Ann Coulter Dupes the Media
I think Ann Coulter is a bitch. But from a professional standpoint, she is brilliant at publicity.
Part of me thinks that she doesn’t believe a word of the filth that spews forth from her blonde brain. Not a word. She is too smart. And a huge part of me wonders why some people will sell their souls to make it big in whatever profession they choose to pursue. It isn’t just right-wing pundits. Many people sell their souls to make it big. Ann just happens to be a very public figure who does it so well that the media notices.
I don’t think it is as important that she says incredible things. I think it is important that the media covers it all. The media places great importance on it. Why? Who is Ann Coulter? Why does she matter? She is no different that the wacky woman who lives down the street from me, raising her nine cats, not mowing her lawn, and passing out very scary Halloween candy.
The fact that the media covers Ann makes her dangerous. I can name countless times that colleagues have spewed forth negative stereotypes, politically non-correct language, and exposed a little bit of their own private prejudices. But when they speak, it falls on the ears of maybe six people. Their words are no less inflammatory than those of Ann Coulter. But the media spreads the filth of Ann Coulter around the world. If the media covers my colleagues, they would stop speaking. When they cover Ann Coulter, she speaks louder. She is invited on more talk shows. She sells more books.
So until Ann Coulter apologizes to Al Gore, becomes a vegan, donates her body to science (after her demise…or before), admits she drinks generic beer, and announces to the world she has a secret crush on Hilary Clinton….I will still think Ann Coulter a bitch. And the media has enhanced her natural bitchy capabilities.
I first came across Ann Coulter in a Discourse Analysis class I took in college. (Basically a linguistics course that focused on examining political language.) I was struck by how much I disagreed with her… but how entertained I was by her writing. I think that’s the difference between her spewing of hate and the crotchety neighbor lady’s spewing of hate: Coulter knows how to color her language so that it is appealing even to people who disagree with her. That’s why she gets so much attention. I’m trying to get the lesson to sink into my brain that people respond much better when you allow them to save face, and when you are generally positive toward them, even if they are an ass and you just want to unleash a verbal assault uponst them. Never underestimate the power of language.