Like a trainwreck.

I grew up in the school of Xanga. This isn't to say that I'm a brilliant, or even a regular blogger (I stopped when I first developed an addiction to Facebook), but rather that I had no idea how to navigate Blogger. After spending my first 15 minutes reading prior posts from all of you, I realized that I had no clue how to get to the page to actually write something myself. So much for the advantages of growing up in the internet age. Then again, maybe I'm just a little slow. Self-deprecating remarks aside, here's my two cents on Jonah Goldberg's response to L'Affaire Coulter.

It never ceases to amaze me that some adults are as prone to fits of petulance as children. Over winter break, I was glued to youtube, following the exchange between Rosie O'Donnell, and Donald Trump. I was a little concerned that Rosie and Donald (both figures whom I deeply respect for their strong morals and impressive coiffures) were so quick to regress to tossing around grade-school insults. At the same time, however, I had to admire the savvy of both these public figures. Everyone loves to watch a messy fight - how else to explain WWF, and the staying power of the Rocky series?

Nonetheless, I was surprised when I read Jonah Goldberg's response to the Ann Coulter incident. He sounded kind of like me, sixteen years ago, when my Playskool truck got stolen by one of my friends (we're no longer in communication, if you're wondering - these sorts of grudges don't just go away). I won't dispute that Ann Coulter's article was pretty terrible from a traditional understanding of journalism. However, a couple days after such a traumatic experience, I'd find it more surprising if Coulter attempted to separate her feelings from her writing. Coulter's writing stated what a lot of Americans were feeling after 9/11, but were too afraid to say. Columnists often write incendiary comments to evoke response - in this case, I almost feel as though her angry remarks are somewhat justified. Perhaps we shouldn't judge her statements by our usual standards of literary critique.

As for Goldberg? Why was he surprised that Coulter would generate this kind of controversy? He had to know what he was getting with Ann Coulter - a writer who could generate attention, but who would eventually outgrow editorial review. Post-9/11, Ann Coulter found her hole, and wriggled her way out to a world of even more fame and brash jingoism. Sorry Goldberg, you should have seen this coming.