University of Texas at Austin student Ajai Raj was arrested after asking Ann Coulter the one question on every American’s mind:
Coulter said she supported the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman on the basis that a good woman civilizes and inspires a man to strive for something better, leading to a question that was met with a stunned silence. “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?” UT Police officers approached Raj to arrest him, resulting in a mass exodus of protesters chanting, “Let him go” … According to Jeffrey Stockerwell, a friend of Raj, officers violently seized Raj and illegally searched him after his question. Police have charged Raj with disorderly conduct, a Class C misdemeanor. [The Daily Texan]
Raj had no idea that innocently asking Coulter about her secret passion would land him in so much hot water. We can only pray that he doesn’t become forcibly acquainted with the practice while doing hard time in the college pokey. For more information on Coulter and anal, visit this blog by another one of her fans (NSFW).
Jai Ajai!
What a disgrace. Incidentally a similar thing happened to Justice Scalia a few weeks ago:
That student however was white and the setting was New York.
disgraceful yet… hilarious
police report
hahaha.
Great to know that civility is alive and well – esp. when you disagree with the speaker….
how about the typo in the police report, where they quote what Ajai shouted at Coulter…
Whatever Vinod. You know that if it was Jane Fonda speaking you’d have made lewd gestures as well. 🙂
Still, it’s pretty puerile. A 19-year-old yells a disrespectful question and then races back to his seat making hand gestures.
Better would have been for him to stand there with a straight face and wait for a serious response.
As someone who had to endure and even attempt to make sense of the often absurd and completely irrational language of Supreme Court cases during law school, I cheer Eric Berndt’s frank questioning of Justice Scalia. The line of cases disenfranchising homosexuals of their constitutional rights incensed me – and I’m straight. I can only imagine what it does for individuals potentially affected. But I agree with Manish, Ajai Raj’s post-question behavior was unnecessary and undermined the legitimacy of his question. I do think people should start asking elected and appointed officials these uncomfortable questions, provided they are serious about the questions.
I agree with Manish & proudlayer. Raj should have taken the serious page out of Berndt’s book. Asked the question in legal language, waited for the answer. But that still doesn’t deem an arrest.
Profiles in Courage? What a load of crock. He wasn’t arrested for asking an offensive question, he was arrested for clearly disorderly conduct. To quote the article:
“He took the opportunity to say something lewd and offensive and then made masturbatory gestures as he exited.”
I do think he question was legit, but his actions demonstrate he wasn’t there to ask questions.
As for the Daily Texan (student paper of my alma mater- hook ’em!), I rarely take anything they say seriously. They often get the facts wrong (just like Coulter!) and inject their biases into articles, although I don’t know if that’s the case with this article. In any case, I’m forgiving as it’s a student newspaper and not a professional one.
i think this was more likely a prank or a dare than any attempt at making a statement about her views, just a kid playing a joke
i’m sure he regrets it now though, shamed the family and all
Reminds me of what happened when Clinton gave a speech at U of Chicago back in 2000. As the graduates walked up to shake his hand, there was at least one Indian guy who went to shake his hand, and then quickly snatched his hand back.
Juvenile hijinks to make a point – attractive to do, ineffective in changing minds.
I take back my comment… I wasn’t aware that this guy made a total jackass of himself when I read it (I hadn’t read the entire report).
This kid’s question made sense, and considering the situation, his wording was appropriate: using the f-word conveyed the sense of how a marriage can be as superficial as a porno,and not necessarily “civilizing” and “inspiring” as Coulter puts it. If only Raj had been more serious, this ordeal would have been more significant (and more amusing if you ask me).
Raj’s Da Man. Bravo!
Are we that polarized in red/blue America that we won’t allow our conservative brethen to enjoy the pleasures of the third input? Is there a dichotomy between a strict interpretation of the Constitution and enjoying some backdoor action? Sad, really…
NdNKutie,
You have expressed it so well. I may not agree with Ann Coulter penchant for getting sodomized, but I will defend to death her right to take it up the crapper.
Um, well, not to death, but you get my drift…
Still, it’s pretty puerile.
No, what’s puerile is that intimate acts between consenting adults are the subject of public debate. WTF? I consider Ajai’s contribution rather enlightened, actually.
that intimate acts between consenting adults are the subject of public debate.
of course they are. you’re not going to approve of a brother and sister sleeping together even if they’re consenting adults. you’re not going to approve of men having multiple wives.
oh, but that’s DIFFERENT, right? Because incest and polygamy aren’t kosher? Well, maybe they are and maybe they aren’t…but admit that it’s your ick reaction at work. Other people also have an “ick” reaction to other things, which is why this stuff is subject to public debate.
the kid was just being disruptive, and charging him with disorderly conduct is perfectly reasonable – esp. considering all the assaults on conservative speakers at colleges (burning & confiscating papers, throwing food, chanting over the speaker, etc.).
You can’t scream obscenities at people in public without running into the law eventually. Liberals support those laws – they’re the only thing that keeps the drug-addicted/insane underclass homeless that preponderate in SF & NYC from being even more rude & confrontational.
ndnkutie and abdul–
no, i think you’re missing the point, which is that our conservative brethren can enjoy these pleasures, but if they do, so should others be permitted without state interference.
it’s your ick reaction at work. Eh, save the kneejerk psychoanalysis.
As far as I’m concerned, brothers and sisters who are consenting adults may sleep with each other but only if they are certain not to have children. The criminal element there is purposefully inflicting that kind of potentially and probably deeply screwed up genome on another person, a person the state will quite possibly have to take care of.
There are ways to make polygamy (or polyandry) work, I’m sure, but without radically altering our ideas of property, inheritance, medical authorization, testifying immunity, and marriage in general, there is no way for the state to assure that it gives more than two partners a fair deal without favoring one of the parties (usuallyl the husband) and particularly cheating another (usually the less favored wife.) (I could see it conceivably working if everyone was married to everyone else–as opposed to the wives each being married to the husband–but first we need same-gender marriage.) The state has an interest, utterly justifiable without reference to either scripture or ickiness, in making sure that certain standard contracts do not have built-in loopholes muddying up property rights and authorizations, and protecting vulnerable people like the young girls typically handed off to be second wives. Hence licensed polygamy is illegal. Polyamory is, or should be, perfectly legal (I wouldn’t be surprised if its in violation of the same misplaced sexual misconduct laws that make sodomy illegal) but polyamory does not deal with property,medical authority, court testimony, etc., any more than a mere boyfriend-girlfriend relationship does.
So, no, it has nothing to do wtih my ick factor.
blah,
The intimate actions between consenting adults should be nobody’s business but theirs. Yes, I do have an “ick” reaction to incest and polygamy, but that alone doesn’t give me the right to impose my own set of values on other people. While incest brings up the issue of having children with genetic defects and should be penalized by law, I see no reason for a ban on consensual polygamy. Why should I care if people want to have more than one life partner at a time? They’re not hurting anybody, nor are they forcing me to marry more than one person. The same goes for gay marrage. If you have a problem with it, then don’t do it! Gay people never hurt anyone by simply being gay, so having a public debate about whether homosexuality is wrong or right is absolutely ridiculous. Coulter, however, has the constitutional right to say whatever she wants, regaurdless of how stupid it is, without being assaulted. But so does her audience. Although I can’t condone Raj’s juvenile behavior, I do condone him for asking a perfectly reasonable question.
you’re not going to approve of a brother and sister sleeping together even if they’re consenting adults. you’re not going to approve of men having multiple wives.
Ha! You obviously don’t know me.
Don’t presume to know what I approve of or not. My point is that the deeper offence here was Coulter’s imposition of her anti-homosexual views on others.
BanglaWarrior is right on the money.
I agree with whomever said “puerile,” because, yeah, if you’ve got the mike, have the sense to do something meaningful… I mean, c’mon, people take Coulter seriously because she’s a serious woman, we’re taking Raj seriously because we dislike Coulter, but not because what he did was exactly intelligent, brave, etc… I’m trying to decide which is worse when taken out of context: Coulter as a representative of the right or Raj as a representative of the left.
I don’t know if Ann C. has spoken out against sodomy laws, she’s surely against gay marriage, which is a whole different animal.
Good God. Defending polygamy, people?
Please, I thought having one husband was bad enough………personally, I don’t think I’d like to be in a family where my mom had to share my dad with other women, but that’s just my cultural bias showing now, isn’t it?
As for this young man: I’m sure he made his point and changed a lot of minds.
*PS, as someone who sympathizes with conservatives, and may even be one herself, may I just say that A Coulter scares me? I’m pretty sure she could take me in a fight, ‘pretty girl’ and all (the pretty girl reference is the way she referred to herself in one famed article. Personally, she’s a bit long in the face and skinny for my tastes, but, in keeping with the tolerant attitudes toward all and sundry in this comment thread, whatever).
Pre-2003, gay homosexual behavior (defined as sodomy is over half the states…mostly red states) was illegal. Then the Lawrence decision came out and overturned those aging sodomy laws. For over 2 decades the entire discourse of homosexual rights has revolved around sodomy, only post-Lawrence has the main focus really shifted to the next issue: gay marriage. Coulter, Scalia and the like were all against the Lawrence decision…what these activists objected to was the double-standard the probably employed in doing so. Lawrenece (and as I said, most of the relevant homosexuality cases like Bowers) related to sodomy laws. The neo-fascists were all in favor of keeping sodomy laws, and thereby criminalizing gay activities….which is so absurd because Coulter and Scalia probably do, like many others, engage in non-vaginal sex.
I applaud the kid for his act of civil disobedience. No its not on a gandhi or mlk level, and yes its very crass. Sometimes the end justifies the means.
Whether we like it or not, as adults they should have the right to do what they like with each other as long as there is no physical/economic harm to others. Morality is not something that others have a right to decide for you – you have to do it yourself.
wow, that was ballsy…
hehehe…
seems meaningful enough that we’ve spent 2 days hashing this topic, don’t you think.
The Internet could spend two days hashing belly lint.
Manish, thats funny you should mention that because just last night I was considering my belly lint.
True (but disturbing) story.
give me a sec, Abhi, I need to clear my schedule for the next 2 days so we can discuss this
This is the funniest thing I’ve read in a long time. I almost laughed out loud.
People take Ann Coulter “seriously” because they’re predisposed to listen to her (probably because they’re highly ill informed and/or stupid). It’s called confirmation bias.
People enjoy Ann Coulter because she’s the rightwing equivalent of a shock jock like Howard Stern, except with much more destructive effects because of the political cause she’s enlisted herself in. I think this kid’s words, at least, were hilarious and apropos, because that’s the puerile level on which Coulter operates; she just gets better placement, a better paycheck, and is subjected to less accountability.
Here are some examples (taken from an anti-Coulter website, but this apolitical site has a lot of the same. I’m sure you can find a source to please you here):
Ann Coulter on the Muslim world: We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity.
Ann Coulter on political dissent: When contemplating college liberals, you really regret once again that John Walker is not getting the death penalty. We need to execute people like John Walker in order to physically intimidate liberals, by making them realize that they can be killed, too. Otherwise, they will turn out to be outright traitors.”
Ann Coulter on political opposition: There are no good Democrats.
Ann Coulter on environmentalism: I take the biblical idea. God gave us the earth…We have dominion over the plants, the animals, the trees….God says, “Earth is yours. Take it. Rape it. It’s yours.”
Ann Coulter on the freedom of the press: “My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times Building.”
I sure hope he doesn’t regret it. That lady deserved it. Besides, I don’t think some people care about “shamnig the familty” when it comes to speaking their mind. I study at UT and have been asking around – it doesnt seem like the “masturbatory gestures” story is true. besides the bunch of UTPD officers really are only APD rejects so they always go around finding reason to arrest someone.
After reading the comments one can only conclude that south asians deserve any backlash from the majority that might come their way.
Here’s what Raj said:
Ed said:
It’s not a South Asian issue, now is it. Any backlash would go against liberals and/or Hunter S. Thompson devotees.
This is the funniest thing I’ve heard in quite a while. Whey to go Ajai. I’d have loved to see the look on Ann’s face. LOL
By the way, we never did get to hear what she thinks of anal sex marriages MF. Or how about marriages where the only sex is the male doing the woman in the mouth? I’d love to hear the little blond ho’s ‘position’ on that one. Ha ha
Dude,
The “Masturbatory Gestures” thing is true. I said it. I saw it.
This kid isn’t a hero, he’s a jackass. I dislike Ann Coulter as much as the next person but this guy was disruptive the entire evening, yelled this comment in front of children, and only did it to draw attention away from Ann Coulter. Instead of doing that he gave her an opportunity to go on national tv and rail against liberals.
what grounds does this give Ann to rail against liberals?
he pointed out an obvious flaw in her argument and ideological assuptions. that he made it personal is simiply platying her game. she is making it her job to personally critique the personal lives and rights of ALL GAYS AND LESBIANS (not to mension muslims, minorities, etc). none of it-espesh who can marry and what is moral between two people-is her fucking business.
so go ajay, and whoever else has the balls to call it the way it is and not be blindsighted by societies mores of ass kissing power and beautiful blonde women.
Ajai’s treatment of Ann Coulter is appropriate. The standards of public discourse are – unfortunately- set by the likes of Ann Coulter, Bill O’Rielly, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage etc. The incident only shows that when confronted with the same language that these right wing nuts use themselves, with impunity, the state comes to their rescue. From Ajai’s reaction to the incident it appears that his questioning was serious and he just avoided euphemisms. Good Job Ajai!! Coulter deserves worse than what you gave her.
beautiful blonde women
Irrelevant to the scraggly horse-faced wench in question, but yes, I’m with you Anji. Some boundaries require breaching from time to time.
After reading more by/about Ajai Raj, I think the kid’s definitely cool. It goes without saying that he’ll make very many people uncomfortable. We need folks like that to call us on our kow-towing polite bullshit. A little well-placed rage can do wonders.
So, what you’re saying is that since liberals can’t compete on a serious discussion with a conservative, they have to resort to vulgarity. Sounds about right to me. No wonder Ajai made mastubatory gestures… he sounds like a real jerk-off. He probably knows a thing or two about getting fked up the a, too.
In words of John Stuart Mill (English philosopher and writer): “Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives.”