How to Deal with People like Ann Coulter If You Are an Immigrant
Yesterday, March 24,2006, on my way home from a peace march, one of the participant suggested that I read Ms Coulter’s book “How to Talk to A Liberal (if you must)” to better understand why we had just 20 people in the march. Off I went to the library to borrow the book, with some reservations because the tile of the book did not sound encouraging to me.
I was right. The book is not encouraging, especially if you are an immigrant and a woman. The 344 pages, all except few (like the page with acknowledgement or the index) begins and ends with same theme “Liberals are bad, they are screwing up America, all immigrants are terrorists, women should be ok with discrimination and all religions in this world are bad except Christianity”. Wow!! All the pages just say this.
Although the book is all about hating liberals and immigrants, one can sense early on that Ms Coutler loves America. She does with all her heart. She sees everything happening in this world as harmful for America. She believes that she is the only one who loves this land. Her love for the nation is like “mother-smother”. Like a mother looking after a kid, she looks after USA but cannot tell when love turns into smother. One wishes that Bill Maher, New York Times, Rush Limbaugh who have heaped praises for her intellectual power and writing ability would have reminded her of that.
I must confess I did not read the whole book. I could not put myself through that torture. Hey how long can I go on reading the same thing over and over again..? I cannot read that the group I belong to, the class I represent is bad in every sentence for 344 pages. Please excuse me for that. But I am sure I did not miss anything. Turn on Fox. Mr O’Reilly is there just to carry on with the mission Ms Coulter started.
On page 27 there is an essay titled “Attack France”, dated December 20, 2001. Still raw from 9/11, the author calls for attack on France for failing to side with US. Maybe we need a fresher course in foreign relations and diplomacy here. In today’s; world alliances are made by clever diplomacy, not by threatening to attack the nation. I am not fan of French myself but still attacking the nation for not supporting US in the war against terror is not a solution. Instead of fretting over French cold shoulder why not take on Saudi Arabia? The nation home to the 9/11 hijackers and a nation who has long been funding terrorists, from Libya to Sudan. O no, I must be dreaming. No action can be taken against the oil rich nation, otherwise how are the non-liberals going to get the campaign finance? Foolish me.
Then there are essays which support racial profiling, discrimination based on religion and one even supports the Augusta Club’s men only policy. I am not going to waste my words screaming against racial profiling or religious discrimination; because I know very well that Ms Coulter will not understand it. She is a white woman, with English name and mainstream religion. If she would live one day as woman of color, with a non English name, and religion that has undergone a mass smear campaign then she would understand what I am taking about. May be then she would understand what America means to us.
We, the immigrants are in this land of free because for many of us this is the only place where we can experience all that life has to offer. For some that life experience is access to education, for some access to health care and for some a chance to live. I mean live like breath with a beating heart. We work hard, pay taxes, and just wish to have a normal life. And for us to hear that all of us, I mean ALL of us, are bad for this national is totally against the founding principles of this nation.
So how do you deal with the “holier than thou” brigade championed by Coulter? Nothing. Yes, just let them do what they can. What they want. When they see that we are no longer bothered by their “I know everything that is good for America” attitude, they will calm down, and then we can have a real discussion.
