Ann Coulter's Brave New World

I invite everyone to read Glenn Greenwald's latest column in Salon. Run. Don't walk. Don't waste another moment.

News of Ann Coulter's use of the term 'faggot' to describe John Edwards was hardly surprising. That a woman with such bile was chosen to speak at a "prestigious" conservative convention, and chose to throw a few hate bombs around, is not news. That conservatives like Sean Hannity have defended her doesn't surprise anyone. The typical response was to calm down, she was joking. OK, let's go with that.

Hate crimes are committed against gays every day. How about the old man in Michigan who was beaten to death with a pipe because someone *thought* he was gay? That just happens to be the violent symptom of a disease that breeds this type of "humor." And for every one person who commits a hate crime there are thousands, millions of people who, on some level, view gays and lesbians as odd and unequal. This too is a symptom of the disease and puts "jokes" like this in a sobering light.

To that people will say, "It's just words." Most people who would get offended by me calling Coulter's choice of words indefensible are also probably good Bible believing folks. OK, then remember what Jesus said: from the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. Just as Coulter's words represent her inner beliefs, she represents the conservative movement at-large.

I agree with Greenwald 100% that Ann Coulter is just the tip of the iceberg. If she is indeed offensive, what does that say about the people she represents (those who support her "work") ? And why do these "tough" conservatives clamor so much for protection? They seem to be the most scared demographic in America. They're terrified of everything--other races, other religions, terrorism, Canada... Ann Coulter is popular because she's supposedly a strong woman. She talks tough. She's often seen wearing faux leather. OK, fine.

Here's Ann Coulter, a "strong" woman who willingly cowers to the conservative party because they offer the guise of protection. Let's be honest, isn't that the essence of the conservative party these days: we are not 'faggots' like John Edwards and those other liberals! We will protect you! If Ann Coulter is so tough why does she bow to those offering protection? Why does she cave their false sense of masculinity? She embodies it all so well--a "tough' woman declaring which type of man is strong enough to protect her. How does that work exactly?

I can't respect that. She's like the girl in high school who acted tough, and went to hang out with the boys and smoke cigars, but at the end of the day she just wanted to be loved. OK, fine. You, Ann Coulter, and all of the other conservatives hiding in your caves just want to be loved and by lobbing a few hate bombs you serve the masters who preach protection from terrorism, sexual preferences, immigration, and even France. In doing so, you feed the scared insecurities of millions of Americans who just can't find the strength to rub elbows with someone who isn't a white Anglo-Saxon protestant, and you line your pockets off of book deals and speeches. You're out there on the front lines, fighting off unseen enemies everywhere, empowering, by extension, those scared masses who just handle the fact that life is not like Sunday school, acting brave by giving in to everything that scares you, like the Commander n' Chief himself, that laughable Sunday warrior, and, in the end, staying as far away from reality or the real world as possible.