I think Coulter has an important function in our society; She reveals to us the thought processes of stupid people. What I'm hearing from her is that we, the 'Mericans, we generously brought freedom to the people of Iraq. And, well, if they aren't thankful enough to blindly accept that along with another crooked, jacked political system, well then we will just have to bomb them back to the stone ages until they LEARN some appreciation. Freedom through tyranny!

Thanks Carey,

I enjoyed your response to the gentleman's question and agree with it.

And I hope that WHATEVER it is that's going on with this kid that he doesn't come out of it thinking that he's weird for thinking about sex and sexuality, aka one of the biggest mysteries of life on this planet.

Once in a while they come up with something coherent, as with Ms. Malkin and her cohorts. I am inclined to agree with her, considering that Salon itself has played host to some apalling hate speech about none other than Ann Coulter. And by hate speech I mean to say "cooz" and "dumb cunt," etc.

I think it is worth our time and effort to hold men's feet to the fire regarding the violent, frightening things they say under the cover of internet anonymity. I don't want the web to become yet another tool in the patriarch's canon; you know, something that only MEN do that is their secret thing, like baseball and muscle cars.

But, yes, if that's what we want we have to stick up for Michelle Malkin and Coulter and their RIGHT to spread dumb neo-conservative garbage. Even if we don't with what they say, we can support their rights as women. You know the saying. A rising tide lifts all boats.

I thought this was a nice entry; terse, even-handed and clear in its point.

This is the trend as I see it:

Man makes hateful, sexist remark.

Women confront man.

Man gets his panties in a terrible twist over the nerve of women confronting him.

You know, if words don't matter and women are overly sensitive and their reality is a fantasy, then why do men bother responding?

You respond because confrontation matters, even and especially on the internet. Nobody likes to be confronted about their prejudices.

And what does it say that Kos and company feel the need to take up this issue? Do they feel solidarity with the men who suggested slicing open and raping Kathy Sierra's throat? I seriously doubt it. You know, they're just tired of women complaining. They don't want to hear it anymore. That's fine. I'm not interested in your comfort level. The fact of the matter is that some men commit violence against women. It's global and it transcends class and culture. You think we're making this up and you think, even if we weren't, it's not important; That's what patriarchy is, dumbkopf. It's the authority to decide what does and does not matter in our society.

Women know the truth. We know that rape jokes and mutilation fantasies are indicative of something bigger than the specific context under which they're originally made. It's not random to us. We know that for every man who makes those comments there are ten more just like him that agree with him and at least one who's willing to follow through. That's why it's worth our time and effort to speak out, to confront men about this problem.

So I, for one, am willing to keep confronting you and repetitively bring up this issue until men get some understanding of what it is that's troubling about the hate speech and the men who defend it. You're tired of hearing about it? Well, we're tired of being an acceptable target.

And, incidentally, I am as passionate a believer in free speech as anyone in these forums. But I also believe that everyone has a right to the consequences of their actions. It's something worth thinking about.

When Joan Walsh said that the hateful sexism that appeared on the internet was startling, I believed her, but of course seeing is believing and now that I've read the comments from this article, I am blown away.

We deserve what we get?

If you can't take the testosterone stay out of the army?

You, my fine misogynists, no doubt believe that that is just the way the world is, that bullying rapists are par for the course. I think you're wrong. It will change. Your era is coming to an end, which is, of course, what makes you so angry. Time was that you could say this hateful crap anywhere, anytime you wanted. Now your last refuge is from behind an anonymous monitor. You still have options. You could come to grips with your hatred. Or you could just sit there and stew. Your choice.