Ajai Raj: Jackass for Justice

New liberal hero Ajai Raj, the University of Texas at Austin student who was arrested on Tuesday for heckling infamous Ann Coulter, speaks out via kos today:

I am Ajai Raj, and I am a jackass... I know I didn't slay the insidious evil that is Ann Coulter, but I did give her pause. She can easily go to another college or hoedown or whatever and spew her tired rhetoric without worrying about me. But I'm not the only one who feels this way. Other people will call her on her shit.

Greg Beato had a presumptive response from the Coulter on wonkette:

Seems like Ann Coulter has a tadpole crush on her latest heckler Ajai Raj. "He asked one of the more intelligent questions from the liberals," she told Hannity & Colmes, before cooing over his mug shot in her best hopelessly smitten, boys-are-icky! manner.

Shudder.  My favorite headline on the topic?  Turbanhead's "Brown Man Gives It To Ann Coulter. Hard"  Full text of Raj's delightful rant after the jump. (it's worth the read)

I'm writing this in response to the spectacle that occurred in the LBJ Library on Tuesday, May 3rd, 2005, when Ann Coulter, a diabolical, ignorant, but nevertheless charismatic right-wing pundit, came to speak at the University of Texas at Austin. Ms. Coulter--yes, Ms, I'd personally think such a vocal female conservative would be making Bubba a meat loaf instead of addressing a politically-minded collegiate audience, but whatever--is the author of relentlessly mendacious anti-liberal books, such as Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right and Treason: Liberal Treachery From the Cold War to the War on Terrorism. She's famous for having an ass that stores so many lies it makes clown-car designers envious. Like her or not (and if you do, I'm surprised you can read) she's a Big Fucking Deal.

The title of the Daily Texan front-page story covering Ms. Coulter's speech was "Arrest Made at Coulter Speech." You could also have caught it on CBS or in the Austin-American Statesman. The general idea is that some jackass made a scene, and Ann Coulter was also there.

I am Ajai Raj, and I am a jackass.

In his article, which I enjoyed and commend him for, Mr. Sampath quoted the former president of the Student Events Center, the organization which arranged the event. He wrote:

    "The person had been disruptive the entire event," said Matt Hardigree, former Student Events Center president. "He took the opportunity to say something lewd and offensive and then made masturbatory gestures as he exited."

And what do I have to say in rebuttal? Not a goddamn thing.

Matt Hardigree got it spot-on! From the beginning I was yelling obscenities along with my friends, roaring at Ms. Coulter's right-wing bullshit festival the way no one else had the balls to. Mr. Sampath writes in his article that (and this is my take) the protestors were told to be good all along. They were told to sit in the back and hold their signs and leave quietly. No wonder hippies get such a bad rap nowadays; protestors today might as well be ornaments on the Rightmobile. When I want someone to know I'm pissed off, I'm going to throw down and give them a good shit-ruining. I wanted to show Ms. Coulter that people are down if she wants to hold a circle-jerk, but we're not gonna do it her way. Not me, at least.

So yes, the Q&A session came around, and it was pathetic. Her slack-jawed fans got up and licked her face so she could pat them on the head--one schmuck offered to be her bodyguard, and she smiled, doubtlessly making a mental note that she wouldn't touch his nether regions if she were King Midas. Liberal protestors posed well-intentioned but woefully timid questions and got shot down in a hail of ignorant shitfire from the She-Dragon. Standing in line awaiting my turn, I watched her send a moderate Republican, who had questioned the sheer incendiary magnitude of her rhetoric, walk away in tears when she tore him apart for daring to question her.

So yes, I saw my "opportunity to say something lewd and offensive." And I took it.

She had just said something about gay marriage, the typical rightwing bullshit spiel that is still convincing people that the Bible is really the Constitution. Knowing that taking the time to say something insightful, specific, or even slightly critical would get me a lame comeback and a ticket back to my seat, I realized that the only way to win this battle was to fight fire with fire. Or bullshit with bullshit. So, as reported in yesterday's Texan, I fired:

    "You say that you believe in the sanctity of marriage," said Ajai Raj, an English sophomore. "How do you feel about marriages where the man does nothing but fuck his wife up the ass?"

And the crowd fell silent. Ms. Coulter stood stunned atop her stage, unprepared for a jackass to say something so utterly crude and to the point. Her pompous and mean air is enough to stump questioners into timidity; I wasn't about to let her stop me. The audience members looked at me with raw disbelief; later, even friends who know me well admitted that they'd been surprised at how vulgar I'd been. The others in line for Q&A, mostly liberals, looked at me like I'd set their cause back forty years.

Did I give a shit? No. If I had a message, it's that the whole thing was a joke--hell, our whole political scene today is a fucking joke. Everyone's out to either pat themselves on the back for being right or whine about how they're being wronged without ever lifting a finger to fight for it.

So rather than dignify anyone else, I "made masturbatory gestures" as I exited. Again, bingo! I danced a jig and set my hand a-jerkin' at crotch-level, sneering for the crowd and letting them know I was ready to roll. I yelled to my friends that we were gonna split and made for the door.

Two cops approached me. I figured they were going to tell me I had to leave, so I said "You can't fire me, because I quit!"

"You're under arrest."

It was my turn to be shocked. I tried to ask them what for; saying "fuck her in the ass" at a college isn't a crime, last time I checked. They apparently mistook my inquiries for aggression, and grabbed me roughly and slammed me into the door. Within seconds the backmost two or three rows were surging forward, following the scene as the cops dragged me out the door. They yelled and chanted; my friends were more outraged than I'd ever seen any of them before. As they pushed me into the car, I heard my good friend Jeffrey Stockwell scream, "THIS ISN'T A JUSTICE SYSTEM! YOU CALL THIS PROTECTING AND SERVING?!" The crowd took up a chant at the UTPD officers: "Shame! Shame! Shame!"

Shame is fucking right. When I asked the cops why they thought I needed cuffing, they told me that they didn't even see anything that happened, they were just doing as told.

As a good friend pointed out to me, it's a scary thought that people who are given weapons and the authority to forcibly detain people can act without knowledge of a situation.

I'm writing this at 7:15 A.M., Wednesday, having recouped over a few cigarettes and some coffee after being released from jail around 3 A.M. I had a party waiting for me--twenty or so friends and supporters who showered me with gifts such as a card, sodas, cigarettes, food, and a Blondie CD (go figure.) Several civil rights-interested associations approached me, offering pro bono legal representation and showing their support.

I have no regrets. Was I jackass? Yes. Oh Christ, yes. But here are the questions people ought to ask themselves: Did I deserve to be arrested? Did the cops need to rough me up for saying bad words at what was at least masquerading as an open dialogue? Do the people of Texas--hell, of America--feel that "potty mouth" belongs on the list of punishable crimes along with "aggravated assault" and "armed robbery"?

As stated in the Texan article, I am charged with Disorderly Conduct, which is a Class C Misdemeanor. Other Class C Misdemeanors include DWIs, possession of drug paraphernalia, and speeding tickets. Without getting into the justification for all of those, were my naughty words and crude hand motions as imposing a danger?

This isn't about politics anymore, however it might have come about. Either you think it's an absurd outrage or you think swearing is a crime. Trey Parker and Matt Stone are Republicans, for Christ's sake. Raise your hand if you watch South Park.

This is about drawing a line in the sand. It made me proud to see people standing up and calling bullshit when bullshit needed to be called. All politics aside, people ought to ask themselves, how far should our representatives of "justice" be allowed to go? Do the American people believe in censorship rights for the rich and famous?

I know I didn't slay the insidious evil that is Ann Coulter, but I did give her pause. She can easily go to another college or hoedown or whatever and spew her tired rhetoric without worrying about me. But I'm not the only one who feels this way. Other people will call her on her shit.

And hey, Ann, don't come back to UT. We're better than your bullshit here. And I can think of at least one jackass here who can dish it out better than you.

Comments

[Scot Ellison]

Mr. Raj,

Who else is too dangerous to allow free expression? Who else should be silenced? I don't like Ann Coulter. I don't think she's very bright. That said I would never heckle someone while they are speaking. I'll question their positions. I'll argue with them. I will not try to silence them with derision or vitrol.

Your question was a good one, however, I think you phrased it the way you did in order to elicit the reponse you received. I don't think you should have been arrested. You didn't deserve that much attention. You should have been escorted from the building along with the rest of the heckler's and barred from returning.

"I may not like what you have to say but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

[ls]

I don't want to speak for Raj (he's more capable of expression than most I think) but in his words:

"Knowing that taking the time to say something insightful, specific, or even slightly critical would get me a lame comeback and a ticket back to my seat, I realized that the only way to win this battle was to fight fire with fire. Or bullshit with bullshit."

I agree that the hand gestures did not enhance the exchange in a positive way. I love these obnoxious protesters because I think wingnuts like coulter have unjustified soapboxes - their fame allows them so much coverage - so many opportunities to speak, and yet they waste that privilege with vitriol. I think people grant them too much respect - interviewers give them too easy a time, so at least this is a refreshing - if not ideal - change.

[ScotEllison]

Is,

So why lower yourself to her level? Don't dignify her evasions and vitrol with vitrol of your own. I tend to be conservative in my political leanings, but I can't stand Coulter for the same reason Mr. Raj objects to her. However, I would never dignify her crap by making a bigger ass of myself than she makes of herself. That's what Mr. Raj did in the end.

[ls]

I think it could be argued that he was calling attention to the crassness of coulter's rhetoric. I think Raj very much admitted to just acting out in anger at the situation, and while he didn't apologize, he didn't exactly hold his behavior up as a model to be emulated.

I wish more conservatives objected to coulter. I think she's going for hype and celebrity rather than sincerity, though I think a lot of people swallow her bs whole.

[ScotEllison]

Is,

I don't disagree with your assessment of Coulter. I can see her writting from the other perspective if the political winds change. My wife, who makes me look liberal, skimmed one of her books and her comment was, "Please stay off my side."

While I can simpitize with Mr. Raj's anger I would hope we can all take his actions as an example of what not to do.

[ls]

I think there's a place for all kinds of protest... but if that fine point is all we disagree about, that's pretty good.

[ScotEllison]

Is,

I have no problem with protest. Mr. Raj's question was a good one, phrased a bit more civilly I would have liked to see Ms. Coulter attempt to answer. The heckling that lead up to the question is what I have a problem with. This is just too close to shouting someone down.

[ls]

If one person shouted over another in an interpersonal exchange, I'd agree with you, but given the power dynamic in this situation - coulter on a stage, her aura of fame granting her a degree of respectability I certainly wouldn't command if I walked around saying what she does - I understand. Like I said, it's not ideal, but nor is the soapbox that the cult of celebrity built for ann coulter. I'd love to see her in a debate where she had take questions seriously and speak respectfully of her adversaries, but that's not going to happen. I think ann coulter deserves pie in the face and hecklers.

An intelligent political dialogue between differing camps is an obvious ideal, but why expect it when the decks are stacked this this?

[Scot Ellison]

Is,

Do you think Jane Fonda deserves to be spit on? I don't.

I'm saying people should lead by example and not jump into the gutter with people like Ms. Coulter. Explitives, pies, salad dressing, spittle, where will it stop? When people attack her like this it gives her credibility and makes her attackers look weak.

[ls]

I agree that leading by example is ideal, but there a long history of protest culture where these tactics have been effective at communicating ideas when a power imbalance has crippled one side.

I actually think the pie-throwing is sublime. It's so funny, so disrespectful, and so harmless and funny! The image of someone with pie on their face is so powerful and transcends language. Spit is also a universal act, but it's dirty and has so much negative baggage that pie throwing doesn't have. I didn't get the salad dressing. Maybe they didn't understand the poetic gesture of the pie.

I don't understand how this gives her credibility. I don't think people look at Ajai Raj and say "I don't like him, so I must like the person he was heckling" I give people more credit than that.

[ScotEllison]

Is,

I believe it gives her credibility because rather than addressing her points hecklers try to shout her down or embarass her into leaving the stage. It makes it look like the hecklers are unable to bring up cogent points that refute her ideas. You could say some would take heckling to mean her ideas are not worth being addressed, while this could be the case the same could be said by just ignoring her. It shows that she's not worth your time. Or, perhaps even a protest where you come in but tape your mouths shut to show that she will not allow you to get a word in edgewise and is trying to shut down debate by talking over people (which I know she does).

I'm just pointing out that there are ways to get your point across that do not require you to hurl profanity while someone else is talking.

[ls]

It's splitting hairs, but Raj did say that coulter did not address the cogent points previous questioners had raised - that she just lauched into practiced rants. He also did not shout over anyone, but rather hurled his profanity into the microphone after waiting in line with other members of the audience asking questions. From the accounts I've read, I believe there were more protesters than just Raj, but you haven't heard much about them, have you? It takes something dramatic to get a message into the media.

Again, I agree that this was not an ideal situation.

[ScotEllison]

Is,

Doesn't Mr. Raj's letter say that he was in the room yelling profanity at Ms. Coulter before he walked up to ask his question?