I read a post in the Tatler about Ann Coulter recently. Since then, I have been feeling a sense of disquiet, as probably many people already do.
Do you know the story about Dorian Gray? The essential part of Dorian Gray for me was that Dorian had a picture painted of his ‘true self’. While the real Dorian went off and did abominable things, he remained outwardly beautiful and innocent… while his picture got uglier and more murderous. Eventually he had to lock it in a cupboard, I think.
In my ‘young’ country, (as measured by Europeans), we had a bicentenary in 1988. Even though there was a fair amount of civil protest from our indigenous Australians that this wasn’t something to celebrate, the nation seemed determined to stick a rigid smile on and insist on a self image that was harmonious and sweet. Unlike Dorian, we kept a self image that was pleasing, and we did harm to ourselves by doing that. The creation of a national identity is a tricky thing. Perhaps the most dangerous thing can be an oversimplification of who “We” are.
Then, in 1996, a woman named Pauline Hanson, a fish and chip shop owner from my mother’s home town started saying things that gained national attention. In her maiden speech she claimed that Australia unfairly privileges the Aboriginal minority through home loans and social benefits. She openly sided with figures that called for the cessation of immigration to Australia from mainly black countries. As more and more people voted for her, she became famous for more outlandish statements including one infamous moment wherein she said that Aboriginals were cannibals and used to eat their own children. The racist voice of Australia had reared its ugly head, and could not be ignored any longer.
Pauline Hanson went on to discredit herself and her party, and was eventually charged with several accounts of embezzlement. The most significant thing she did was to publicly represent some views that were seething below the surface of our national identity. She made us see ourselves for who we actually are, not stick the realities of it in some cupboard – Australia has strong elements of racial intolerance. In doing so she forced our perceptions of ourselves to shift towards a more true representation of the good and bad side what it means to be Australian.
As much as I truly hate her views, I have come to think we need people like Pauline, and like Ann. A healthy society for me means pluralism and a multitude of voices. My sense of disquiet lies in the idea that although I believe this, and I could accept living with her views for the sake of a healthy social model, by saying the words ‘traitor’ and the like she implies that she wouldn’t be as tolerant. Ann doesn’t share the same social model.
Someone said to me recently; never underestimate the right wing. Ann Coulter may be a populist and a reactionary, but she can and does serve as a lever in a greater machine which has been pursuing an agenda of US Imperialism. Frankly, the world is alarmed by these tendencies of “Might equals right.” Someone like Ann Coulter can be a perfect tool to wind up the people, while the elites who typically move the social machinery from the top can are (and are) getting away with acts that before September 11 were unthinkable. A certain level of support from the conservative elements of the US public is necessary to get laws like the Patriot Act on the table.. As the US Government creates a continuous climate of fear and uses it justify creating the long term structures for a police state, it needs people like Coulter. To simplify the message, to vocalize the extraordinary, to mobilize a public kept fearful. I’d say Ann Coulter should be watched like a snake.
12:30:01 AM 
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