Jeff Harrell is organizing a group protest to Ann Coulter, over her language at the CPAC conference. Of specific offense is her use of the term raghead. Well, as for me, it raises an eyebrow. But I won’t object until I see the full transcript; I simply have to know in just what context she was using the term.
Like any popular mass-media commentator, she must be one part serious intellectual, and another part entertainer. And that is a very fine line to walk. I know this from my experience in stand-up comedy; any time you delve into topical humor, you run the risk of offense. As well, it is necessary to use inflammatory terms, at times, to capture people’s attention. For instance, I have used the far more derogatory term sand-nigger before, but only in the second, or third-person possessive – as in: “you people all seem to think, ‘the sand-niggers aren’t able to handle democracy,’ I disagree.”