Censorship? No. A Muzzle for Coulter? Definitely!

I am not a promoter or censorship. I do not like limits of any kind, other than the ones we impose upon ourselves. Just as I don't like the idea of gagging a human, I don't like the idea of muzzling a dog. The frequency with which Ann Coulter crawls out from behind her rock, however, makes me rethink my stance, and I have to say in this single instance, I believe in muzzles for rabid people.

We often rail against celebrities and just as often, they deserve it. But we also too often forget that it is our attention that creates celebrity status, whether it's just 15 minutes of questionable fame or what feels like a lifetime of having to put up with voices or faces we'd prefer would vanish. The American public is fickle. It is also greedy, tasteless, stupid, hateful, and so bored with it's own ineptitude that it must create something to fill the vacuum of dull, empty lives.

Sadly, that great man created monolith called the media, both electronic and print, aids and abets every element of hate, greed, tastelessness and stupidity endemic to the American public. It is a definite symbiotic relationship; both are parasites and both feed upon each other. Enter the Coulters of the world, so needing the attention of the limelight and the cameras that she prostitutes what might once have been a mild analytical talent to shovel pap and lies into the gaping maw of the ravenous beast called consumerism. Ann Coulter is not a market genius, but she does sell hate and discontent and bigotry. She coddles it and holds it to her bosom in a parody of nurturing concern.

She has sold slime for the political persuasion of her choice; she has attempted to be the female face of radical conservatism, she has extolled some peculiar hybrid of values based on the most vacuous blend of deceit and skulduggery available; she has blamed single mothers, John Kerry, radical feminist, the welfare system, social security, the liberals, unions, Barak Obama, atheists, Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, the survivors of 9/11, Democrats, people who disagree with her, and public libraries for everything that could possibly be classified as wrong in her isolated and strange little world, from hang nails to crows feet to the Clintons. Her idea of apple pie has worms in it. She blames single mothers but probably doesn't believe in motherhood. What use is such a thing when you can simple crawl out of the primeval slime as a dumb blonde?

There are people out here who are not adverse to speaking against her and her brand of brainless notoriety. I am apparently one of them. She is a walking advertisement for much of what we have collectively and individually lost - our integrity, our honor, our nobility of spirit, our freedom to make our own choices, and our willingness to let others choose for themselves. Perhaps she sees her act as a parody, a satirical reversal of what is good about democracy, but the act is never presented as such. The books she continues writing continue to be published by once reputable publishing houses, and are sold through reputable booksellers. And there is never a disclaimer about her wild accusations. She is a regular guest on many television programs, particularly when she has something to sell, but Ann Coulter in prime time could scare children to death.

Now, granted, she has the same freedoms as all the rest of us - to speak, to assemble, to sell herself or her soul to the highest bidder. We cannot and should not try to halt those rights, even for people as disgusting and distasteful as she has turned out to be. As much as I'd like to see no more of her or at least have her muzzled in public, it shouldn't happen. But what can happen and what should happen is that those of us who disdain the filth she spouts, the inhumane positions she assumes, the bigotry she markets must speak out against her appearances and publications. We should let her backers, publishers, and the advertisers that fund programs on which she appears that we will shun their products and wares. Because we all deserve a long break from the Ann Coulters of this world. We deserve a long break from the hate and the greed that feeds it.