I don't like to think of myself as someone who would gloat over another's misfortune, but I think the Germans coined the term "schadenfreude" for situations just like this. And in fact, I was about to write a whole post about the delicious irony of Ann's situation (especially in this season of good food, grace, and thankfulness), when I realized that to do so would be succumbing to a watered down version of Ann's own rhetorical bad taste.
This, after all, is the woman who attacked 9/11 widows critical of the Bush Administration by saying:
"These broads are millionaires, lionized on TV and in articles about them, reveling in their status as celebrities stalked by griefparrazies. I have never seen people enjoying their husband's death so much." --Ann Coulter
And then making light of the famous murder case of another woman by saying:
"Liberals love America like O.J. loved Nicole."--Ann Coulter, attacking the New York Times for calling U.S. aid for the 2007 tsunami "stingy."
And then my personal favorite, this excerpt from a tirade--seriously--berating women voters, and suggesting that their right to the vote be revoked:
"If we took away a woman's right to vote, we'd never have to worry about another Democrat president. It's kind of a pipe dream, it's a personal fantasy of mine, but I don't think it's going to happen. And it is a good way of making the point that women are voting stupidly, at least single women."
These are her words, only a few of them and by far not the most offensive and boneheaded ones. And yes, I think Coulter's approach is upsetting in how cynical it is. She buys into the idea that Americans only listen to soundbites, and then only to those that would be at home on the Jerry Springer Show. Like we're all too slack-jawed and stupid to understand anything but fightin' words in the context of political and social debate.
But if I admit that a part of me giggled with glee picturing her sucking her sweet potatoes through a straw and saying grace through clenched teeth, isn't that ungrateful image amounting to the same thing she's so famous for? It is, I think. And I realize too that I've had it both ways here-- I've gotten in my licks and then conveniently said that the fight's on a lower moral plain.
So in an effort at contrition, and also at honesty, I am wishing Ann Coulter a peaceful holiday, one full of quiet reflection on how lucky we are to have family close by and safe, how we can pull together as a nation in a time of difficulty, and what purpose a strong woman's voice should really serve right now.
No comments:
Post a Comment