Ann Coulter couldn't have caused more of a stir if she had showed up to the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 2 buck-naked. As always, the conservative columnist and author was vocal and unguarded, grabbing the attention of the crowd and subsequent media outlets by saying, "I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards, but it turns out that you have to go into rehab if you use the word 'faggot.'"
Howard Dean sputtered in outrage, demanding that Coulter apologize for her "hate-filled and bigoted" comments.
Thank goodness we have the benevolent liberals to protect the delicate sensibilities and feelings of Americans in our prim and proper society. Perhaps playground politics are all liberals can handle.
Our campus has experienced a similar stir after the MSU chapter of Young Americans for Freedom, or YAF, was placed on a list of hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Many believe the basis of YAF's placement was due to its plans to host "Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day" during fall semester. For the people who applauded the Southern Poverty Law Center placing YAF on the list, did they ever stop to think that perhaps the Southern Poverty Law Center's liberal bias influenced its opinion?
If a list of hate groups in America were assembled by a conservative organization and it included a liberal group among its ranks, what would be the reaction? I seriously doubt liberals across the country would simply roll over and change their ways, as they want the conservatives on this campus to do.
It's curious that people were incensed by the thought of dressing a person up as an illegal immigrant, but were not outraged after the anti-war protest in which people vandalized Congressman Mike Rogers' office. The protest crossed legal boundaries, whereas the members of YAF were perfectly within their right under the First Amendment to have their event.
I think many people need to revisit The Bill of Rights and read that under the First Amendment, we are guaranteed the right to free speech but are not guaranteed not to be offended by others' words. To condemn someone to rehab because they say the word "faggot" is ludicrous because if you would punish everyone for saying something that offends somebody, rehabilitation centers would be filled to the brim with people.
For example, when some people refer to a Baptist, the word "fundamentalist" always works its way into their rhetoric. To some, when they hear fundamentalist, they hear terrorist. But most don't cry in outrage calling a group of Christians terrorists. However, refer to a Muslim as a terrorist and the outrage is resounding. Why is it that crickets are heard when the Christian religion is blatantly and falsely stereotyped?
The Canadian government just passed a law protecting homosexuals from violence, including hate speech. Many pastors in Canada are now afraid to preach on the subject of homosexuality because they think it could possibly be construed as a hate crime. Is this what we want our country to degenerate into? A place where pastors of a church cannot preach the gospel because they worry the police will come knocking on their door? This chilling realization has shades of early Christian persecution by the Romans and current Christian persecution in counties like China and Muslim countries.
If we start censoring speech, where will the line be drawn? Can we honestly censor all words considered to be hate speech? You can protect people against violence, but you can never take away a person's right to free speech, whether or not it is offensive to you. There is a simple solution to this problem: Stop running to your mother every time someone says something to hurt your feelings. If you allow another person's words to hurt you so much, then you have too much value in their opinion.
Over the course of the year, I have received many e-mail responses from people who have read my columns. While I enjoy reading the positive e-mails, I take a special pleasure in the ones that are critical of my opinions. I like these e-mails so much because, I suppose, when the writers sit down to respond to me, they honestly believe I take their opinion of me very seriously. If they didn't, why would they call me names, as if we were in middle school?
If you don't develop thick skin and learn to let other people's comments roll off your back, life is going to be long and full of heartache. You can never keep people from hurting your feelings, but you can keep from being affected by their own ignorance.
Jessica Byrom is an MSU international relations sophomore and State News columnist. Reach her at byromjes@msu.edu.
