Submitted to the Indiana Daily Student, March 1, 2006
To the Editor:
Imagine for a moment that, instead of Ann Coulter, "Hanoi" Jane Fonda had spoken at Indiana University this past Thursday night. Now imagine that a bunch of men had started chanting "we want rape" before Fonda took the stage, and more than one conservative yelled from the audience that Fonda dresses like a "ho". Imagine that a man in the audience dressed in drag to mock "Hanoi Jane".
I can hear the screeching from campus feminists now. They would be writing letters to the editor, sending press releases, and holding meetings to discuss the misogynistic climate at Indiana University. University officials would at least be considering disciplinary action against the speakers for sexual harassment.
Of course, you will not see these reactions, because the boorish behavior was directed at a conservative author and pundit. The hypocrisy is quite evident, but it does not stop there.
If you search the web for sites about Ann Coulter, you are likely to come across Leftists who either suggest or outright claim that Coulter is really a man. The same Leftists who demand "tolerance" for transgendered people use the accusation of being transgendered as an insult. One has to wonder about the sincerity of people who advocate for transgender rights and lobby for laws to criminalize discrimination based on "gender identity" when they use alleged transgendered status as a way to demean someone.
Scott Tibbs.
