To hear Dennis and Yaakov tell it, Ann is one the biggest friends of the Jewish community (the "real" Jews, anyway). She would never make an anti-Jewish remark or insult. To paraphrase Yaakov's lapdog apologetics, "She's anti-secularism, not anti-Jewish."
Keeping all that in mind, I wonder what Dennis and Yaakov's followers (those who can read, anyway) made of this throwaway comment in Coulter's latest column:
Then there's Barry Lynn, alleged "Christian minister," whose stock in trade is to denounce any mention of religion anyplace, anytime. Look, I'm a Christian minister, but even I have to admit that the sight of a kindergartner praying is terrifying to most folks. (The first person to post Barry Lynn's bar mitzvah photos or birth announcement (mazel tov!) wins a free copy of my latest book...That's odd, according to my 5 seconds of research it appears Rev. Lynn is a lifetime member of the United Church of Christ, a liberal Protestant denomination. Yet, rather than criticize his church or Lynn's professional career as a Church-State Activist, Ann instead prefers to call him a fake minister, (and presumably a fake Christian,) who hates religion. A point she makes by accusing him of being a Jew. Classy.
Tell me, Yaakov, Dennis, and any of your fans out there, how best should we interpret this latest compliment to our religious heritage? (An homage to the Inquisition/Witch Trials, perhaps?)
14 comments:
That's odd, according to my 5 seconds of research it appears Rev. Lynn is a lifetime member of the United Church of Christ, a liberal Protestant denomination... Yet... Ann instead prefers to call him a fake minister... A point she makes by accusing him of being a Jew.
It looks like you should have done a bit more than 5 seconds of research.
I'm not writing this to defend Coulter (I think she's crass and revolting). But you have got your basic facts wrong: Barry W. Lynn is a Jew. He was born Jewish, and converted to Christianity.
Excellent post.
I read Coulter's screed yesterday evening, and was livid for several hours afterwards. I am much calmer now.
What Coulter and people of her ilk need to understand is that if we lessen the boundary between Church and State, people like me will come busting out of the woodwork. And we won't be happy.
Heck, I'll gladly lynch any number of members of the heretic denominations that threaten my religious freedom - Anglicans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, Adventists, whatever. The only version of Christianity I would want to see empowered is Dutch Calvinism. Not particular about which obnoxiously stubborn and opinionated version of it, either - I've got relatives all over that creed, and most of us haven't been Chruch-going in generations. But still.... shtrenge Dutch Calvinists are infinitely superior to all those Anglo-protestantisms. Punkt.
Lurker- I'm happy to make a correction if you can give me a link. I've yet to hear or see any evidence of this, despite the fact that people have been blogging about it for a few days. If you know something I don't, feel free to share.
I think the analysis of what she is saying is wrong here.
In Ann Coulter's mind there are two types of Jews out there.
There are the Hollywood Jews, the ones who throw Bark-Mitvahs are big in entertainment etc, and then there are the Hasidic Jews that get into fights with Black people and are Rabinical students.
Coulter is making an attack on the hollywood Jews in this article. The same sort of people that Dennis Prager likes to condemn, the same sort of people that Chabad likes to kiruv. The same Jews that you accuse other Jews of not recognizing. She is making reference to the "godless religious" in the media.
But I hope this gets out more, and the context is made clear to people, because its always nice when the traditional and the nontraditional have something they can agree upoon.
mazel Tov on outin an anti-semite.
Do you feel better now?
Anon- I don't think your view contradicts my own. Yes, clearly Coulter is making a dig at secular-ish Jews who, in her mind at least, attack Christianity. (And, typically, is too mealy-mouthed to even make that criticism directly and be judged on the merits or lack thereof of such an argument.)
What is so egregious is that she thinks "secular or converted Jew"is an legitimate insult to hurl at someone in the public forum-- all the more so when, in this case, it isn't even true. Or the other component of this backhanded slap-- that somehow being Jewish, or born Jewish, is a delegitimizing factor that makes it possible to dismiss someone's opinions about political or religious topics in the public sphere. What do we care what Lynn thinks? He's just a Jew.
Coulter has brought Jew-baiting back to the American discourse. She must be so proud. Now she finally has something she can hang up on her wall next to her diploma and her flag.
Bray- I'll admit it's not quite as fun as fisking Lazer's pseudo-Kabbalah or Pat Buchanan's neo-nativism (or this horrible book), and of course, it can't hold a candle to spreading qedusha qonsciousness around like wallpaper paste, but then again, I'm not picky, so I guess I'll take what I can get.
Lazer and Pat are a well deserved targets. I am not.
But you're welcome on my blog any old time.
Wallpaper Paste? I'm too much of a moron to khop that reference.
saw your other blog. And i thought that I was sick and OCD about blogging.
Why in the world would you waste the time and effort to dedicating an entire blog to fisking juvenile X-tianity and crapolla writing?
"What is so egregious is that she thinks "secular or converted Jew"is an legitimate insult to hurl at someone in the public forum-- all the more so when, in this case, it isn't even true."
It is precisely BECAUSE it's not true, that such a comment can be made.
It's like when you make fun of the 6"5 guy for being short.
Being short is not a legitimate attack on a person, but when you call a tall person short, it becomes funny.
Dag- Ah, I get it now. Like when people call Obama Hitler, or Stalin, or some sort of twisted Hitler-Stalin hybrid complete with combination re-education gulag gas chambers and, presumably, at least two mustaches. Or when she called John Edwards a faggot. Funny like that?
It'd be funnier if she wasn't using "Jew" as a slur, sort of the same way Jackie Mason uses "Puerto Rican" as a punchline. Just my opinion.
Bray,
Wallpaper Paste? I'm too much of a moron to khop that reference.
Why, because of how thick you lay it on. :)
Why in the world would you waste the time and effort to dedicating an entire blog to fisking juvenile X-tianity and crapolla writing?
I've gotten a little bored with World Net Daily, and Lazer, Fishman and Buchanan don't post everyday. Plus, I feel I owe it to smart-ass Jews everywhere to speak up for how poorly we seem to be represented in fiction. I'm hoping eventually to make it a team blog-- maybe someone else can fisk the Jews in Left Behind. Or maybe an Ortho can fisk Chaim Potok. I'm open to suggestions!
I like Potok. I think he does a pretty good job of representing a volatile period in American Jewish history.
Then again, it's been over five years since I've cracked open one of his books.
Sholom? Are you still out there? I miss you and your blog. Come on back.
I'm also a Potok fan (particularly his Asher Lev works), and in fact credit him for helping me discover my Jewish identity-- but I assume there are plenty of frumies who don't like him. On the other hand, I could live the rest of my life without reading his description of a baseball game or eyeball anatomy and die happy.
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