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| In an email to the New York Times, Coulter wrote “C’mon, it was a joke. I would never insult gays by suggesting that they are like John Edwards. That would be mean.” (CNN) |
A Yale Law graduate with no job offers. Racist, sexist, homophobic messages. Concerned statements from the Deans of Yale and Penn Law. All the makings of another Penn scandal, but this one ends in a twist.
Anthony Ciolli, a third year Penn Law student, cofounded a law school admissions message board called AutoAdmit, that has drawn controversy for offensive posts and photos. In response, Ciolli packed his box like he’d heeded Beyonce’s request, and resigned. No fanfare, no press statements, just a quiet move to step down.
Recent scandals have exposed the need for just this kind of response to controversy.
Increasingly, those in the hot seat assert tepid and unconvincing defenses to impropriety.
Take, for example, the latest college sports scandal. Last week, USC football players came under fire for creating the Facebook group “White Nation,” complete with a picture of a black baby in handcuffs. The group, which allegedly springs from an inside joke, came under harsh criticism by some USC students. The players responsible offered that while their public display showed poor judgment, they were not racist — after all, one of the team members had a black roommate.
No kidding.
Celebrities are even more disconcerting. Ann Coulter shocked liberals and conservatives alike with her homophobic slur directed at John Edwards. To respond, she dusted off a “hail mary” offensive play in posting the speech on her website, where she notes her amusement over the controversy. Other famous figures flipped to the “Defense” section in their play books, sending their best linebackers to downplay media coverage (Paris Hilton’s alleged racist slur? Hiding under the guise of overexposure, she escaped mass media coverage of the incident). And finally, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, read the defense well. After his inflammatory comments in a newspaper, he called an audible, quickly issuing an apology.
None of these defenses achieves a satisfactory remedy. In resigning, Ciolli bucked the trend of his contemporaries. His stepping down was a clear and severe measure, using the power of action to rectify the power of the posted words. Kudos to him. Maybe others will be bold enough to copy his playbook.
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March 15th, 2007 at 10:45 am
Ann Coulter is disgraceful. She gives all Americans a bad name. Not to be crass, but she is a self-hating bitch who supports her arguments with conjecture at best, and lies at worst.
Just thought I’d put that out there, though it has nothing to do with the blog….
March 15th, 2007 at 11:32 am
So how do you justify Du Bois then? Imagine if Harrison was a ‘white’ college house. You’d be writing about it in a second. Double standards everywhere.
March 15th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
Ann’s a delicate flower, isn’t she? Looking good here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARY9ka2o2J4
LOL, from Salon
April 9th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
criticizing a woman by calling her a bitch is crass. grow up and use mature, unsexist criticisms please.
i don’t have the time or energy to criticize the double standard comment