Crazy Coulter

Right-wing pundit Ann Coulter is coming. And in the words of hecklers present during Coulter's speech at the University of Connecticut: Boo.\nBoo to whomever thought Black History Month would be an OK time to feature a lecture from the woman who called Kwanzaa founder Malauna Karenga "a black radical FBI stooge" in her column "Kwanzaa: Holiday from the FBI."\nBoo to her for that little anti-Kwanzaa ditty she included in the column:\n(Sing to Jingle Bells) "Kwanzaa bells, dashikis sell/ Whitey has to pay;/ Burning, shooting, oh what fun/ On this made-up holiday!"\nAnd boo to the idea that a history of off-color commentary makes for a first-rate lecturer. "Our goal is to inform and entertain and -- no matter what you think about her -- Ann Coulter does both," said Union Board President Brad Allen to the Indiana Daily Student.\nDespite her mixed reviews, Union Board seems to value Coulter's ability to pack the house more than the possibility that she might divide it.\nCoulter went after feminists in her March 17 column, "Freeze! I just had my nails done!"\nShe expressed her desire to use airlines that racially profiled its Middle Eastern passengers in a column from 2004. (She gave a few suggestions for airline slogans including "You Are Now Free to Move About the Cabin -- Not So Fast, Mohammed!")\nAnd getting back to the Kwanzaa column, Coulter, referring to blacks' adoption of "invented 'African' names" in the Karenga era, said, "That was a big help to the black community: How many boys named 'Jamal' currently sit on death row?"\nIn some cases, Coulter's viewpoints simply work to offend. In other cases, Coulter's speech, satire or not, is downright intolerable. \nAccording to its Web site, Union Board "organizes a diverse range of events and activities around which students may come together, explore multiple world views, historic and current events, and learn from one another." By inviting Coulter to speak, UB fulfills its promise to aid students' exploration of "multiple world views." But Coulter's references to homosexuals as "queer," her assertions that innocent Middle Eastern people's suffering stems from their refusal to convert to Christianity, in addition to a myriad other offenses, do nothing to further UB's promise to organize events or activities "around which students may come together" or "learn from one another."\nBlack History Month spawned from the efforts of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, who found that blacks had been largely ignored by history despite centuries of achievement. Blacks' omission from the history books was not the result of simple oversight, but was instead a consequence of racism, hate, intolerance and narrow-mindedness.\nIt's beyond me why Union Board would invite a lecturer who seems to perpetuate the very attitudes that Black History Month serves to defy to speak on-campus at all -- let alone in February. \nMy suggestion: Use Feb. 23 to check out Coulter's speech and see just how much we're up against; or celebrate W.E.B. DuBois's birthday and read "The Souls of Black Folk" instead.