Virulent homophobia might play well in [rural areas] today, but in the long run crap like this can’t help but tarnish the conservative movement.

My point wasn’t that everyone in rural North America is bigoted, but simply to acknowledge that there is a market for Coulter’s brand of intolerance, and that market isn’t located in urban centres — in other words, offensive homophobic comments like this can actually help conservative fortunes in the short-term, because they play well in the types of rural districts/ridings where conservative support is already concentrated.

In the long run, however, it will hurt the cause, badly.

In fifty years, these kind of attitudes toward gays and lesbians will be viewed in a similar light to the South’s attitudes on race circa 1950. And rightly so.

People who publicly line up behind Coulter today will undoubtedly find themselves vehemently renouncing that support at some point down the road.

That word carries an immense oppressive baggage with it after decades of derogatory usage. There is no doubt about what someone means when they use that word. Everybody knows that. It’s not ‘just a word’, it’s not exaggerated response, and the fact that she used it openly means that she was being purposely derogatory. Sure as sh*t she knows that it is a word that signals a power relationship and represents nothing but insults, beatings and oppression. And you do too…if you say you don’t know that, then you’re being intentionally dishonest. And you’re an asswipe. Accept it.

Please tell me the last time someone on the left used a term that was so obviously weighted and carried that much social baggage. I’d like to hear about it. In fact, you’d better give me three to make up for this time, the stupid-assed ‘macaca’ comment, and Snow’s ‘tar baby’, amongst countless others.

And if you truly believe that it’s just a word and doesn’t carry much weight, then you will gladly let me pick out a gay guy and you can call him a faggot and see what happens. Or, you can do it yourself at home: find a black guy and call him a nigger. Then tell him that he’s over-reacting.

Jackass.