The American Spectator

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Enjoying Ann Coulter

6.12.06 @ 12:02AM

JUDGMENTS
Re: Mark Gauvreau Judge's Doubting Coulter -- At First and Mark Goldblatt's The Politics of Pity:

Great articles by both gentlemen, and here's my take. I'm a social worker (or antisocial worker, depending on my workload) at a large public hospital in New York City. One of my routine morning tasks is to monitor and document the transfer of patients from my own medicine inpatient unit to others. Occasionally the clerical logbook in which these transfers are noted simply say, "expired." I've always hated that term, as it reduces a person to a carton of milk or an out-of-date drivers license. It's just tacky. Inanimate, insensate objects wear out; but people, like Mr. Judge's mother, actively die, regardless of whether the death is a willing one or not, or an ugly one or not. My own dad's Visa to this world expired on a table in the ER and my last memory of him is his foot involuntarily twitching. Whatever else, the man was an active participant -- he died.

Since death is humanity's common fate the manner of passing is at least as important as the fact of passing, as thousands of years of cross-cultural rite and ritual have established. There are those who die well, and some who die badly. Most people, I suspect understand what that means. A "good" death is held to be painless, natural, honorable, dignified end that may or may not serve a noble, greater cause; a "bad death" is painful, degrading, isolating, and humiliating for the deceased. The one culminates in, say, a Viking funeral; the other in, say, a pauper's mass grave. And there are some deaths that fall between these categories: a soldier, e.g., who perishes in battle, or an end-stage Alzheimer's patient in a hospice setting, may have died an honorable death, but not necessarily a dignified one.

Whether the victims of 9/11 died well or died poorly is something I can't quite decide on. But I can't quite bring myself to see them as martyrs as much as poor bastards who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. The wives criticized by Ms. Coulter seem to be couching their criticisms in terms of martyrdom. I don't know if the victim of a late-fifteenth-century auto-da-fe burning alive would see his end as "good" in the above sense, but I do know that martyrs are by definition willing victims. If this is what Ann was getting at, I'm glad her mouth is bigger than mine. If not, Ann, a little tact, okay?
-- Daniel A. Frater
Kew Gardens, New York

Ms. Coulter's pointed comments illustrating the current liberal tactic of using people who have lost a love one, served in war or are a victim to present political points for various liberal organizations is interesting. It is true that these people become immune to challenge or criticism by wrapping themselves in their victim-hood. The virulent response from liberals to Ms. Coulter's comments are evidence that she has definitely struck a nerve. The reaction of conservative spokesmen and Republicans is even more interesting, however.

The general conservative response to Ms. Coulter's comments has been attempting to distance themselves from her remarks. Some have even attempt to apologize for her. While this is certainly in keeping with the civility reserved for true victims of catastrophic events, it may not be such a good idea for the current political arena.

Ms. Coulter made the point she did for a reason. She phrased it as she did for a reason. I would suggest that conservatives simply stay out of the debate at this point and allow Ms. Coulter to carry her own water. So far, she has proven her point in every interview that I have seen and, in some, those debating her make her point for her. Let's see where this debate leads, shall we? A glaring truth may just be revealed to the masses. That might very well turn out well for conservatives and it won't hurt book sales any, either.
-- Michael Tobias
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Although Mark made some valid points, the death of a friend (however close) can NEVER compare to the death of a spouse. Allow these women the courtesy to describe their husbands' deaths however they choose -- without judging them. Grief related to the loss of a spouse is not a process that is controlled and placid -- there is frequently a lot of anger involved.

I'm a fan of Coulter (who happens to think her energies would be better directed elsewhere) but I'm also a widow -- not a 9/11 widow. And there was also no joy in watching my young husband gasp is his final breath on an airplane and die on the floor of the aisle as the resuscitation efforts failed.

Please do pretend to act as though you know what we have been through.
-- Holly Sinclair Goodwin

Whether one agrees with Ann Coulter's way of expressing it, her point is well taken. The New Jersey Chicks chose to politicize their grief, and at some point, therefore, their exemption from criticism expires. Ms. Coulter says: the expiration date is past, off with the gloves! Two kinds of people constitute the electorate in our nation: 1) those who claim some kind of victim-hood (gimme money and/or power and don't criticize me or I'll report you to the PC police, media, bureaus, trial lawyers, etc.), and, 2) those who would never think of living their lives in such a disgusting fashion and disdain those who do. Generally speaking, those in Group 1 gravitate toward the Democrat Party (what is the party other than a coalition of complaint groups?), and those in Group 2 gravitate toward the Republican Party, believing (for the most part, correctly) that those in Group 1 are merely moralizing while trying to pick their pockets. Ms. Coulter has hit this wedge squarely on the head.
-- Ty Knoy
Ann Arbor, Michigan

The "Jersey Girls" righteousness and graphic details towards their loved one's deaths on 9/11 also point to another attempt by liberals to score an argumentative point that cannot be responded to. This is a common trait among the left: Jack Murtha, John Kerry, you can't criticize them unless YOU ALSO FOUGHT in Vietnam. You can't criticize behavior of those that died of AIDS because of their own personal conduct. You can't criticize any Hip-Hop lyrics because "it's a black thing." Many groups and causes have good moral foundations upon which we should advocate. We cannot however, default to them the territory to speak as "experts," or as the moral authority.
-- P. Aaron Jones
Huntington Woods, Michigan

In a nutshell, after reading your provocative article about the insane article Ms. Coulter put out where she rationalizes going after a person's private space to grieve, I find only one sentence worth writing to you, as you yourself said Mr. Judge, I do believe that because you feel you can choose how one should grieve the death of a loved one, for you being so incredibly heartless, you just may be as you said "going to hell" where you can say "hi" to all the terrorists we have killed up 'till today. It's just that simple...how do you sleep at night?
-- "Disgusted in New York"

Precisely, Mr. Judge. Ann can be blunt, indelicate, and brutally honest, but she cannot and will not be manipulated by those who have sold their souls for a mess of political pottage. She believes we still need a two-by-four up the side of our pointy heads to focus our attention on reality and she delivers. Her books are an adult read for adult times.

See you in hell, brother!
-- Mike Showalter
Austin, Texas

Letter to the Editor

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