Kevin of Eckernet is a little pissed at Ann Coulter for using the term "raghead", citing this quote (I can't find a transcript - search "ann coulter cpac" on Google News for more info):

"Maybe they do [have nuclear weapons], maybe they don't, but they're certainly acting like they do. ... If you don't want to get shot by the police, don't point a gun at them. Or as I think our motto should be, post 9/11," Coulter said, "'Raghead talks tough, raghead faces consequences.'"

I'm not sure I agree with him.

Now, I'm not usually a fan of racial slurs. Using them bespeaks a lack of imagination on the user's part. After all, there are SO many creative ways to be insulting, why settle for the easy target?

On the other hand, there may be times...

A thought experiment - if a black man murdered my wife, I wouldn't refer to him as "an African-American gentleman". I'd feel free to trot out a stream of the most hateful race-based epithets I could conjure, and I wouldn't feel bad about it.

I think in that case, it'd be ok, because it's personal between me & him. I don't mean to insult his race as a whole. I'm just trying to find the cruelest, most hurtful thing to throw at him, personally.

On the other hand, if I were to look at a black man looting stuff during Hurricane Katrina and I were to say something like "Ain't that just like a Negro to steal anything that ain't nailed down?", then that's NOT personal - that's just blanket bigotry. I'm insulting all black people in general.

Ann's case is somewhere in between. We're at war with a lot of Middle-Eastern Muslims. I'm a big fan of disrespecting my nation's enemies. Anything that pisses them off or makes their lives miserable is a GOOD thing in my book.

On the other hand, there are plenty of Middle-Eastern Muslims I would be proud to call "friend". Specifically, the ones who are working to help transform Iraq into a civilized nation in the face of a long, uphill struggle.

So if Ann were to say something like "I wish I could go to Iraq and personally shoot every last raghead I saw," then I'd say "Ann, you ignorant slut. Sit down and shut the f*ck up."

(Notice how "ignorant slut" is personal to Ann - I'm not insulting EVERY woman who's intellectually-challenged and vaginally-generous)

But upon examining her quote, she appears to be directing the "raghead" label only at Middle Eastern Muslims who actually threaten the security of American interests, rather than just haphazardly toward anyone who's wearing a turban. She's specifically aiming at terrorists, who - in general - suck. This isn't strictly personal, but I think it's nearer to that end of the spectrum than it is to bigotry.

So I'm leaning towards not having a problem with what she said.

Feel free to persuade me otherwise, if you're so inclined.

UPDATE 2-16-06 9:15 am: Perhaps the question should be, "is it simply wrong to insult a man based on ANY unchangeable physical characteristics?" For example, if my hypothetical murderer were bald, missing an eye, and had a club foot, would it be inappropriate for me to call him a "butchering, chrome-domed, popeyed, monopod"?

Not a rhetorical question. I'm honestly trying to examine where lines should be drawn on this issue. I know it's a sensitive topic, and I appreciate that so far the discussion has remained rational.

UPDATE 2-16-06 9:30 AM: Would calling him a "bastard" be considered a slur against people born out of wedlock? Would the appropriateness of the insult be affected by whether or not his parents were married when he was born, i.e. if he actually WERE a bastard?

Posted by: Harvey at 07:57 PM | Comments (10) | Add Comment
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