According to many, bringing Ann Coulter to campus in a sense promotes the bigotry and extremism Coulter is know for. It is especially incendiary because the activity fee that all students pay, is helping to fund this in part. As her visit nears the Hatchet has featured several letters to the editor expressing dismay.
To defend Coulter's appearance by likening it to a discussion of a non-existent issue is not only offensive, but also extremely dangerous. The very idea of "Islamo-Fascism" perpetuates stereotypes of various cultural groups and misconceptions of terrorism, and to compare Ms. Coulter's ideas to such a concept,only further illuminates the ridiculous nature of her words. In this debate, Coulter and Horowitz clearly do not "win out", as Gor so boldy puts it. It is my sincerest hope that in the future, Gor will make an effort to defend what could be a very credible argument with legitimately credible evidence.
While I in no way support any of Ann Coulter's viewpoints, I feel her visit to our campus should be viewed through a different lense. It is one of GW's goals to produce politically literate student body (not to mention a goal of the majority of the students themselves). Unfortunatly, Coulter and her view points (wrong as they may be) are part of America's political landscape. Her visit should be used by those who disagree with her as an opportunity to become more literate in her view point. Not so they can change their own minds, but so that they are better able to debate and more importantly debunk the work of Coulter and others like her. How can we effectivly wage war againsts the extreme in the media unless we geniuinely know and understand first hand what they are trying to sell to America?
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