speak monkey speak

I didn’t find Ann Coulter’s joke funny, but I really don’t understand the reaction, a lot of which seems to be along the lines of  "How dare she, that ugly blah blah blah." If we are offended that she called him a faggot to insult him, then turning around and calling her ugly lessens the value of our offense. If we are offended that she implied that he was homosexual, as if that in itself were insulting, this speaks more to our own homophobia than to hers. If we are offended by the use of the word "faggot" which is considered to be a deragatory term for homosexuals (much like "nigger" is a deragatory term for African-Americans) then we have some grounds for offense, I think, except that doesn’t seem to be where people are directing their offense. They say, "What if she had called Obama a nigger?" but that’s not a good comparison: better would be "What if she had called Kucinich a chink?" in which case I have to imagine our response would be… bemusement. And the response should have been, "Kucinich is offended on behalf of his Chinese friends that Ann Coulter would use such a word to describe them; were Kucinich himself Chinese, he would probably also be personally offended by this appellation but as it is he is simply baffled." If we are offended that people can say "faggot" in public and not be burned alive, then we have forgotten that we like the first amendment when it works in our favor and we should remind ourselves of that. If we are offended that somebody (several somebodies) thought that it was funny, to say the word faggot out loud, then we need to get tougher skins, because some people liked junior high so much that they never grew out of it, and that is a sad fact but a fact nonetheless.

I’ve been thinking about it a lot because of a recurring conversation with Squire Tuck, which conversation it titled How To Deal with Teasing and Name-calling. I don’t understand why it is that adulthood conveys a perspective on this that youth cannot believe, but there it is. Squire Tuck has been teased because he likes Star Trek. I tell him: Well, you do like Star Trek, so what do you care? Too bad for them if they aren’t cool enough to get it. Squire Tuck has been alternately teased for liking things he does not actually like. I tell him: Well, they’re wrong, so what do you care? Too bad for them if they’re ignorant. Because I feel like it comes down to being teased for having blue eyes, which he has, so what; or being teased for having brown eyes, which he hasn’t, so what. In either case getting all fired up over people’s ignorance only seems to get them more aggressive and no less ignorant.

I do understand that there is a difference between being picked on for things that you cannot change about yourself (eye color) vs. your taste (Star Trek). People who are singled out for bullying on the basis of physical characteristics undoubtedly have it harder than people who choose their oddities. But– as long as neither of those things is causing pain to anyone, I think it can be defended in the same way. This is who I am. Who I am is not hurting you. Your desire to hurt me is not even worthy of my notice. I’m not saying words don’t hurt, but I have noticed that revealing the success of the hit doesn’t seem to discourage further attack.

I guess I advocate fighting back if you enjoy it, but the Victorian in my heart thinks that a nice, icy snub is more ultimately satisfying. I would have been happier, I think, if the response to Coulter had been more, "Oh, well, that woman, what can you expect?" You know? A tired eye roll, a brief exhalation of impatience would be better than to appear to be more horrified by her use of a word than by the sum total of her writing. I mean, people should avoid Ann Coulter because she is not particularly witty, insightful, or even interesting, & I think these are things we look for in a political commentator. But I don’t think she needs to be censored for saying stupid things, because whatever, let her say what she wants and then don’t buy her books. I don’t think we should get so upset over a word. Sticks and stones, man. Water off a duck’s back. Rubber and glue. Live long and prosper.