity, and children are taught to exercise mutual respect when talking of or to others. Stereotyping and derogatory remarks based on race, religion, or national origin are rejected by society as unacceptable.… when will the norm of unacceptability of such behavior towards Arabs and Muslims become widespread in Western societies?....In these redoubled efforts, as we drain the cumulated combustible fuel, we should be wary of the sparks, especially when they have no socially redeeming value commensurate with the harm that they do … We should look at those who initiate the sparks, those who would light the fires, recognize them for what they are and use the words of the Prophet Muhammad when he was being stoned and insulted by the non-believers, “God guide them to the right path, for they know not what they do”… almost the same words that Jesus used before him.
We should move from confrontation to dialogue, and from dialogue to understanding, and from understanding to a working alliance for the common good of all humanity. Let the constraints on our speech be those of self-imposed civility and honesty. Let us dismiss and ignore those who will not adhere to that minimum of decency that all societies demand towards their minorities. Let us together “fashion those wise constraints that make people free”.
Unfortunately, Ismail Serageldin is not a skinny, hair flipping blonde, with an inflammatory style, and, therefore, is unlikely to appear on Fox News.
Let us hope that the despicable Coulter person has been sufficiently discredited, and will henceforth be ignored.
Photo note: The best I could do for a blonde in patriotic regalia with her mouth open. I didn't publish a big version, in hopes that you would mistake the photo for a candid of Ann Herself in one of her outfits. You didn't? Right, Annie doesn't wear a hat, since it would interfere with that hair flipping/blowing in the breeze thing. Is cowboy still in style since W. apologized?
Addendum: I found a better illustrative photo for this, but I already published it.