I turned on the tube this morning for news and flipped onto MSNBC, where there was (shock of all shocks) Ann Coulter screaming over a phone at Joe Scarborough.
I was so appalled at Joe's justification for having the angry Coulter (when is the woman NOT angry?) spewing on his show that I wrote to him at MSNBC.
Joe basically said that it was okay to have Ann Coulter on to justify what she'd done because Bob Shrum had been hateful and Bill Maher had been hateful and that he wanted to shed the "disinfecting light of day" on all of it and provide "context" for it.
Then he broke to commercial.
So I turned off the t.v. and here's what I wrote him. His email address, by the way, is joe@msnbc.com.
Of course he's free to have Ann on, and I'm just as free to not watch his morning or evening shows.
I think people need to choose to turn these people off their sets and stop buying their books.
Hi Joe -
You say you want to shine the "disinfecting light of day" on issues and so you air the hate speech of Ann Coulter and provide "context" for it, in terms of providing reasonable explanation for why Ann Coulter, a perpetually angry woman, says things like this -
"I'll just wish he had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot," in reference to John Edwards.
and
"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,' so I'm - so, kind of at an impasse, can't really talk about Edwards, so I think I'll just conclude here and take your questions,"
and
"If you want points for not using your son's death politically, don't you have to take down all those "Ask me about my son's death in a horrific car accident" bumper stickers?"
This is hate speech, Joe.
I understand that Ann Coulter makes a bunch of money (best sellers, lots of speeches, lots of t.v. appearances) off this stuff and perhaps there are a lot of fearful, hate-imbued people in America who enjoy this kind of divisive and destructive dialogue but you must examine your part in providing a platform for it on your shows.
The fact that Bob Shrum wrote derogatorily about John Edwards and his dead son doesn't make it right to do so. The fact that Bill Maher called for the assassination of the vice president doesn't justify Coulter calling for the killing of John Edwards, either.
Since when was it okay, and American, to call for the assassination of people in public service?
Since when was it okay to use sexual orientation as a slur?
Since when was it okay to make light of tragic accidental death?
Context may explain but will never excuse hateful rhetoric.
You can't say Ann Coulter is correct to be hateful because Shrum is hateful or Maher is hateful.
They are all wrong.
You can't justify putting hate speech on your show by saying that other people are engaging in it.
I, for one, search for voices of reasonable debate and dialogue about (yes, Ann) ideas and the truly important decisions being made on our behalf in this country.
The disinfecting light of day is wasted on people like Ann Coulter, Joe, because Ann's coin of trade is hate speech, angry, and diatribe.
With all your air time, you stand in a position to help heal this country from all the fear mongering and political tactics that define our bad domestic and foreign political policy and the poisonous atmosphere that is tearing America apart.
Please don't waste the opportunity you have by forwarding the rhetoric of hatred. You won't raise your ratings, either, long term.
Patricia Taylor
Westport, CT