Mar 5 2007
"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,'" Coulter said.
All right. So Ann Coulter's "faggot" comment was a little off color.
But it's really stupid of people to make a huge hissy fit over it, using such dramatic language as "hate filled speech", "gay slur", or even John McCain's term "wildly inappropriate".
It's not hate filled speech when it's obvious Ann Coulter was not making any reference to any sexual preference; she was simply calling him a douche, a remark which I am guilty of making towards John Edwards; she was also making a witty reference to how stupid it was for Isaiah Washington to be banished to rehab over calling T.R. Knight a "faggot" (when he actually was one). When people do something stupid or act like a douche, it's not unusual for another friend to go, "man, you're such a faggot" or "dude, you're a total fag." I personally don't elect to use those terms, but people have said it to me when I'm acting stupid, and even to infer I was gay, and I'm not terribly bothered by it. It's not like Ann Coulter demanded that John Edwards come out of the closet or called for the murder and persecution of gays; she just used a slang term for stupid. She's not a politician and doesn't have to be polite. In fact, it's mildly refreshing in a society where we're suffocated into using terms like "people of color" and "people of size". If an off-color term slips out of my mouth and I'm not trying to disparage anyone, then I'm not going to be happy with anyone that makes a big deal out of it.
While obviously not the same thing, I'll tell a little anecdote here: When they screwed up my billing a couple years ago, I had to go into the B&P services office for a couple days to sort it out. When I worked with a different person the second day, that person asked me, "Who were you working with yesterday?" And since I didn't know the lady's name, I said, "She was a taller black woman." The lady then GLARED at me and said, "Well, we only had two AFRICAN-AMERICAN women on staff" (and boy did you notice that capitalization).
So back on topic, Coulter made the following remark yesterday which more than clarified what she meant, and really sent me chuckling:
"C'mon, it was a joke. I would never insult gays by suggesting that they are like John Edwards. That would be mean," Coulter told the New York Times.
Now here's my beef: John Edwards could have been the more mature one, and let it go. In that case, I for once would have had a smidge of respect for him. So a political pundit essentially calls you a "douche" - that's not a big deal; it's done all the time.
But no! John Edwards makes a much huger deal out of it that it was, and further whores it up for his political benefit. He even is creating a $100,000 fight political hate speech donation pot on his website. How shameless! If he really cared about fighting hate speech, he wouldn't cause such a stir, which has given a joyous rise to Ann Coulter (she's totally loving this), and will prompt her to do it again.
Now, I'm not an Ann Coulter apologist. Her inane analysis of the 2008 Republican presidential contenders irked me a bit and her views are too religious right for my tastes. However, out of desperation to finally hear someone speak their mind and knowing that it's obviously not an "anti-gay" slur, I'm not going to decry it, and people shouldn't be making a huge deal out of it. I'm a little tired of Barack's eloquent politically correct sweeping airbrushed statements anyways.
Lighten up people. Seriously.
Here's a link to her explanation of the situation on Hannity & Colmes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKVwrHQXXaY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYFijV9pOsE
References: JibJab's earlier works
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