Coulter’s critics should refrain from heckling, ask serious questions

When I first saw the Facebook event announcing that Ann Coulter was coming to Pitt, I… When I first saw the Facebook event announcing that Ann Coulter was coming to Pitt, I thought it had to be a joke. While Pitt is not the most liberal college in the country, it is also not the type that is usually linked to Coulter – a radical right-wing columnist and author whose current controversy is over her using the bigoted slur “faggot” when discussing John Edwards at the Conservative Political Action Conference. But then I saw that it was clearly announced on the event wall that Coulter’s arrival was “not an April Fool’s joke.”

My next thought was that the College Republicans – the group responsible for bringing Coulter to Pitt – simply couldn’t be serious. Bringing in Ann Coulter might be a great way to stoke the political fires at Pitt, but do they really want her to be associated as a spokesperson for their organization?

The choice of a speaker usually means that the group supports him and agrees with his standpoint. I thought they were simply the College Republicans – not hate-spewing crazies who believe that 9/11 widows are capitalizing on their grief. Yes, Coulter really claimed that in her best-selling book “Godless: The Church of Liberalism.” This is just one of Coulter’s many controversial statements that prove no point other than being offensive and hate-mongering. Even the title of her talk is “Why Liberals are Wrong about Everything.” I would never expect that any sensible group would honestly want to bring her to speak for them.

While my opinion of the College Republicans may have been lowered by this event, I am nonetheless excited about the chance to hear Ann Coulter speak. And then hear my fellow Pitt students call her out on her crap. There are already groups saying that they plan to attend the event only so they can argue with Coulter and prove how ridiculous her statements are. I myself plan to ask her about her stance on women voting, since she seems to think suffrage is problematic, telling Bill Maher that female voters always want to spend money on child care and education rather than on more important issues.

With all of the controversies surrounding Ann Coulter, it is always a bit hard to take her too seriously. Sometimes I think she simply has to be joking and that she doesn’t honestly believe anything that she herself says, acting this way only to get on people’s nerves. Maybe her whole point in writing such over-the-top theories about how liberals are destroying everything is just to get people talking about the issues. Joking or not, Coulter is great at getting people revved up as they work on proving her statements false or even just showing how little logic she puts into most of her writing.

The idea of Ann Coulter’s arrival is a mixture of being both disturbing and exciting. While it’s a shame – and a bit annoying – that Pitt students have spent their money on such a hateful pundit, she has been successful in creating a stir on campus, even without a lot of advertising. It has been a while since a political speaker had the potential to draw a crowd the size of Stephanie Tanner’s. I picked up my ticket early the first day they were available and was already number 86. Getting Pitt students to show interest in politics is a good thing – no matter who the one drawing their attention and getting them to voice their opinions is.

I hope that this Sunday no one spends the entire time booing and heckling her – as the Facebook group “I’m going to Ann Coulter just to boo and heckle her” suggests. Instead, everyone who finds Coulter grating on their nerves should spend their time debating and arguing with a woman who is so radical that she makes Michael Moore look slightly moderate – although only slightly. While heckling her might be a fun idea, talking to Coulter in a manner that doesn’t reach her level of high school name-calling has an added bonus. At least you’ll leave the event knowing while Ann Coulter might be a best-selling author, you are much more intelligent and mature.

Love Ann or hate her? E-mail Shannon at slb46@pitt.edu and let her know.