Coulter Speaks at the University of Texas
The lecture at the LBJ Auditorium in Austin was open (free) to all UT students, faculty, and staff. As I am none of the above, I went with my camera to watch what I expected to be a large protest event outside the auditorium. Fortunately, I found a student with an extra pass, and I was able to join the ~900 people inside the 1000-seat auditorium.
Outside the auditorium, five bedraggled Socialist Party protestors held crude signs and chanted at the long line of students waiting to get in. Their chanting lasted about a minute and a half. Most of the students in line seemed to either ignore the protestors or shook their heads in amusement. (Click the image to see the video [5 MB])
Once the lecture started, about 20 protestors (heretofore referred to as the Black-20) were standing in the last row of the auditorium…all holding up a different sign with the same message: Coulter=McCarthy.
The audience greeted Coulter warmly, but loudly enough to drown out the smattering of boos. Overall, it seemed like the crowd fell somewhere in the middle of Receptive to Skeptical. I think a lot of the audience, like myself, was comprised of conservatives and/or Republicans, who didn’t completely buy into everything Coulter was selling. For instance, Coulter has very strong opinions about same sex marriage and partial-birth abortions. I don’t care much about either topic, but lean towards government staying out of people’s lives in these cases.
The Black-20 were expectedly rude and disruptive throughout her lecture, booing and shouting unintelligibly at her. I’m always dismayed at the irony of these kids practicing their ‘freedom of speech’ by trying to shout down or deny others their right to free speech. About 10 minutes into her lecture, a random hippie-kid in the middle rows stood up and started trying to shout Coulter down. Thankfully he was removed from the auditorium.
Coulter doesn’t so much give a lecture as she does deliver a standup routine; it reminded me more of an extended Tonight Show monologue. Her 30 minute routine consisted mostly of one-liners mocking the Left, Democrats, and their policies (or lack of).
As a standup comedian, Coulter is not very effective. Her pace and timing are horrible, and she stumbled through parts of her speech.
But where she shines and was outstanding was during the long Q&A session (which lasted a little over an hour).
The Black-20 continued trying to be disruptive and vile during the Q&A, but Coulter served them up and dismissed them easier than a battalion of Marines against rock-wielding insurgents. Coulter noticed that, since the students were checked for pies before they came in, their new projectile was giving her the finger. I watched at least 10 angry, juvenile kids walk off giving this woman the finger. One angry kid was reduced to making loud, farting noises as he stormed back up the aisle.
Coulter laughed it off, saying that the left was becoming more-and-more unhinged, and after the pies, fingers, and fart-noises, that it wouldn’t be long before the Left’s arguments were reduced to pathetic, baby-like crying.
The most memorable moment of the night though, was when the most hygienically-challenged member of the Black-20 approached the mic. Ajai Raj, an English sophomore questioned Ann was in regards to her belief that a healthy marriage was one between a man and a woman. His question, “You say that you believe in the sanctity of marriage. How do you feel about marriages where the man does nothing but fuck his wife up the ass?”
The kid quickly turned around and—I kid you not—goose-stepped all the way up the aisle to the cheers of the other Black-20. The cheering quickly changed though, as he was greeted at the top of the aisle by two uniformed police officers, who quickly grabbed the shocked kid, forced his arms behind his back, and led him briskly out of the auditorium.
The Supreme Court has noted that abusive and highly provocative epithets directed toward ordinary citizens can be banned. Police have charged Raj with disorderly conduct, a Class C misdemeanor.
But you should have seen the remaining Black-20 freak-the-hell-out. The moment they realized that one of their own was being led out by the police, you would have thought that the cops were taking Rodney King out to the parking lot to douse him in patchouli oil and set him on fire while they tasered and beat him.
The Black-20 scrambled over chairs and each other to rush to their comrade’s aid. It’s hard to capture the rage that erupted through the Black-20—for a moment I really thought that they were going to attack the cops.
The good news is that all but 2 of the Black-20 raced outside, and were never to be seen back in the auditorium.
The remaining Q&A session went much more quietly. I even had the opportunity to ask Coulter about her opinion on the irony of liberal students running Military recruiters off their campuses while simultaneously stirring up rumors and fear about an impending draft.
All-in-all, a very enjoyable and entertaining evening with Ann Coulter.
I love protesters of all (goose)steps and sizes - there’s always something magical about seeing people so overcome by their fanaticism that it manifests in signs and demonstrations outside public events. From kids shutting down Congress St. Bridge on Bush’s inauguration (I asked a friend if that meant Bush was still Prez) to the bunch of right to lifers who protested vehemently outside Clinton’s appearance at the Erwin Center a couple years ago, they blamed 9/11 on the man as well. And of course, I have a special place in my heart for those mysterious men who protest outside the Capitol - I once saw a man holding a sign reading, “Geore W. Bush has sex with farm animals”. I think he was rather serious about it as well.
Of course, as limited an affect protesters will have outside, I think its rather rude and distasteful for any protesters to interupt the proceedings, but this one is pretty hilarious all around. I just hope this doesn’t further the screening process and oath writing that Republicans have taken to about people who see W. and Cheney speak.
Thanks for sharing, this was pretty entertaining!
Left by Michael S. on May 4th, 2005 at 10:42 am