This shit has got to stop in Liberal/Left Circles

[boston bean]

When the name Ann Coulter is mentioned, a flood of words comes to mind: mean, angry, extremist, conservative, inflammatory, hideous, arrogant, male. Regarding that last adjective, we are speaking specifically of a male who is angry because he looks like a woman—sort of. You could throw the adjective ugly into the mix, but that’s probably redundant. Seriously, how many men have you seen in a dress who are good-looking?

What we’ve just said about the author and pundit would be out of bounds were it not for the fact that everything Ann Coulter says is out of bounds. Here are some examples:

“If I’m going to say anything about John Edwards in the future, I’ll just wish he had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot.”

“We should invade their [Islamic] countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity.” “I think [women] should be armed but should not vote. … Women have no capacity to understand how money is earned. They have a lot of ideas on how to spend it…it’s always more money on education, more money on child care, more money on day care.’’

It has long been postulated—by HUSTLER and others—that Ann Coulter is a hermaphrodite or is intersexed with scrambled genes. One disorder linked to intersexing is Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome, which can cause males to be born with underdeveloped genitals or even female sex organs, including a vagina. Screwed up chromosomes could explain 6-foot-tall Ann’s boyish figure and Adam’s apple.

It’s worth noting that investigative reporter Brad Friedman, writing for this magazine in April 2008, stated that on June 15, 2005, when Coulter filled out an application to become a Florida voter, she left blank the section specifying sex. Supplying false information on such a document is a third-degree felony that could result in a $5,000 fine and/or five years in prison. But enough about Coulter’s mutant sexuality. The reason she appears here has more to do with her stated political beliefs. Let’s take a look at them.

http://larryflynt.com/assholeofthemonth/ann-coulter/

I don't care that Ann Coulter is a miserable lying sack of shit. Mean and disgusting pile of human excrement. This shit does not belong in liberal circles, it is abhorrent.

[hlthe2b]

1. Larry Flynt, for all his 1st amendment victories, has never struck me as "pedestal-worthy"

as some on the "left" have so determinedly tried to firmly place him. He certainly carries the banner for ugly misogyny and it annoys the hell out of me that some find that compatible with true progressivism. I once posted something this benignly critical about him on another "progressive" political website and actually had to get AOL involved (years ago) because of overtly threatening and violent emails I received afterwards.

She is, what she is: mean, angry, extremist, conservative, inflammatory, hideous, arrogant. Period.

edited for typos

[redqueen]

2. Well, larry flynt is a miserable sack of woman-hating shit...

But yes, other, slightly less horrid people also spew this kind of crap. Can't say its too surprising seeing it in liberal circles. Wouldn't expect that to change, myself. Progressives though, yes. I would expect better.

[seabeyond]

3. i agree flynt is a miserable sack of woman-hating shit...

what we liberals do, oh, misogynist maher, sexist moore, is say we can use these terms on women of the repug party. but the way sexism/misogyny works is this is for ALL women they get angry with. you know, the women in this forum. it is no longer directed at THOSE women. it is ALL women that dare to speak out, disagree, dont tow the patriarchy line.

the woman boss. the wife. the women at the check out stand that dare to speak out.

not a tough one to understand. plenty of evidence that makes this clear.

but, here on du, we like to ignore this and pretend it is just THOSE women, until it isnt anymore.

then we laugh and say lighten up francis, just a joke.

[mysuzuki2]

4. So?

[boston bean]

9. You want to expound a bit further?

If not, and "So?" stands as your final words, I will take it to mean you agree with Flynt and his transphobic, misogynistic BS and you will be blocked from the group.

[mysuzuki2]

12. I think anything anyone wants to say about Ann Coulter is fine with me.

Feel free to block me from your little group. You wouldn't want it tainted by anyone not sharing your exact views on every point. What are there now - 3 or 4 of you? Misogyny is not defined as being everything you disagree with.

[seabeyond]

13. yes, this would be the example how, when a progressive sees no issue with sexism, how it also feeds

to an overwhelming disrespect of women in general.

thank you for the example.

[boston bean]

14. go post your tripe in any other group and see how far you'll get.

I'll take the opportunity to block you now. Thank you!

[MadrasT]

15. Spoken as a true...

...fuck it, nevermind.

[MadrasT]

5. Jesus that's awful.

It has long been postulated—by HUSTLER and others—that Ann Coulter is a hermaphrodite or is intersexed with scrambled genes. One disorder linked to intersexing is Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome, which can cause males to be born with underdeveloped genitals or even female sex organs, including a vagina. Screwed up chromosomes could explain 6-foot-tall Ann’s boyish figure and Adam’s apple.

Intersexed? Scrambled Genes? Screwed up chromosomes?

So fucking what? Really. Who cares? It is not anyone's place to speculate, and even if true, goddammit THIS IS NOT A REASON TO ATTACK ANYONE ON THE PLANET.

It’s worth noting that investigative reporter Brad Friedman, writing for this magazine in April 2008, stated that on June 15, 2005, when Coulter filled out an application to become a Florida voter, she left blank the section specifying sex. Supplying false information on such a document is a third-degree felony that could result in a $5,000 fine and/or five years in prison. But enough about Coulter’s mutant sexuality.

"Mutant sexuality"? That is one of the most disgusting things I have ever read.

For shame. For shame.

Larry Flynt is lower than an earthworm's bellybutton.

OMG and the last paragraph at the link. I won't even copy it here, it is too, too ugly.

She is Asshole of the Decade, not just Asshole of the Month, but this is BEYOND THE PALE and utterly unacceptable.

I thought I had evolved past getting pissed off about things on the internet, but this takes the cake.

[seabeyond]

6. see, you did it. i had no desire to click on the site. you made me

ya... scum. that would be flynt. scum.

reading the last paragraph, lol. my curiosity.

[MadrasT]

8. I started copying the last paragraph into my post

And it was so vile I refused to reproduce it here.

[pansypoo53219]

11. i think i found anthrax's genetic issue in an old oral pathology book.

been a few years, but hyper-gonadism. luckily they tend to be infertile.

[MadrasT]

7. OH this makes me MAD

This shit has got to stop in all circles.

[seabeyond]

10. women/girls are well pornified. it has been in the works for a decade and half. men, and too many

women do NOT want to stop it. it is the only leverage the men have on women at this point. they worked too hard for it. their only desire now is to normalize it to such an extent that a poster will come into this forum, read the garbage and respond with a

so?

[RZM]

16. I agree with you that cracks about Coulter's appereance are not cool

They are also unnecessary. I don't care what she looks like, I care what she says and does.

But it's interesting to me that this particular issue is cause for a line in the sand, when human biodiversity produces all sorts of physical features that are fodder for jokes.

Is calling attention to Coulter's features worse than, say, making fun of John Boehner for his skin tone? Or Paul Wolfowitz for his ears? Or Mitch McConnell for his chin? Or Chris Christie for his weight? Or Helen Thomas for her nose (or age, for that matter)? Or Barney Frank for his lisp?

The list is pretty pretty much endless.

On the one hand, it would be silly and to ban any sort of crack on any person for their appearance. But OTOH, where do you draw the line and why?

I understand that there are people out there who get offended when a woman like Ann Coulter is teased for her appearance. But remember too there are plenty of people who have had a rough go of it because their weight, ears, skin tone, or whatever. And I do think concerns such as those should have a place in this discussion.

[boston bean]

17. You really don't get it.

I don't have to educate you about it, either.

It's been all over DU for quite a few years as to why this is more than just an insult as to how she looks, and how it is bigoted. I'm sure you couldn't have missed it.

[RZM]

19. Hold on a sec. I said I agree with you

While I'm probably not as versed in this particular debate as you are, I believe I get the gist of why it bothers people.

From what I understand, part of the reason is that such criticisms reinforce the idea that a woman's worth is tied heavily to her physical appearance and attractiveness. While appearance matters for men too, I agree it's not in the same ballpark as it is for women. Women who don't conform to established standards of beauty are denied opportunities in favor of women who do. And that is a major problem.

Another reason is that people don't appreciate the idea that a woman who possesses feature that some perceive as masculine can be discriminated or ridiculed for that. I think this particularly rankles people in the LGBT and transgender communities, though of course many other people dislike this as well.

I'm sure there's more, but those were the two that jumped out at me.

I agree with all of that. I wasn't arguing that those concerns aren't perfectly valid. My point was that appearance discrimination does not stop at women, let alone women who look like Ann Coulter. As I said, many people possess a variety of features that are cause for unfair ridicule or discrimination.

I don't think it's rude or disruptive to mention such concerns in a related issue like this. I'm not even sure where I stand on all of this, I just thought it was an perspective that might add to the discussion or stimulate it further.

[boston bean]

22. If you think bigoted slurs and insults to a person

such as asshole, etc are the same thing, come back and let me know.

There is a difference.

[RZM]

29. Not sure what you mean

I don't think calling somebody an asshole is the same as making fun of a physical trait. The latter seems harsher and more mean-spirited to me.

I guess where we differ is that you see the type of discrimination outlined in the OP as far worse than some of the types I mentioned. I think they're all bad (though perhaps not equally). Perhaps the only place we differ is how much weight we place on each type of discrimination. We're probably not all that far apart here.

[boston bean]

30. We are talking about stereotypical bigoted misogynistic behavior

on the part of Larry Flynt.

There is a difference. yoo hooo, there is a difference.

[sylvi]

31. It's not just about insulting a woman's looks

or assigning her worth to those looks. It's about using terms like transvestite, transsexual, hermaphrodite, etc. as epithets, which in turn conveys the message that those individuals are worthy of derision or somehow "less than" other folk.

[MadrasT]

32. Exactly. Thank you. n/t

[redqueen]

18. Are orange-skinned people oppressed as a class?

Big-nosed people? There's a case to be made that unattractive or overweight people actually are... so that leads us to the idea that maybe, just maybe, we as a society might consider past the stage where large numbers of adults seem to consider schoolyard type bullying nonsense as acceptable or entertaining outside of comedy venues / contexts.

And yes, I know, word police and smelling salts and 'sanitizing' blah de blah blah... this isn't Neverland and growing up is not a bad thing. IMHO, of course. This is DU, so... obviously a lot of people's M's definitely V.

[RZM]

20. I think we're pretty much in agreement

It probably would be a good idea to minimize this type of discrimination as much as possible. Obviously some groups have it worse than others. Ranking them in a precise order is probably an impossible task for anyone, let alone to get consensus on it.

I don't have the answers as to what is or isn't appropriate on DU and that's why I chose to comment here (BTW, I wouldn't have even known about this thread had I not been called to serve on a jury for a post here - the alert was frivolous and resulted in 0-6 to leave alone).

It got me thinking, that is all.

[seabeyond]

24. Thanks rzm. Quite a few threads going about our forum

Without any participation from us. I am sure it will result in blaming us for all the attention we bring to ourselves minding our own business. Like an obsession to feed and no one to play with.

[redqueen]

27. Yeah, I have no patience for oppression olympics.

Oppression is bad, full stop. Encouraging it is also bad, and participating in it, etc.

I'm not claiming to be perfect, I've spent my life growing up in this same sick culture. The important thing is to be aware of it, catch yourself if you slip up, and call it out when you see it. (That last one is tricky on this site, bit still important IMO.)

[JustAnotherGen]

21. I know it's awful

I know Larry Flynt is just yuck-eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

But it's Ann Coulter. The angriest meanest vilest 'wants to go back to the 1860's' asshole of the Female persuasion. I just can't stand her! I mean . . . I hate her guts!

It would be easier if it was Sister Sarah Alaskastan - in her case she's just too dumb to know better. I could have empathy.

But Ann Coulter would laugh if someone had written this about any woman at DU. She would. Because she is just vile.

I have a hard time feeling empathy for a woman who would spit on ANY woman at DU if we were laying in the street bleeding and wearing a Woman For Obama T-Shirt.

That's the fact of it.

I don't like her and I'm cold reading this.

[boston bean]

25. This is not about feeling any empathy for her.

I think this is where the line get blurred, and by some on purpose.

It's not about Ann Coulter, per se.

No one here would defend that dirty vile nasty creep, and those of her ilk.

The issue is with using minority groups and the stereotypes to demean her. That is bigoted.

[redqueen]

28. Yes, exactly.

She is horrible, stupid, shallow, mean, vicious, ... there are lots of words we can use to describe her which DO NOT contribute to the oppression of entire groups of people.

[JustAnotherGen]

35. Oh by the way

I DO understand - but I'm just so blind about her. But the one thing I COULD do is boycott Flint - but I don't buy porn at all - so I can't really make an impact.

And the men that purchase his *puke* 'products' - they don't care. Your point is completely lost on them. They already see us as objects - so as 'inanimate' (at least they wish) objects that don't speak back (again - they wish) - she's another object to them.

[seabeyond]

36. the one thing I COULD do is boycott Flint

but I don't buy porn at all - so I can't really make an impact.



then there is that.

[seabeyond]

26. Lol. Then we would simply justify using the c word on palin. Nt

[JustAnotherGen]

33. crummy?

She's also a dummy. And so is Ann Coulter.

Well can I at least say they are both too wet to step on and too low to kick?


* JustAnotherGen is going to sit in a corner and try -TRY to be nice now*. Sniff. I'm just not nice. Man, imagine if it was Michelle Malkin you guys would have to take my Feminist Card from me. She's another one that is up there with that just AWFUL Anita Bryant.

[seabeyond]

37. or stick a dick in the mouth to shut women up.....

one way or another. i hear ya.

[hlthe2b]

34. I have no lack of descriptive terms for Coulter--none even remotely pleasant.

She is as vile as you say. But, I find I never run out of apt terms that require me to comment nor speculate on issues associated with her gender nor sexual orientation and which runs the risk of insulting or demeaning others. IMO, the truly vile deserve a "surgical" approach and one that avoids "collateral damage."

[JustAnotherGen]

23. Another thing

Have you ever heard the song Sister Blister by Alannis Morisette?

That's exactly what comes to mind when I think of Coulter. Sister Blister.