Back from the Dead to Yell at ... Us?

It’s no secret that Ann Coulter is a despicable human being. And it’s also no secret that she’s just a little homophobic. Most recently, she called John Edwards a faggot at the Conservative Political Action Caucus. Lovely.

But what’s bringing this blog back from the dead isn’t Coulter’s comment or even the audience’s cheers. What’s bringing it back is my dismay at the despicable way so-called progressives are reacting. Phyllis Schlafly would truly be proud of the misogynistic, anti-gay, anti-transgender rhetoric coming out of the so-called left.

Consider the comments in the blog Think Progress, just one of many places you can see Coulter being witty. To date, there are 779 comments reacting to that post. Now it’s true that many of the comments are thoughtful. But in just the first 75 comments I found lots of gems like these:

Mann Coulter is single. And her Adam’s Apple is bulging in that photo. So who’s the faggot?
…
I “read” her as a tranny the very first time I saw a photo of her. It is
that obvious. And trannies ARE faggots, they’re gayer than gay.
…
Mann’s just pissed cause his love purse is an empty irritated crease.
…
The self loathing he/she must feel boggles the mind.
…
Now is Ann jealous because she doesn’t have a man?

Oh, where to begin? Just in case it needs explaining (and apparently it does, much to my dismay), here’s why such comments are inappropriate:

First of all, G-d gave me more than an “empty irritated crease” when She made the wise decision to make me female. And transgender folks, including those who are post-op, have a lot more than that to work with as well. Geez!

Second, transgender people as a group – post-op or otherwise – are not faggots, no matter how you define that charming term. Some are gay, some are straight.

Third, Coulter should be referred to as she, whether or not she is transgender. The use of “he/she” – or any other variation of “not really a woman” – is despicable. Ann Coulter is a horrid, horrid person, but if she identifies internally as female, then she is female and should be referred to in the feminine.

Fourth, it is possible for someone to be fully female, and feminine, and beautiful, even if she possesses traits outside the traditional European model of feminine beauty. Calling someone unfeminine or ugly because she has an Adam’s apple or large hands doesn’t become enlightened just because it’s Ann Coulter you’re attacking.

And finally, being single doesn’t make women bitter and nasty. I’m pretty sure we covered this one way back when we were trying to get the vote.

The bottom line is this. Using sexist, homophobic, or transphobic (is that a word?) rhetoric doesn’t make you right – or even clever – just because you’re using it to attack an asshole. It just makes you an asshole, too.

SHAME on these people for making me defend Ann Coulter!