Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Coulter "threatened"?

A careful reading of this article leaves one questioning just what, exactly, was the behavior on the part of students protesting Coulter's visit that "threatened" her safety. I call bullshit and I think it's a safe bet, given Coulter's MO. Ever the publicity hound, she was quick to publicize the letter she received from a university offical warning her about Canada's laws against hate speech. Note her immediate response (emphasis mine):
Levant (Coulter's spokesperson) blamed the bedlam on university academic vice-president Francois Houle, who had written Coulter to warn her that Canadian laws make provisions for hate speech.

"Promoting hatred against any identifiable group would not only be considered inappropriate, but could in fact lead to criminal charges," he warned her in the letter, which Coulter quickly leaked to the media.

The university has refused to comment since. Levant said Houle's advice to Coulter had emboldened students to block her appearance.
So, "blocking her appearance" was threatening to her safety? It's worth noting that Glenn Greenwald wrote a good post about the pernicious nature of hate speech laws such as Canada's, but that's a far cry from suggesting that Coulter's "safety" was threatened because a bunch of students were protesting her talk. Given her propensity for stunts such as this, though:
Coulter, a best-selling author and syndicated columnist, was in the middle of a three-city tour of Canada, which began at the University of Western Ontario in London on Monday, and ends in Calgary on Thursday.

The event in London went without incident, but not without controversy.

When answering questions from students, Coulter told a 17-year-old Muslim student to "take a camel" instead of the flying carpet she has previously suggested Muslims use for transportation. Coulter later told CTV that the "camel" remark was a joke.
maybe it's understandable that she sees threats even where there are none, but I think the more likely explanation is that she just used this as an excuse for retribution against someone who had dissed her. Typical.

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