I must admit to being caught off guard by many of the comments to my recent post on Ann Coulter (although delighted it provoked so much intelligent discussion on this site). So much so, I am going to dedicate this post to clarifying a few things on the topic.
I am fully aware of Christian doctrine, and the belief that as a Jew, I need some “perfecting” (which flies in the face of what my Jewish mother has told me my whole life :)) I have never felt threatened by this, and I fully respect religious Christians, despite our theological differences. It comes from being very secure in my beliefs as a religious Jew.
What I found offensive about Coulter’s statements were the fact they made so flippantly on national television, to an audience Coulter must have known consisted of Jewish people. It was her lack of sensitivity, more than anything else, that caught me off guard.
I must admit to not being too familiar with Coulter before this incident, but she is apparently not known for her sensitivity. Nevertheless, I called it as I saw it, posting right after I viewed the video, and read the script.
And I regret my post.
Not because so many of you disagreed with me – that I can live with. And not because it attracted vile anti-Semitic comments (mostly from the one sad individual with a penchant for changing handles and obviously unaware I can check IP addresses). But watching the way people have tried to use her foolish comments for their own agendas. People whose own agendas are much more harmful to me and my family than anything Ann Coulter could ever say.
Of course, you could argue that this was entirely predictable, given that the anti-Conservative Media Matters were the ones who jumped on Coulter and passed on the video and script to people like me. And you are right. But at the time, I was not even thinking of this.
There was also something else at play here. Something I am not ready to talk about on here, but some recent news that has necessitated me having to come to terms with the mortality of a loved one. I have been thinking a lot of the afterlife, and hearing Coulter’s comments triggered within me a thought process along the lines of “How dare this woman suggest that someone who lives as a good Jew is not ending up in a good place.” Of course, she did not say this, but for the purposes of explaining my feelings, it does not matter.
So now I find myself in the position of wanting to defend Ann Coulter. Because although I stand by my assertion that her comments were insensitive, they are not nearly as offensive to me as what her opponents are trying to do with them.
I guess Ann Coulter was right, after all. I’m not perfect.
