Coulter: "I don't think there's anything offensive about any variation of faggy, faggotry, faggot, fag"
On the March 6 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Sean Hannity featured right-wing pundit Ann Coulter and Fox News contributor Pat Caddell to discuss Coulter's March 2 speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), in which she said she "can't really talk about" Democratic presidential candidate and former Sen. John Edwards (NC) because "you have to go into rehab if you use the word 'faggot.' " Hannity said, "Most of the speech was about humor. You were telling jokes the whole time here," and went on to discuss Grey's Anatomy actor Isaiah Washington, who recently sought counseling after using the slur. Coulter responded by saying, "[T]hat's, of course, what I was referring to, and I don't think there's anything offensive about any variation of faggy, faggotry, faggot, fag. It's a schoolyard taunt. It means -- it means wussy. It means, you know, Hillary giving a speech in a fake Southern drawl -- that's faggy. A trial lawyer who weeps before juries is faggy. Lifetime-type TV, faggy." Coulter then referred to the word "faggot" as "a totally excellent word."
In the same broadcast, Coulter referred to the conference as "a really fun, boisterous event," saying, "I whip up the crowd with fun speeches, and this was part of one." In response to Hannity's assertion that some people "view" the word faggot as "a taunt against the gay lifestyle," Coulter said that "no one thinks that's what I was saying." Caddell added: "The problem, Ann, is it's old English -- it's English, it's English, it's not American. It's -- you're absolutely right in the English context of the word."
On January 23, in response to the Isaiah Washington scandal, the weblog Think Progress noted that on the January 22 broadcast of CNN's Headline News, host Glenn Beck said the word "faggot" was nothing more than a "naughty name," and was "amaz[ed]" at The New York Times' refusal to print the word.
The Human Rights Campaign, a leading gay and lesbian activism organization, issued a press release condemning Coulter's comments as "vile" and "disgusting," and CNN reported that "[a]t least three major companies want their ads pulled from Ann Coulter's Web site" following her March 2 remarks.
From the March 6 edition of ABC Radio Networks' The Sean Hannity Show:
HANNITY: Ann, what a shock, involved in a controversy. The world is mesmerized by it. Well, first of all, I had an opportunity to speak to you yesterday, and then I spoke to you last night on Hannity & Colmes. I want you, in your own words, to explain what was going on at this event.
COULTER: Seven thousand right-wing news junkies every year -- I go every year, you go almost every year -- most of them college Republicans. And it's a really fun, boisterous event. I whip up the crowd with fun speeches, and this was -- this was part of one. You're going to play more of the speech, right?
HANNITY: Yeah, I think we have the other cut standing by here --
COULTER: In fact, you ought to just, you know, take off the last 20 minutes of the show and run the whole speech and question-and-answer.
HANNITY: Well --
COULTER: I think your listeners would enjoy that.
HANNITY: No, well, we played it last night on Hannity & Colmes, and you stuck up for gays and lesbians at a different point in the speech, and I'll get to that here in a second. But more specifically, what do you say -- most of the speech was about humor. You were telling jokes the whole time here. So for the context for those people who don't understand what this joke was about, there is a character, an actor by the name of Isaiah Washington, he's in the show Grey's Anatomy, which is a medical drama, and he had to go to rehab, or checked himself into rehab, after he used that word about a fellow actor.
COULTER: Right, and I suspect everyone listening to your show knows about that. I mean, I know -- well, I guess Pat is out in America now; you're primarily in New York City. I give a lot of speeches out in America, I frequently visit America, and Americans are pretty freaked out about somebody going to rehab for using a word, and that's of course what I was referring to. And I don't think there's anything offensive about any variation of faggy, faggotry, faggot, fag. It's a schoolyard taunt. It means -- it means wussy. It means, you know, Hillary giving a speech in a fake Southern drawl -- that's faggy. A trial lawyer who weeps before juries is faggy. Lifetime-type TV, faggy. Everyone understood I was not literally calling -- well, I was not calling -- well, for one thing, I wasn't calling John Edwards anything. That was the whole point. I couldn't talk about him, his life's work, his appeasement policies, his wimpiness on foreign policy, because that word is out of bounds. So, in point of fact, I called John Edwards nothing. I said I couldn't even discuss him because using any variation of that totally excellent word would send me into rehab.
HANNITY: Pat Caddell, your reaction?
CADDELL: Well, I -- you know -- you know, I'm used to -- well, I always like Ann's humor. It always drives people nuts. But, you know, the point is I didn't quite get the connection with John Edwards on the little clip. I got a better context when you did more of the speech. But hey, look, you know, the point of the matter is Ann is -- you know, what I can say to you, Ann, is that they're afraid of you. I wish everyone was afraid of me the way they will attack you. The -- boy, I'd be in business again.
[...]
HANNITY: Let me ask this, Ann, in this regard: If other people interpret that word differently -- so, for example, they view it, well, that's a taunt against the gay lifestyle. That's how they view it. And they're saying, all right, well, Ann Coulter is --
COULTER: Well, the thing is -- one is, yes, it can be used that way, I gather that's the way Isaiah Washington used it, That, I think, is an incorrect of the word -- use of the word. I still don't think you should be sent to rehab for it. But no one thinks that's what I was saying. I was talking about the Democrats, that I couldn't discuss them without using the word, everyone knows, and John Edwards particularly with the whole two Americas --
CADDELL: The problem, Ann, is it's old English -- it's English, it's English, it's not American. It's -- you're absolutely right in the English context of the word.
"faggotry"?
I think that's what a faggotologist does.
Nothing Offensive Ann?Sorry Ann, it is very offensive , you are offensive. This women is completely disgusting.
I would probably be considered a "troll" on this website, because I am a conservative, but I am also offended by her use of a term which has just as much of a violent history as the n-word.
I do want to point out that some conservatives have been very vocal about condemning Ann Coulter over this. I know Sean Hannity is going to bat for her, but there are many others who are not.
It takes more than being a conservative to be a troll. There are many good hearted, smart, conservatives who are far from trolls. On this website, Bruce, Jeter, Interested Observer, and Tommy all come to mind.
Hahahaha.
;-)
What about me, oh learned lawyer? ;-)
I didnt make an exhaustive list. I dont consider you OR Another American to be trolls nor Weseley, Ben or many others. Some others I see vacilating between trolldom and some fairly good points. I would say the outright trolls from the right are a minority of the conservatives that come here and a small minority of the conservatives that post regularly. That is of course MY opinion, others may disagree, void where prohibited
Awww.. I can feel the love! ;-)
Group hug!
Trust me long walks in the moonlight are not in our future
Just because you have a different political ideology does not make you a troll. People who throw that label around are weak and unable to have intelligent debate. There is one lowlife on here who called me a troll because sometimes I look at things differently than my political ideology. And I am so far from being a conservative .
Its nice to have you join the debate.
Dorris,
At least we agree on this point. Welcome to the club!
"People who throw that label around are weak and unable to have intelligent debate."
-----
Unless the poster in question happens to actually be a troll, like "politician818" or whatever his nom-de-ogre was.
Of course she doesn't think that way. Most bigots don't think, let alone think there is anything wrong with the way they use the words.
Look below yourself Ann to and take a long look at that shark you're jumping.
Okay... the 'ol "jump the shark" notion is a misnomer. I understand the analogy, but you have to remember that "Happy Days" still had about 100 more episodes after that one. So, to say that someone jumps the shark, there's still some life in them (or their show). However, the correct analogy would be closer to when David and Maddie slept together on "Moonlighting" and the series tanked after that.
So Smurfette (I really can't bring myself to call her by her name) broke the tension that kept her afloat for so long. There's nothing left to her. She's human (we can only guess) and she's weak. Much like Grouchy Smurf and his meltdown.
Yet after the shark was jumped, the end was in sight. yes the production company kept it 'alive' but that was the moment when it was clear they had run out of material. After all the whole (insert shows name here) goes to Hawaii ot tahiti or where ever is a traditional indication of that in itself, jumping the shark was just adding idiocy to injury.
Jumping the shark has more to do with peaking than it does with life length. Radar leaves M.A.S.H.... the shark was jumped. Coulter has reached her impact apex. She will be around for a while, but her relevance is more related to how crazy she can get versus how valid her opinions are.
Just my $0.02.
Just so I can be on record as having said this once:
I agree with Cannonball.
Dang, I messed that up. to clarify, Ann has jumped the shark.
Just wondering...
When did Pat Caddell get the Fox lobotomy??
right after he signed the fox lifetime contract. you get $1mil/year and if youre a lib they take a huge chunk of your brain.
doesnt he look like hes drooling?
He's not a liberal, so it must have been 3/4.
i was wondering about that when I saw him next to Coulter. Fox is moving into a weird zone. I have noticed the female pundits seem to show more skin, as if a new memo was issued.
Question, would her use of the word on national television violate FCC obscenity laws?
Not when the Conservatives are in control. Boobies = bad. Dehumanizing gays and lesbians = good.
are there still any FCC laws? we can hear all sorts of words now on television. It seems to be a moving target.
You got that right. The FCC regs are ridiculously ambiguous. The only thing that can be said with confidence is that nipples are right out.
On cable, yes. On broadcast TV, not nearly as much. The FCC has no jurisdiction over cable.
Also Cannonball, as far as I can remember the FCC does not normally get involved in 90% of the cases until someone sends in a complainant.
You play you pay, Annie. Soon even Seanie won't have enough power to allow her to keep 'plaining herself.
Pat Caddell is a good fit for Fox Noise....if you get my drift.
The nut with the day pass is going to stop making these kinds of comments when she is hit in the pocket book, and only then.
I think it's already happening. A diarist at Daily Kos who goes by the handle of VolvoDrivingLiberal started an e-mail campaign to the advertisers at anncoulter.com. And it looks like it's worked. VDL has posted a couple of diaries updating what advertisers have pulled out and the responses he/she has received from more than a few advertisers.
I don't want to see her go up in flames...I just want her to fizzle out.
Yeah, if she goes up in flames, FOX would find a way to cover it, and milk more money out of her demise.
It all comes down to money...she knows when she spouts hateful speech such as this, it brings her attention, selling more books and confirming more speeches. You can tell simply by her defense of her comment "It was a joke," and "It was meant as a school yard slure," which meant "wuss". Simply put, she knew using the word "wuss" wouldn't get her any attention, it wouldn't cause this huge media whirl wind that has now put her in the center spot light. IF she meant it as a joke and was imploring the label "wuss", she would have used the word "wussy" or "girly-man", but her agenda is simply indvidualistic. She's looking out for herself...and that's all!
As long as Sean Hannity has a job in the media, Ann Coulter will always have a platform to spew her hate.
And we don't think there is anything wrong on calling her(?) out on the use of the term(s).
Exactly Oscar good point
How long before she says "I was merely referring to him as a bundle of sticks"?
Probably right around the time Limbaugh says that the "Obama owns Sharpton" comment was referring to an intense game of Counter-Strike the reverend lost. OWNED!
And guess what team Obama was on? Yes, that's right: Terrorists.
If I didn't think you were joking, I would think that you were stooge, but a dedicated stooge for sticking to the talking points.
Maybe one day Ann and/or Sean will be mistaken for gay and get gay-bashed - at least they won't be offended while their attackers are calling them f*ggtos while beating them to a pulp.
I think Sean and Ann could pass for a gay couple.Coulters pretty butch compared to the whiny Hannity, but neither of these guys seems like they like women very much..
"It's a schoolyard taunt."
Exactly... taunts you would expect from a moronic, bullying, manual laborer with a 5th grade education. Not the logic and intelligence of a woman with a Juris Doctor degree and a former Justice Department Attorney. No self-respecting, educated woman would allow herself to be regarded in such a demeaning way... unless she's a phony who sold out for a ton of cash. Hope you're enjoying the cash... too bad you need body guards to even step out your door because you're reviled by so many.
Ditto. She's out for the bucks, has the legal talent of a rodent, and the intellectual skill of a redneck with a grade school education. She's a regular Horatio Alger!
I'm sure her sales among the Christian Coalition are gonna skyrocket after they hear how much she loves to gratuitously spew "f*ggot" and all its variations over and over on national TV.
That's funny - when I tried to post the correctly spelled "f*ggot" I got a warning that I couldn't post PROFANITY - who'da thunkit?
Hey, mAnn....keep digging....can I get ya' a bigger shovel???
and that pumpkin head Hannity!!!!!
These people are SAD
PDrum...CA
Now what does Annie C. call Matt Sanchez?? Last week, he was one of us...today he is Porn Star Rod Majors...Has he fooled the Cons? Or is this the real VALUES espoused by the Right?
Col. isn't he one of yours?
Has anyone seen this? Gay porn star and Ann Coulter...
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/48944/
I'm sure he thinks it's cute when she calls him her "darkie f4g".
Did anyone see the picture of Annie at the CPAC gathering with that gay porn star turned Marine? She's accusing others of being--gay--when she's hanging around that "party?"
Oh, and Hannity was shaking his hand too, and saying Semper Fi. Semper what, Sean? Which monuments do you spend your time looking at, stud?
Maybe Hannity was saying " Semper Bi ".
Hmmmm, big Freudian slip. Come on out, Ann, just admit it.
Yet again, the entire frame for the debate is flawed. Hannity himself uses the term "gay lifestyle," which is incredibly problematic in its own right. Also, no one points out how ridiculous it is that she is able to connect the word with "wussy" but still claim that the word has nothing to do with gay people.
"gay lifestyle"?
I have never quite understood exactly what that phrase is intended to mean. Does it simply mean being gay? Or being opnely gay and not hiding one's homosexuality? Or does it imply something something more? "Gay" is used to differentiiate homosexual from heterosexual; but the addition of the word "lifestyle" suggests to me that the additional word is intended to convey the view, generally associated with the Christian right, that homosexuality is "chosen" rather than being a genetic or other biological predisposition or orientation with which people are probably born. The word "lifestyle", generally speaking, is associated with any particular way a person chooses to live.
Bu the phrae "gay lifestyle" is general enough to allow the reader of the phrase to fill in the blanks in his own way and to conjure up whicever images of the "gay lifestyle" he wishes. To some people I've met it suggests men dressing and acting effeminately, kissing in public, and generally rubbing "gayness" in the face of society, in their view at least. To others, including myself, it doesn't conjure up such images. Rather, I see people living, working and functioning in society as any other person, regardless of sexual orientation, but who happen to be gay and their circle of friends is primarily, nut not always exclusively, gay. (Okay, maybe their homes are decorated a bit more stylishly than mine.) ;>)
My impression is that many on the right are afraid or feel threatened by the so called "gay lifestyel". I have a right wing cousin who essentially boycotts Disneyworld as a vacation destiny because the amusement resort is perceived by some as "gay friendly" and my cousin doesn't want his children exposed to gay people "making out". I don't doubt that gay people have sometimes been viewed "making out" in public... and so have a lot more straight couples. But that's how a lot of people on the right imagine the so called "gay lefestyle"... open, and often promiscuous, gay sex.
After being displaced for a while by Katrina, I lived briefly with a gay relative and his partner (of sixteen years). They go to work every day and live normal lives. At a dinner party I went to with them at the home of one of their gay friends, the primary difference from any other dinner with a group of (straight) men is that "Desperate Housewives" was more a topic of conversation rather than which NFL team had the best shot at a Super Bowl season. Some of their social interests were different from nine.but otherwise, it seemed pretty normal to me. And it was of no concern to me what they did when they went home to bed.
Oh, and to put another right wing canard to rest, I was not "hit on" or otherwise prosthletized by them to "turn gay". ;>)
But my point, I guess, is that a lot of attitudes are formed by personal experiences and/or perceptions. On the right wing it appears to me that much anti-gay fervor is based on perceptions rather than experiences. Granted, experiences may differ widely, and someone may tell of negative experiences with gays. But what's wrong is to overly generalize as an excuse to hate an entire group of people. That's just an ignorant way of loking at any group or race of people. And, personally, I just don't see where gay people or "gay lifestyles" threaten America the way the right wing argues.
Irony, IMO when they talk about the "gay lifestyle" they mean same-sex sodomy. I don't think they're too concerned about the Jettas.
"they mean same-sex sodomy"
Yea, I agree... it's the gay sex that concerns the right.wing. But i still think that by calling it a "lifestyle" it intentionally implies that homosexuality is a chosen sexual orientation rather than biological.
Anyway, if these right wingers really wanted to put a stop to all this gay sex, you would think they would encourage gays to get married. ;>)
Irony,
I think most conservatives don't really care about gay people one way or another. From my perspective, It is not the lifestyle that conservatives object to, but what may loosely be called "the gay agenda". Off the top of my head this includes, among other things, changing the definition of marriage and the assault on some traditional organizations such as Churches, schools, and the Boy Scouts to make the gay lifestyle as legitimate as the heterosexual lifestyle. Feel free to disagree.. this is just my perception.
Many conservatives know and love people who are gay and value them as anyone else. You see that in Cheney. Obviously he loves his daughter.
Gay lifestyle, just like the black lifestyle, the Irish lifestyle etc. etc. That's the thing about having rights and equality, once one group gets it, they all want it.
I agree with the earlier folks--the problem with lifestyle is that it implies that being gay is a choice, and a choice on par with deciding to decorate your house a certain way, eating at Indian restaurants, or deciding that maybe it's fun to swap partners with close friends. Lifestyles make me think that being gay is somehow like picking out a new purse or becoming a swinger. It's a bogus term. As for the "gay agenda," well that term is also ridiculous. If there is a gay agenda, it's one that has been developed because of people like Coulter who make money through saying hateful things or people like Rove who propose to write discrimination into the constitution in order to cater to a certain group of voters. Maybe we should make these terms more inclusive, and start talking about a "straight agenda," or, better yet, the "Ann Coulter" lifestyle. Somehow, I don't think Anne's lifestyle is going to involve writing in any serious publications for much longer.
Coulter Personifies “Fagot”…again
The obsolete meaning, early 20th century, of this word: “contemptible woman.”
Seriously, folks. These Rightwingers live in a fantasy universe, and there is no resemblance to the world of reality we Americans actually LIVE in.
What's so surprising that their alternate universe has a unique LANGUAGE, where words don't mean what they do here on earth?
I'd say more about Coulter, but I'd have to use a lot of words that are unacceptable to society. So, I won't.
Ah, but this is the fascinating world of American conservative linguistic ideology. On the one hand, you find defenses of literalism and originalism when it comes to foundational legal and religious texts. On the other, you find Coulter bending over backwards to divorce her use of the word "f4ggot" from the original context of its use, and claim that it should instead be judged on what the word would have meant in the context of a schoolyard.
I remember.....
when I was a kid and I used that word I knew exactly what I was saying. I was putting someone down in the most demeaning way possible. But of couse I was a kid and now I know better.
If there's nothing offensive about the word, why has Anne been in non-stop PR damage control mode ever since using it?
Ann Coulter has the nerve to called somebody a name, the way she looks she should hide her face under a rock.... John Edwards is more of a handsome man that she is (LOL).
Has anyone ever seen Ann Coulter and James Caviezel together? Hmmmm.
Caviezel was struck by lightning twice while filming "The Passion of the Christ." You'd think that someone would have seen that as a sign...
Considering that the Mark Foley scandal and subsequent lack of action helped cost the Republicans in 2006, she's the last person who should be bandying about the F word.
Even if this tanks her career, the other Right Wing Professional liars will use it to make her a martyr to "political correctness". The Troglodytes will fall into line in their pavlovian way, outraged at those Godless liberals for messing up their Christian nation...and they'll surrender their money and their votes to the GOP once again.
The first definition from the Urban Dictionary http://www.urbandictionary.com
1. fagg*t In these times not really used if somebody is really a homosexual mostly used instead of calling somebody stupid or a loser.Ralph: Chris hasn't been answering his phone. John: Yeah, he is probably hanging out with those other kids thats why.Ralph: He is such a fagg*t.John: Yeah him and his fagg*t friends.
Many of you are way behind the times by not knowing this recent use of the word by the younger generation. Instead you let your preceonceptions and limited knowledge regarding the use of the word to validate your dislike for Ann.I find it amusing and ironic that many of you hurl gay accusations at Ann as if that is supposedly okay. Maybe some of you should look up hypocrite?Thanks for the advice, Anotheramerican. Better get back to the school now before they hire a new marm to replace you.
Well... this also one of the definitions of "f4ggot" listed in the "Urban Dictionary":
An ignorant, derogatory phrase used to indicate that the receiver is a homosexual.Also used as a general insult, but it can be very hurtful to other so it shouldn't be.
The "Urban Dictionary", BTW, is essentially a teenager site, which illustrates the point I've been making that although Ann Coulter is a fairly bright, well-educated woman (and a former Justics Department attorney), she dumbs down political discourse by her crude, juvenile, coarseness. She has just admitted using "f4ggot" as a "schoolyard taunt". One would expect a more mature, intelligent poitical discussion from a woman of her intelligence and education. A reasonable conclusion is that she's doing her shock show just for the cash.
Irony,
You make a good point. I'm not sure it is dumbing down but rather pushing the envelope.
If you look at the comment in context, it is intended as a taunt for Edwards. at the same time a sarcastic remark toward the guy who entered 'rehab' for using the word.
Coulter could be considered the Lenny Bruce of our time. Her commentary is constantly on the fringe if not past it.
Being a conservative, I am not on the receiving end of any of her taunts, therefore I have no emotional investment in defending myself or my political views from her poison pen barbs. From my perspective she is wickedly funny and very cogent in her critiques of the Democrats and liberals. However I know I am in the minority around here and for being such will be called biggoted and hateful by many ignorant but well meaning libs. Nothing can be further from the truth.
When Anne called Edwards a "f*ggot" which was it: "wickedly funny" or a "cogent critique"?
ANOTHER AMERICAN:
Studies of serial killers indicate that they have a background as children of torturing (and often killing, dissecting) small animals. Pets, any rodents they can catch, birds, all were in their "learning phase".
These are people with a mental proclivity to LIKE, enjoy, or find fascinating the mechanisms of death. They find it amusing. Their brains are "wired differently" from normal people.
So, your claim to be entertained by Ann Coulter's crude, offensive, racist, hateful "humor" is not surprising. There are all sorts of people who delight in the denigration of other living things, and are amused by things that horrify normal folks ... normal folks who have qualities such as compassion, empathy, and a basic sense of justice.
If one can just learn to live without a conscience, then there is no barrier to enjoying the HUMOR of taunting, smearing, insulting, namecalling, and basically behaving as a schoolyard bully. It's good that there is an Ann Coulter to amuse you. A butterfly net just won't do for one who craves a bear trap, those steel teeth and all that blood and pain. ENJOY, because this Ann's for YOU!
If you think it a good comparison then you don't know the work of Lenny Bruce.
Although I would like to see her hounded by the legal authorities for the rest of her life just like Mr. Bruce.
The comparison is horribly inappropriate. Almost every nightclub in the United States had blacklisted Bruce by the mid 60s. He was arrested for violating obscenity laws multiple times, and was sentenced to four months in a workhouse.
Coulter, on the other hand, is complaining about.... what? That she's been invited to speak about her use of the word "f4ggot" on Fox News and CNN? That she's still got a syndicated column? That CPAC invited her back to speak a year after she used the epithet "raghead"?
Please. Coulter is a whiny, spoiled brat, and comparing her to Lenny Bruce is absurd. The worst thing Coulter has faced has been a cream pie lobbed in her direction. It didn't even hit her. Meanwhile, she complains that her political opponents should be found guilty of treason and slander for what they say.
Intolerance of intolerance is not itself intolerance.
Very wise.
However in this context I think many are misinterpreting the comment.
To some degree it is like going to another country and saying something or making a gesture that in this country is similar to giving the finger..
You may have thought yourself funny but you offended many people who do not realize your intent. I think that is the case here to a degree. The difference is Coulter realizes everyone is taking it the wrong way because of their limited knowledge of the use of the word and she doesn't care.
It seems to me Coulter is playing a little game to see who gets her and who doesn't. I think the vast majority here and liberals in general obviously don't 'get' her and therefore want want to 'get' her because she infuriates them so.
Oh well.
Maybe, or maybe the vast majority of liberals GET her perfectly and she leaves JUST enough room for rightwing appologists to make arguments just like this one. I dont think WE are the ones being played here.
Where does Caddell get the idea that the word is Old English and Coulter is using it in it's correct Old English form? A quick trip to the OED shows that it's origin is Old French and the American usage is a derogatory one.
Where does Caddell get the idea that the word is Old English and Coulter is using it in its correct Old English form? A quick trip to the OED shows that its origin is Old French and the American usage is a derogatory one.
Many of you are way behind the times by not knowing this recent use of the word by the younger generation. Instead you let your preceonceptions and limited knowledge regarding the use of the word to validate your dislike for Ann.
Yeah, right, because her audience at that conference were just a bunch of way-cool hipsters. And as for your source: it's a wiki. Anyone can post their own definition for a word, but even at that level the vast majority of the offered definitions make it clear that it is a derogatory term directed at gay men. The conference audience knew that or they wouldn't have gasped at her use of the word (right before bursting into applause). Trying to pretend after the fact that it's a harmless taunt is utter and total b.s.
You may be correct. I thought the audience first thought of the gay baiting word and then realized it was not, therefore started laughing. It took them a minute to get it.
the defeaning silence for a second reminded me of Colbert's comments at that dinner he spoke at (With Bush in attendence) that many also considered disrespectful and in poor taste.
Sometimes commedians hit their mark and sometimes not.
Difference being, Stephen Colbert's success and popularity are increasing, while newspapers are dropping Anne left and right.
I guess they're just too "out of it" to understand what "f*ggot" means. Yeah - that must be it.
I wrote a long e-mail giving a true etymology of the word, and this wretched site would not publish it because it contained "profanity"!!! (I'll be fagotologised sideways if I'm writing the whole thing again.
Anyone know that South Park scene where Cartman is yelled at for using the f-word (called Kyle a "f***ing jew"), and responds: "Why? It doesn't hurt anybody- F*** F***eddy F*** F*** F***! This SO reminds me of that scene.
Now, one thing about South Park is that if a real life event seems too much like South Park, you KNOW you have a mojor problem.
I can't believe she said that, defending her is pointless, the prosecution rests--to giggle some more.
Wonder what Coulter would consider "serious faggotism."
Oh, by the way: I'm 18, and f*g is still mostly a derogatory term for homosexuals. The word "gay", interestingly, has come to mean "lame" as in "The internet's not working again."-"That's gay!". I've never used it in that form, though, especially since you can get in trouble for that. Anyway, just the 2 cents worth from the class of 07. The best insider info you're going to get on 'kid's today'.
Which means that Ann Coulter was not just "in tune with the times", or "hip" or anything like that. Trust me, everyone interpreted it "that way". Except the Co(ulter)labolateurs...
This is a really important point, from a sociolinguistic standpoint. As Irony has argued here, she didn't make this statement in a schoolyard and she's not a schoolgirl. And as you point out, even on a schoolyard, this is a whole lot stronger than a lighthearted joke.
Coulter had a lot of time to prepare this little stunt, and she chose her words with full knowledge of how much controversy it caused for ABC and Isaiah Washington. Clearly she knew that a public figure calling another public figure a 'f4ggot' is taken more seriously than a schoolyard taunt -- after all, that was the premise of her 'joke'.
Homosexuals have fought battles to reclaim particular words in particular contexts: "gay" and "queer" have been relatively destigmatized in public because of their efforts. Think of titles and phrases like "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy", "Gay Rights", "Queer Theory", etc... But I'm unaware, however, of any popular use of "f4ggot" with positive, non pejorative connotations. And Coulter knows it.
I don't think that even Coulter believes this "schoolyard taunt" defense. Why? Because she very nearly admitted that, for her, the word really is a derogatory term for homosexuals:
She's shrewd and I give her credit for censoring herself, because if she hadn't stopped mid-sentence, she would have ended up saying "I was not literally calling John Edwards a f4ggot", thus declaring that she takes the word to literally refer to a homosexual. The moment she said "literally", she knew she had screwed up.
Joke? Look who's laughing. Look who encourages and justifies her. There will be no discourse or progress until Ann Coulter is ignored. She coldly, calculatedly, deliberately says outrageous things to create controversy and focus attention on herself. The media thrives on controversy and the Republicans love her for that. Candidates are forced to address her remarks rather than discuss the issues and problems facing this nation. Ann Coulter is the trojan horse of the Republican conspiracy.
A word is offensive no matter how it is used and who uses it. Take for instance the "N" word when a black person uses this word or variations of it it is not considered offensive. But the second it is uttered by a white man, even in the same context as a black man, it is offensive. No matter how much black people use the word it will always be offensive. So by this conjecture "gay" and "queer" were never offensive in the first place.
You say you cannot think of any good use of the word "f4ggot". What about British slang where it means cigarette? Unless of course you find cigarettes offensive in which case you have a whole new set of problems.
From my experience children use this insult quite regularly at school and elsewhere. We tell these same children to develop a thick skin and don't listen to these insults but we stop the presses when it is used by a media personality. It is time we followed our own advice and grow a thicker skin.
Insanceloki20024664,
You began your post by claiming that a word is offensive regardless of who uses it or the context of its use... but then you claim that when spoken in a British cultural and linguistic context, the word "f4ggot" takes on a totally different meaning. Clearly you do recognize that the meaning of a word is always subject to context. (However, as Jeffraine pointed out, you're confusing this with the British term "f4g", not "f4ggot".)
You then conclude by suggesting that, actually, no one should complain about derogatory epithets, and that instead it is the responsibility of those who are subjected to insults to grow 'thicker skins'. This doesn't seem like much of a solution to me: people who are subjected to abusive language are going to grow thick skins no matter what. But I'm much more worried about the people who feel that they can insult whomever they like without ever having to take any responsibility for their words. I agree with you that children should develop a thick skin, but it's also important to tell the misbehaving kids that it's wrong to be mean.
Besides, if anyone is in need of a thick skin in this scenario, it's not homosexual people or John Edwards, but Coulter herself: she dished out an insult, but responds to mild criticism by crying "censorship" and acting as if the police are coming to take her away to "rehab" because she used the wrong word. She's acting like a spoiled child: she exercises freedom of speech without the corresponding responsibility.
You say you cannot think of any good use of the word "f4ggot". What about British slang where it means cigarette? Unless of course you find cigarettes offensive in which case you have a whole new set of problems.
The British word for ciggie is "f4g", not "f4ggot". It's also an old term for an underclassman at a prep school who does chores for an older student.
"It's a schoolyard taunt."
That sentence alone encapsulates just about every word that Coulter has put to paper or spoken aloud during her mealy-mouthed career -- but then, I would never insult kids on a playground by suggesting that they are like Ann Coulter.
Get it?
Do you Mr. Hannity have the moral courage to publically and categorically repudiate the hateful comments? *Tick tock tick tock*
And of course I mean without changing the subject by launching into a diatribe of comments made by Democrats?