Dear, Dear Ann Coulter...

[Gemini Cricket]

Conservative columnist Ann Coulter cut short a speech at the University of Connecticut amid boos and jeers, and decided to hold a question-and-answer session instead.
"I love to engage in repartee with people who are stupider than I am," Coulter told the crowd of 2,600 Wednesday.

Source

Waitaminute?! She called the people who came to see her stupid? Well, she and I agree for the very first time ever.

[scaeagles]

Well, they certainly didn't come to listen to her.

I just find it so amazing that Universities, which all claim to be about diversity and thought and whatever, have so many students who wish to disrupt a speaker. Protest? Sure. Go for it. No problem with that. But if someone has been invited to speak, then let the person speak, regardless of who it is. The University should provide for that or not allow the person to come at all - again, whomever it is.

[Gemini Cricket]

Originally Posted by scaeagles

Well, they certainly didn't come to listen to her.

The whole thing is odd.

1. Why would anyone show up inside if they don't like her? I could see remaining composed until the Q&A section and present her with some tough questions at that time.
2. If there weren't a lot of people who wanted her to be there, why did the university get Coulter to speak? There are less in-your-face conservatives out there if they wanted to showcase the right's point of view...
3. Why would you call a group of people there to see you (obviously there was at least one Ann fan according to the CNN article) stupid? Wouldn't that lose you fans by calling everyone stupid?
4. Univ of Conn is a pretty liberal place, didn't she know that that was the kind of response she was going to get? Maybe she did...
5. The people booing her inside must know that by baiting her this just gets her more press. She loves that, they fell into her trap.
6. Ann needs to learn composure. You can attract more flies with honey than pure vinegar. She sounds like she's losing it.

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by Gemini Cricket

1. Why would anyone show up inside if they don't like her? I could see remaining composed until the Q&A section and present her with some tough questions at that time.

Because they (those booing) are stupid

Originally Posted by Gemini Cricket

2. If there weren't a lot of people who wanted her to be there, why did the university get Coulter to speak? There are less in-your-face conservatives out there if they wanted to showcase the right's point of view...

What evidence is there that there were not a lot of people who wanted her to be there? Those booing were a very small minority of the campus population.

Originally Posted by Gemini Cricket

3. Why would you call a group of people there to see you (obviously there was at least one Ann fan according to the CNN article) stupid? Wouldn't that lose you fans by calling everyone stupid?

One can only be expected to take the high road or so long. If the crowd was booing, etc. for 15 minutes (an eternity in a situation like this), I say she did pretty good.

Originally Posted by Gemini Cricket

4. Univ of Conn is a pretty liberal place, didn't she know that that was the kind of response she was going to get? Maybe she did...

ANY commentator worth their salt would love to get an opportunity to speak with the opposition.

Originally Posted by Gemini Cricket

5. The people booing her inside must know that by baiting her this just gets her more press. She loves that, they fell into her trap.

I think it stretches the bounds of imagination to believe that this was a premeditated trap. I believe that Ann went in knowing it was a potentially contentious crowd, but deciding to go with and see what happens. It is obvious that some people went in with the intent to not allow others to present an alternate viewpoint. The former is free speech. The latter is censorship.

Originally Posted by Gemini Cricket

6. Ann needs to learn composure. You can attract more flies with honey than pure vinegar. She sounds like she's losing it.

I think Ann held her composure quite well (based on the article). If she had "lost it," should would have stormed off stage and not come back. If your opponent takes off his gloves for a street fight and refuses to put them back on, eventually you have to take them off yourself.

Regardless of how one feels about Ann, I think she did the best she could with a terrible and embarrassing (for U Conn) situation.

[Gemini Cricket]

Interesting point, KB.

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

Regardless of how one feels about Ann, I think she did the best she could with a terrible and embarrassing (for U Conn) situation.

The best she could do was to call a former president a 'buffoon' and her entire audience 'stupid'? Uh, that sounds a little juvenile to me. But it's not surprising coming from a person who entitled one of her books 'How to Speak to a Liberal, if You Have To'. Obviously, speaking with these liberals the way she suggests to speak to them is to name call. I think she deserved what she got. Ya get what ya give.

Not only this, but with her ideal president in office, how can she call any other president an 'executive buffoon'? Is she paying attention to what this president does at all?

And when I say trap, I mean that any time she says or does something outrageous she gets press for it. She knows that. I don't think she did this in a premeditated manner. (I don't think she's that smart.)

[scaeagles]

Well, I don't think she called the entire audience stupid. She called those who refused to shut up stupid. Refusing to listen to someone (and inhibiting others from doing so) with an opinion different than yourself, particularly when that person is there for the express purpose of speaking, is, well, stupid.

Name calling? There's name calling all over the place. If you agree with the name someone is being called, the person who does the name calling is witty or articulate or saying it the way it is. If you disagree, the name caller has stooped to a new low in ad hominem attacks. Do you think those that have called the current President names are juvenile? Or because you agree with them does that make it OK?

Bush is not the ideal Coulter President. I would offer that, as for most conservatives, Reagan is the model, and Bush is certainly not Reaganesque. Coulter was very vocal about the.....crud....what was her name? The female appointed for the SCOTUS that withdrew har name and Alito replaced? Oh, well. You know who I mean. Anyway, there was no one more critical, and she is often critical of his policies that do not fit in to the conservative frame of thought.

I have no doubt that Coulter likes controversy. She is a controversial figure. But engage in debate with her rather than shouting her down. If she speaks without incident, there is no press. If she is shouted down, it's a story. The outrageous part is not what she says - she is certainly no more outrgeous in rhetoric than many figures on the left. The outrageousness is that supposed students of higher learning have such little tolerance for opinions that vary from theirs.

[Gemini Cricket]

And as far as the booing goes, is it okay to boo Michael Moore at the Oscars and not Ann Coulter at the Univ of Conn?

------------------

Here are some more highlights for the Coulter speech:

One student asked what she would do if she had a child who came out as gay.
Coulter replied: "I'd say, `Did I ever tell you you're adopted?'"

She also aimed plenty of criticism at the Democratic Party, calling U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer of California a great candidate for Democrats because "she is a woman and learning disabled."

Source

Nice...

[SacTown Chronic]

Originally Posted by scaeagles

Coulter was very vocal about the.....crud....what was her name? The female appointed for the SCOTUS that withdrew har name and Alito replaced? Oh, well. You know who I mean.

You talkin' about Dubya's partner in hot and heavy abstinence? Harry something or other.

[scaeagles]

Originally Posted by Gemini Cricket

And as far as the booing goes, is it okay to boo Michael Moore at the Oscars and not Ann Coulter at the Univ of Conn?

Fair question. Not one that I believe there is a good answer for. I don't recall the circumstances in which he was booed at the Oscars. Was it from the moment he appeared on stage or was it in response to something he said?

Here's my thought - if you are invited somewhere as a speaker, then you should be allowed to speak without heckling. Moore and Coulter included. Here is where context comes in.

If Moore walked onto stage to accept his award, give him the respect of allowing him to take it. If he turns what should be a non-political event (the Oscars) into an opportunity to spout political rhetoric, then boo him. (Again, I don't know if that is the circumstance - I don't watch the Oscars.) That isn't what his appearance on stage is for - it is to accept an award. Stay within the context of your appearance or you deserve to be booed.

Just a couple days ago, a former member of the Phoenix Suns was booed when he came to town for a game. All he did was walk on the court to play. He hadn't bad mouthed Phoenix or the fans - the fans were mad that he left the Suns to take more money from another team. How classless of the crowd. Boo the Suns organization, not the guy who took more pay, just like how some of the current Suns players are in Phoenix because they were offered more money. Now, if he had walked out onto the court and flipped off the stands, that changes things a bit.

[SacTown Chronic]

I lost all respect for Michael Moore when he let Peter Griffin beat him in a farting contest.