I don't like her. She's a loudmouth, pushy broad. I'm convinced that the larger share of her popularity is the result of her French Revolution-style appeal to the mindless, angry mob. They're always ready to chop off a few heads solely for emotional satisfaction and rarely bother to understand the issues at more than a gut level. A part of her appeal, I suspect also, is due to her physical appearance. I'm not altogether sure how she can legally employ the blog name Atlas Shrugs, either.
But you know what? None of that matters a whit. She has the right to say any goddamn thing she pleases on her blog. I don't have to read it, nor does anyone else if they don't like what she says. And she sure as hell does a valuable service in repeatedly exposing the horrors of the Islamists and their supporters. I've never read anything of hers that struck me as dishonest in the least.
PayPal has the right not to do business with her, of course. But if they don't they're sheer hypocrites at best and manipulative Progressives at worst. I'm inclined to believe the latter. After all, there are dozens of websites that preach 'tolerance' for jihad and if that isn't hate speech nothing is.
Worse still, to have a corporate policy that refuses to do business with those who engage in so-called hate speech is utterly silly because the very concept of hate speech is silly. It's just another way to suppress through moral intimidation ideas one dislikes. If – as PayPal has demonstrated over the years – it's open to all comers, they should ignore content. Otherwise, it means they're wading into the debate over free speech and choosing sides. If they want to do that, fine. But how about a little consistency?
Unfortunately, from a modern politically correct corporation — i.e. one utterly swamped by cowardice — that's about the last thing one can expect. It's bad enough that publishers knuckle under to Islamist threats when Ayaan Hirsi Ali is out there every day, bravely speaking the ugly truth about Islam. But to preemptively weasel out with regard to one of the blogosphere's staunchest defenders of Western Civilization... That's the lowest form of gutless.
You know, maybe I don't dislike Pamela Geller as much as I thought.
UPDATE: [6/15/2010] PayPal caves! Bravo, Ms. Geller. A victory for free speech, the power of viral Internet protests, justice, and common sense. Now, if we could only get a similar campaign started to get the voters to reconsider their decision to pull the lever for Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Henry Waxman,... Hey, that may already be in progress!
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