I have to first start by saying I did not go to see the Coulter talk, but instead read and heard the news coverage about the talk. It is this coverage that prompts me to write today because I am quite embarrassed to once have been somewhat proud of my two degrees from the University of Western Ontario, and am not all embarrassed to say that this is not any longer the case. Bringing Ann Coulter to campus was a ridiculous mistake, and speaks volumes about how the campus community is being ‘dumbed down’ by the ludicrous claims of uber conservative ideologues that they have ‘no voice’ at the university.
It is pretty clear from what has been reported that Ms. Coulter’s talk and answers during the Q and A were representative of what she has to offer to cultural critique, which is very, very little. That this talk was hosted by a university is shocking, not really because anything she has to say is shocking or unsettling, but because it is so utterly free of any kind of intellectual merit or value. Isn’t Coulter better seen as a media pundit and popular author rather than a voice that merits serious consideration? University spaces are simply better than that- are simply meant to be spaces for more difficult work than making jokes based on absurd stereotypes. And there, I said it: universities are spaces for elites, as in those who take seriously the rigors of thinking, formulating ideas and making claims on the truth. People trained and dedicated to intellectual development. There are spaces for people like Ann Coulter: they are called soap boxes.
Posted by counteringcoulter 
