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Editorial: Coulter proves anti-bullying law needed

Ann Coulter is a bully. She enjoys causing pain, and then is amused by it. The author of "Godless: The Church of Liberalism," Coulter has built her career and persona by intentionally hurting other people.
In her recent attack against John Edwards, she tossed out "faggot" into the public discourse, and then laughed about it, saying she was just joking around.
"Faggot" is what schoolyard bullies call the weaker kids on which they prey. "Faggot" is what Andrew Anthos' killer yelled at him just before bashing in his head. "Faggot" is funny only to the bullies that use it as a weapon.
Coulter is often a bully. Just last summer she was harshly criticized for writing in "Godless" that widows from 9/11 were "self-absorbed." "I've never seen people enjoying their husbands' deaths so much," she wrote. When she was denounced by conservatives and liberals alike as shameless, ruthless, cruel, mean-spirited and even unpatriotic, Coulter just laughed.
Coulter has devolved into the bottom scum of a neo con movement committed to further enriching the rich and alienating everyone else. That she takes it to such ludicrous extremes only highlights the dark side of a movement that relishes war, despises public education, hordes wealth and rations health care. It adds insult to injury that Coulter mobilizes her mob by hate and bigotry, then wraps herself in the American flag even as she betrays the principles for which it stands.
The principled, decent and quintessentially American response to Coulter's attempt at verbal bullying should be for our community to rally hard for anti-bullying and hate crime legislation. She has provided us with a stark, very public example of how bullies use anti-gay attacks, and we should take advantage of it.
Most public figures have denounced Coulter for her remarks about Edwards. Let us now hold those leaders accountable for more than just their offended sensibilities. Our collective organizations and leadership should unite and strategize to move forward the anti-bullying legislation in the Michigan legislature and to pass an amendment to the state's hate crime law to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
We know, and Coulter has provided us with a perfectly ugly example, that bullying begets violence. Just ask a "faggot." He can probably tell you all about it.

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Topics: Opinions
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