Thursday, September 27, 2007

Ann Coulter on Free Speech

In a column about the Iranian President and Columbia university, she hits a few home runs:

At Syracuse University last year, when liberal hecklers tried to shut down a speech by a popular conservative author of (almost!) six books, College Republicans began to remove the hecklers. But Dean of Students Roy Baker blocked them from removing students disrupting the speech on the grounds that removing students screaming during a speech would violate the hecklers' "free speech." They had a "free speech" right to prevent anyone from hearing a conservative's free speech.

That's what colleges mean by "free speech." (And by the way, my fingers are getting exhausted from making air quotes every time I use the expression "free speech" in relation to a college campus.)

"Tolerance of opposing views" means we have to listen to their anti-American views, but they don't have to hear our pro-American views. (In Washington, they call this "the Fairness Doctrine.")

Liberals are never called upon to tolerate anything they don't already adore, such as treason, pornography and heresy. In fact, those will often get you course credit.


You don't have to like her, but you can't say she's wrong here. Go read the whole thing, if you libs truly celebrate "diversity" (digital air quotes).

10 comments:

Eric W. said...

I'm curious, how do you feel about Ann Coulter in general?

Cameron said...

Ann Coulter uses pure, vicious hate to get her points across. She makes attempts to say that Muslims are murderers but would love to kill all the liberals in the world.
For example:

"It's always so comforting when Muslims cite the precise verse from the Quran that tells them killing is wrong. Don't all empathetic human beings understand that instinctively? What if they lost their Quran that day and couldn't remember?" (Ann Coulter in "My Name Is Adolf", 9/11/2002)

"My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times Building." (Ann Coulter in a New York Observer interview, 8/20/2002)

She says that she's joking, but I don't, for instance, make jokes about soldiers, or victims of 9/11. It's not funny. It just pisses people off. She honestly believes, for instance, that God gave Americans the right to destroy the Earth (because it was his present to us, right?) and crusading Christianity through the Muslim world. She's the most fiercely intolerant person I've ever heard of, so anything she has to say about tolerance is a complete contradiction.

Darren said...

Apparently, Cameron, it's easier to attack the person than the idea. You didn't address what she said here. Can I assume you don't agree with the points I quoted?

As for Ann Coulter in general, I find that she's intentially harsh when making her points. I often agree with her points, but not the way she makes them--pretty much how I feel about Rush Limbaugh. However, since I don't listen to either of them more than a few dozen minutes a year, and when they make the headlines, it's no big deal what I think about either of them. If I never again heard from Ann Coulter, my life wouldn't be any less complete--but when she's right, I like hearing from her.

Clear enough?

Anonymous said...

I like Ann Coulter a lot. I think she is a wonderfully brilliant voice in our deteriorating liberal culture. No matter how she says what she says...she speaks and writes the truth, which American Liberals can't hear too much of. Maybe she was in mind when someone came up with the expression about Truth Hurting.

Brook Stevens said...

I agree Ann Coulter lays it right on the table and the only reason people like Cameron doent like her is because he is just like the liberals who will foam at the mouth to get a damned conservative off the stage so they can throw another lefty up to replace him and express his "free speech" and impede upon good conservatives

Anonymous said...

Ann Coulter is a damaged person. I would be embarrassed to have her on my team. Her inflated sense of self propels her to compare herself with a head of state. Cry "ad hominem!" all you like, but she truly is damaged. You can hitch your wagon to her if you so choose, but be prepared to back-peddle vigorously when she runs off the cliff.

Her point is as invalid as most of what you post here. In the age of the Bush Imperial Presidency, you paint conservatives as a persecuted minority. Good for a laugh, but not much more.

Darren said...

It's clear, anonymous, why you choose to post without identifying yourself--because your points are so weak and shallow, and because you probably couldn't handle the well-deserved derision that would come your way if you identified yourself.

Good job on being so brave, though. Toss those zingers out from behind a computer screen, behind which you can hide and not have to back up your statements with even one fact.

Anonymous, go away. You do not contribute anything of value here. There are plenty of people who post here who disagree with me--they're wrong, but I still post their comments because they do not make fools of themselves. I cannot say the same for you, on this venue or on others.

Anonymous said...

“Ann Coulter is a damaged person. I would be embarrassed to have her on my team.”

Anon, what is your definition of a “damaged person”? As far as I can see she is a very attractive woman, articulate, intelligent and with a very pointed way of writing and saying what she wants to say. If I ever saw a “damaged person” I think of several members of the NY Times Editorial Page …the former Enron advisor Paul Krugman who has no idea how the economy works…fair enough for a professor of economics. Or Maureen Dowd who seems to want to take out our lack of success in the social scene with the Times declining readership.

“Her inflated sense of self propels her to compare herself with a head of state.”

That sounds more like a former First Lady and current senator running for the Democratic nomination. Here is a woman who doesn’t want to achieve as much as she wants power. And Mrs. Bill Clinton is only a presidential candidate because she married a man who was going places and endured everything he put her through. The humiliation she has taken from that man almost (she decided to stay with him) make be have sympathy for her. But in her mine the ends justify the means. In evaluation Mrs. Bill Clinton I am reminded of a great quote from Mr. Spock to the The Squire of Gothos, "I object to you; I object to intellect without reason. I object to power without constructive purpose."

“Cry "ad hominem!" all you like, but she truly is damaged. You can hitch your wagon to her if you so choose, but be prepared to back-peddle vigorously when she runs off the cliff.”

Anon what do you mean “hitch your wagon”? I don’t recall her leading a nation or a political movement. She is part of the conservative movement but her purpose is to make money while putting herself into the political process. Like many of those who “don’t do it for the money”, e.g. Slick Willie Clinton doing his BS book on “Giving”…or ALGORE flying in a private jet and taking a SUV to a “environmental” rally to protest “global warming”. Or the “Reverend” Jesse Jackson who no one can explain how he make his money…or what church this man is a “reverend” of?

“Her point is as invalid as most of what you post here. In the age of the Bush Imperial Presidency, you paint conservatives as a persecuted minority. Good for a laugh, but not much more.”

Again Anon why don't you have the guts to say something other than mindless dribble…an example please? But why should we expect any intelligent discourse from you. You don’t have the guts to even put up a name.

Darren said...

Mike, don't worry about anonymous anymore. When his comments have some value, I'll post them. But usually they don't, and I'm not interested in his stirring the mud here any more than I'm interested in his stirring the mud in other forums.

To be quite blunt, he has an adolescent mentality that I grow weary of--especially given that so many of the adolescents with which I work all day are able to outgrow it before they graduate. He's not welcome here, as he contributes nothing of value.

You should see the angry, childish screeds that he sends whenever I don't publish his comments. You'd think he has no life but to read *my* blog.

Hey, anonymous, why don't you start your own blog? Rest assured that I won't read it--but since I only read a sentence or two of your comments before I delete them anyway, not much will change.

No one needs to tolerate a troll.

Anonymous said...

Ann Coulter IS a beautiful woman, with gorgeous hair. She's absolutely brilliant and she sprinkles sarcasm and zingers like salt and pepper all over her excellent points and facts. I prefer to publish as anonymous, although I am not the Other anonymous. I'm the sane one...