Hope She Gets Some Help

Since the unconscious went out of fashion; psychotherapy went underground; psychological symptoms came to be equated with moral failure; mental institutions -- even the high class ones -- became obsolete; and childhood exuberance (as well any adult form of psychic dysphoria) became the province of big Pharma, a strange phenomena has taken place.

People don't go crazy anymore  -- at least, not all of a sudden.  (And, not in a way we have any non-biological language to describe.)

What we tend to see, instead, is a painful, progressive, over-defended and humiliating deterioration into emotional, intellectual and social dysfunction.  It's horrible when this occurs quietly to someone we know.  But it's especially ugly when it happens to public figures.

Ann Coulter has always been pathologically angry.  And, it is typical for someone that self-loathing to direct those impulses outward to buy herself some room.  What looks to be happening now, however, is a further drop-off from Coulter's previous -- if already, deeply neurotic -- baseline functioning.

The intimidating stare; the need for superiority; the pathetic pretense of seduction; the desperate preoccupation with, and bitter condemnation of the weak; the insatiable need for attention -- and hostile engagement is all vintage Coulter.  And on top of it, we now have this incredibly reviling onslaught directed at the 9/11 widows, and this mad attack on evolution and appropriation of God.  (Not to mention, the conversion of the the cocktail dress into a regular uniform.)

It's almost impossible to interpret photos of public figures without taking character into account.  What's the point, however, when that character is so weak, and damaged besides?

I don't think we should give Ann Coulter any credence to what she says.  I think we should do her a favor and ignore her -- and hope she gets some help.

(image: Jim Cooper, File/AP.  Aug. 11, 2003.  Via Yahoo News.  Caption: Political commentator Ann Coulter is seen in New York's Central Park in this Aug. 11, 2003, file photo. Coulter, the conservative pundit with a penchant for creating controversy, caused a ruckus when she called Sept. 11 widows 'witches' and wrote they were pleased when their husbands died at the World Trade Center.)

Comments

[jonst]

Ignore her at your own peril. She has to be confronted. There is no walking away from what she represents. We have to take her, and her ilk on. We have ingnored them, or complained about them for far too long. We have to defeat them. Or we can kiss our freedoms goodby.

[RomanticOtaku]

Those eyes are the frickin heart of darkness.

Ignoring her would be the correct thing to do.

So one wonders why MSM gives her face time.

It's because she is a walking car crash. Her pysche is twisted, broken and burning, and we secretly get a perverse pleasure out of watching the thing fall apart.

To ignore her would be to show mercy.

Not feeling that merciful today.

[ummabdulla]

I've been reading about the things she says about Muslims for years, but I usually didn't have to look at her. I can't stand looking at that photo - if I check here during the day, every time I'm going to have to avert my eyes and scroll down to the other posts...

She reminds me of Katherine Harris, in that they both are kind of pitiful as women who seem to rely on their looks; as they age, how can they deal with the fact that their looks don't have as much power as they once did?

[Douglass Truth]

I agree with bagnews. Nothing good comes out of engaging with a crazy unhappy person. Compassion is best. It's sad that she gets the attention that she does, but she seems to be at the point where she'll go over the line and marginalize herself. Best - in political terms - to let that happen.

[Alan]

She doesn't need "help", what she needs is to stop drinking (so she's not hung over all the time), stop smoking, start exercising, eating right, sleeping regular hours, thinking positive thoughts and generally leading a physically and spiritually healthy life. No one can do that for her, she's got to do it for herself.

[James]

I'm with jonst. Sure, it would be easy to ignore this vile, demented harpie IF her demented views weren't given legitimacy by way of a national mainstream platform like The Today Show.

Matt Lauer and the Today producers should be denounced and their feet held to the fire until they apologize for subjecting their audience to this demented shrew. The sponsors of the show should be contacted as well: It is their advertising money that enables this pathetic slug to sling her verbal feces in the faces of innocent people.

The producers believe she is good for ratings. We should disabuse them of that idea in the strongest possible terms.

[margaret]

Her behavior reminds me of the pattern I observed in cocaine-users in NYC in the 1980's, when there was an "epidemic" of use by people in every level of society.
The "omnipotent" physical stance, the staring eyes, the aggressive talk, which couldn't be interrupted, suggests she is "on" something. I agree she should be ignored by the MSN and everyone else, but the MSM won't ignore her because she is controversial and sells advertising, which is what TV, etc. is all about. (Unfortunately, it's what also "fuels" blogs...)

And, maybe it's just me, but how does anyone think she is "pretty"? Pretty is an expression on a face which is pretty. That expression on her face is not pretty.

[Lighkeeper]

It's naive to think she is being given these platforms simply because she is controversial. Sure, there is some truth to that, but if tv shows were looking just for ratings through controversy they would allow some crazy leftist radical person on also.

Ann Coulter highlights the Republican clout - and the sad state of affairs of the MSM - which allows people like her to publish books damning the brave widows of 9/11 and generally spew lies without any basis in reality.

If anything, the hypocrisy of the MSM and the Republicans is fully evident through the figure of Ann Coulter (that and the fact that, according to the life-long fratboys, she's 'hot').

A crazy person claiming to have the truth? Now thats crazy talk.

[weisseharre]

rep li cant

[Karen]

Fascinating. So much to say, so little to work with. Your entry really makes me curious to know more to understand the dynamic between Coulter, the public, and the parties she serves and disserves.

My take is that, mental health issues aside, she certainly fulfills a role in speaking the unspoken for her party. "9/11 widows are greedy gasbags" is not as valuable as a swipe at the widows as it is a way of planting the germ of an idea in the public psyche. No one goes as far as Coulter, but suddenly the thought is out there and the idea that the 9/11 widows have a personal interest in their own status gains currency. The outrageous begets the nominal idea which, in turn, starts to fester in the public discourse. This is all a not-so-fancy way of saying if the right didn't have her, they'd have to make her up. In fact, they have other figures similar to her: Robertson, Falwell come to mind.

As to her psychological make-up, she'll eventually crash and burn and may be on the descent as we speak (see her attempt to vote outside her district). If she goes to jail, or slaps some one, or melts down spectacularly, the right will turn its collective back and say they never really owned her anyway.

I think its better not to engage her; not to give her a forum on the Today Show or anywhere else.

[Asta]

I bet if Anne went ahead and had that sex change operation she seems to need so badly, she'd feel better about herself. When she so viciously attacked the 9/11 widows, my reaction was that she really really hates women, particularly those who have experienced love in their lives.

[Nezahualimón Johnsettia, Jr.]

Nice. That was the cruise missile of "I don't love you enough to hate you" posts.

[lytom]

Lady Macbeth?

[Bob]

Her book is #1 today (as it was yesterday) on the Amazon Best-Seller List.

She's going berserk all the way to the bank.

[black dog barking]

Just Like a Woman, 1966 —

But lately I see her ribbons and her bows
Have fallen from her curls

Dylan was never about answers, always observation. Margaret mentions the 80's and blow, the 60's were less refined —

Nobody has to guess
That Baby can't be blessed
Till she sees finally that she's like all the rest
With her fog, her amphetamine and her pearls.

AC 2003: Hiding behind her hair.

((weisseharre, nice.))

[14All]

In the 1950's, we hid away our severely mentally ill members of society in psych wards and never mentioned them. That was both unhealthy and lacking in compassion.

Today, we give them national air time and buy their books. Which is even worse.

[steve laudig]

Just to add to her troubles. The photo suggests that her "dark" roots are showing. And that is not her natural hair color.

[Doctor Biobrain]

I've read many different profiles and critiques of Ann Coulter. This is the right one. I still suspect, however, that she's secretly a gay man playing a giant prank on the rightwing.

[Karen]

I'll probably draw fire for this, but I detest the "Coulter is a man in drag" stuff. It's an insult to both sexes and manages to smear gay men as well. A woman can be abrasive and obnoxious without being a man. Behavior on the order of Coulter's is not "mannish," it's simply abrasive and obnoxious. The derision implied in referring to her as a gay man is unsettling on many levels.

I wish her critics on the left (and I'm one of them) would resist this sloppy name calling and gender bashing and object to her for the real as opposed to the imaginary reasons. I'm for ignoring her entirely, but if people can't do that, I don't see the value of dumbing down the criticism.

[donna]

Excellent analysis, that unfortunately fits far too many leading Republicans these days.

But they are just symptoms of the deeper American psychosis, the "me first" mentality that has been running this country for far, far too long now.

[donna]

Oh, and as someone who was undiagnosed bipolar for far too long, I can say she's full blown bipolar and definitely in need of help. The manic phases are far too clear.

[Sarah B.]

In re Ann Coulter -- Performances, Recent and Past

If I may take the liberty of waxing clinical, please consider the following characteristics of Histrionic Personality Disorder from the DSM IV -- with possible Associated Features and characteristics that might suggest a Differential Diagnosis -- which, for the most part, appear evident from a close viewing Ms. Coulter's affect during her recent (and past) television interviews designed to promote her latest screed:

Histrionic Personality Disorder

Overview:

A pervasive pattern of excessive emotionality and attention seeking, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:

(1) is uncomfortable in situations in which he or she is not the center of attention;
(2) interaction with others is often characterized by inappropriate sexually seductive or provocative behavior;
(3) displays rapidly shifting and shallow expression of emotions;
(4) consistently uses physical appearance to draw attention to self;
(5) has a style of speech that is excessively impressionistic and lacking in detail;
(6) shows self-dramatization, theatricality, and exaggerated expression of emotion;
(7) is suggestible, i.e., easily influenced by others or circumstances;
(8) considers relationships to be more intimate than they actually are.

Associated Features:

* Depressed Mood
* Somatic or Sexual Dysfunction
* Anxious or Fearful or Dependent Personality
* Dramatic or Erratic or Antisocial Personality

Differential Diagnosis:

Some disorders have similar or even the same symptom. The clinician, therefore, in his diagnostic attempt has to differentiate against the following disorders which he needs to rule out to establish a precise diagnosis.

* Borderline Personality Disorder;
* Antisocial Personality Disorder;
* Narcissistic Personality Disorder;
* Dependent Personality Disorder;
* Personality Change Due to a General Medical Condition;
* Symptoms that may develop in association with chronic substance use.

Only the consolidation of media venues -- television, radio, publishing, advertising and public relations -- can explain why it is that Ms. Coulter continues to be booked on mainstream television shows like "Today" on NBC and Lou Dobbs on CNN and Tucker Carlson on MSNBC for the sole purpose of spewing her trademark vitriolic invective at "liberals" in a calculated effort to sell her books.

Clearly, the milquetoast disclaimers from Matt Lauer and other media mavens that Ann Coulter's vicious and frankly lunatic attacks on the 9/11 widows went "over the line" is so disproportionately weak and inadequate that it would be laughable were it not so pathetic. The larger question is whether or not Coulter will be invited back to plug her next book if her publisher and public relations team demand it. We shall see.

Coulter's attacks on the 9/11 widows should result not only in condemnation but should herald her last appearance on television -- with the exception of FOX, where she is always warmly received by fellow right-wing lunatics like Gibson and Hannity and O'Reilly.

It is almost beyond belief that Coulter would seek to attack the "Jersey Girls" -- the courageous and determined women, who despite profound personal grief and loss, refused to give up putting pressure on the investigation and accountability-averse Bush administration until the 9/11 Commission became a reality. And for that reason alone -- regardless of one's political views -- we all owe the 9/11 widows an immense debt of gratitude.

The women who make up this brave group of safety advocates continue to appear on television (when invited) for one purpose -- to urge congress and the Bush administration to secure our borders, to secure our ports, and to deal with the problem of loose nuclear weapons in the former Soviet Union so that no American will have to endure another catastrophe like 9/11.

The "Jersey Girls" of 9/11 have a single message with one purpose -- to make us all safer.

What is it about this courageous and sane and pragmatic message that makes Ann Coulter so uncomfortable, nervous, angry, and bitter?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Bullfighter]

What we are dealing with here is a full blown Axis ll personality disorder, who is becoming increasing disorganized under stress. Too bad for America that we now accept this sort of thing as cool, embracing the definitions offered us by the Antisocial Personality Disorders in White House and the Band of Brothers at Fox News. Thanks too to managed care for the switch from mental to behavioral health - although Ann's behavior may soon get her some help anyway - but it will likely be Prozac and not the intense therapy she needs.

[Nezahualimón Johnsettia, Jr.]

Karen, I agree with you that it is an insult to masculine looking women to use this to insult her. But I do not think that the "mannish" thing is about her behavior so much as her....jaw. Or maybe her jaw and her eyes? Her face. It's about her face. But I've known very sweet mannish looking women. And now that I think about it, "mannish" is probably a cruel adjective in the first place.

Hmmm.

Horsish? Is that fair?

[Doug]

Seriously woman, put on some clothes (and grab a sammitch while you're at it).

[Cactus]

People who are filled with hatred, adore her. She says in public what they say in private because they don't have the cajones to say it in public. She has a dark soul/psyche and when her mouth is open it spews hatred. Her admitted frantic fornicating and drinking are but signs that she can't stop long enough to face herself. Ergo she must get, demands, validation from others. If they don't play along, she gets testy and throws a tantrum, like she did on the Today show before they cut her off.

Coulter and Cruise are opposite sides of the same coin. Cruise denies the very essence of his being and as a result, very odd behavior begins leaking out, and he cannot stop it. Coulter wallows in her nasty behavior and narcissistically subjects us all to her dysfunctional rantings. Then screams at her audience for not appreciating her.

And notice she is always 'interviewed' by men. She probably is confident that she can manipulate them. But I'll bet that what she says is what people like Murdoch or Robertson or Santorum would love to say if they thought they could get away with it like she seems able to do. I'd like to see her interviewed by someone like Reps. Barbara Lee or Diane Watson.

As she ages, the meanness of her soul begins to show in her face. She already looks older than she is, and that dyed blonde hair won't cover up that. Each time she appears, that 'little black cocktail dress' that was so popular about 20 years ago, looks more and more like it's still on the hangar.

[Karen]

Nezahualimon, thanks for your comment, but I didn't mean that the "she-male" remarks were an insult to mannish looking women (although I guess they are), I meant calling her a man due to her personality traits assumes that women don't experience/exhibit the full range of emotions and behaviors. Also, those kind of remarks assume that men in general act that way.

Maybe folks refer to her that way based solely on her looks, but I think her personality plays into it.

And, yes, she does have a bit of a horsey face.

[tuffy]

>>I bet if Anne went ahead and had that sex change operation she seems to need so badly, she'd feel better about herself.

Asta, she's already had one. Didn't you know? Her Adam's apple is a dead giveaway.

Andrew Sullivan's been on this kick the last couple of days (a man with his own set of dire issues) claiming that Coulter's behaviour is in actuality mere theater. He posits that she herself doesn't believe a word of her own bile, and that its just a manufactured schtick to sell books and bookings on the lecture circuit.

If it were in fact all fiction on her part, it would still be in no way defensible. Or less creepy. Or less tragic.

I think comparisons to Tom Cruise and Katherine Harris are apt. Coulter is far more saavy and in control, but there's still something just really fucked up about her.

[Rafael]

A few hours ago I saw a vid of Coulter been run off by two pie wielding assailants. She screamed and ran off like a scared rabbit. Mind you as a man, I find to men running at full speed frightening, but not something that would lead me run in terror. I guess she can dish it but really can't take it. Not to say that what these two fellows did was right, assault with deadly merengue pies, is still an assault.

[Nezahualimón Johnsettia, Jr.]

Thanks for clearing that up Karen. You are right on this. Her personality is probably measured into the "mannish" insults. And there are men who are not half as tough as her. And you are right: Women are just as capable of men as demonstrating aggressiveness, non-empathy, superiority complexes, and aggression. aggression, aggression, aggression. She is probably the angriest person I've seen.

I still think tho that if she had a small, cute, round chin, big round eyes and smiled without looking like she was going to eat your skull, a different adjective would be used. I think, in summary, that you are right and I am right. I think her personality is weighed into the perjorative term, but I don't think it would be used without her physical appearance being what it is.

Rafeal, I don't buy that it's all an act. I know hate when I see it and when I hear it. You have to feel hateful inside to proclaim hateful things to the world.

I don't think being filled with hate is mutually exclusive to having good business sense, though.