Nick Coleman, Minnesota's own Frank Rich (expect Ann Coulter --like Mel Gibson for Frank Rich--to show up in every other column that Coleman writes for the next year), has his own take on the "lessons" of having Ann Coulter speak on college campuses.
Unfortunately, he pats Dennis Dease on the back for his PR-induced remarks (see my previous post on the pseudo-controversy), and encourages everyone to read Dease's discourse on the impact of "hate speech." As to why calling someone an "idiot" is hate speech, I'd like for Coleman to enlighten me. His columns are usually thinly-concealed attempts to describe other folks in the same manner.
The whole shtick about students feeling "intimidated" to speak up is nonsense. If she is so obnoxious and wrong, and some student questions her civilly, respectfully, and thoughtfully, then the only person who looks like an idiot and thug is Coulter. I'd have no problem giving Al Franken, (who, by the way, also spoke at St. Thomas very recently), my two cents, and if he wanted to punch me in the face like he did someone who questioned him before, then he'd look like the big jerk most people perceive him to be already. I find it fascinating that Franken did not engender this controversy when in all likelihood he was just as "uncivil" as Coulter. Does anyone listen to his radio show?
The only one guilty of intellectual intimidation is Coleman and the minions he mobilized to badger the very flappable Dennis Dease. And unfortunately, it works.
UPDATE: Powerline has some good commentary on the subject as well both here and here.