# How does Milo Yiannopoulos exist, exactly? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 19, 2016, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-milo-yiannopoulos-exist-exactly/760298 "2016-07-19T08:46:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 23
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-milo-yiannopoulos-exist-exactly/760298/441 "2017-02-22T01:10:39Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Well, they _claim_ to be. I’m guessing this is just a convenient excuse to let them distance themselves from Yiannopoulos just as he was starting to become a little _too_ embarrassing, and the modern conservative tolerance for embarrassment is pretty damn high. I see this fairly differently. The Milo fans were screaming, positively SCREAMING, with delight to watch all those oxen getting gored, cheering it on, putting themselves firmly in the pro-goring-oxen camp. Then Milo turned his horns on theirs. The reason they loved him was because he was pissing off people, and he was pissing off people they loathed, and he was doing so by saying the shitty things many of them believed, and they could enjoy hearing their shitty thoughts voiced and could enjoy watching people they hated be annoyed, AND THEY COULD PRETEND IT WAS ALL ABOUT FREE SPEECH. Suddenly, they’re realizing that it wasn’t actually about free speech. Bummer, dude! It’s not that he became too embarrassing. He wasn’t embarrassing at all before. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-milo-yiannopoulos-exist-exactly/760298/442 "2017-02-22T01:16:31Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Well, they _claim_ to be. I’m guessing this is just a convenient excuse to let them distance themselves from Yiannopoulos just as he was starting to become a little _too_ embarrassing, and the modern conservative tolerance for embarrassment is pretty damn high. Can’t be that, Trump is far more of an embarrassment to them. Through sheer volume if not in degree. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-milo-yiannopoulos-exist-exactly/760298/443 "2017-02-22T01:22:55Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I see this fairly differently. The Milo fans were screaming, positively SCREAMING, with delight to watch all those oxen getting gored, cheering it on, putting themselves firmly in the pro-goring-oxen camp. > > Then Milo turned his horns on theirs. > > The reason they loved him was because he was pissing off people, and he was pissing off people they loathed, and he was doing so by saying the shitty things many of them believed, and they could enjoy hearing their shitty thoughts voiced and could enjoy watching people they hated be annoyed, AND THEY COULD PRETEND IT WAS ALL ABOUT FREE SPEECH. > > Suddenly, they’re realizing that it wasn’t actually about free speech. Bummer, dude! > > It’s not that he became too embarrassing. He wasn’t embarrassing at all before. Yes, I think this is it. It was never a difference in philosophy, just in standards. Once Milo violated the standards of his conservative supporters/enablers, they were just as quick to shun him as his liberal critics. What’s revealing is that their standards were fine with the many bigoted and otherwise horrible things he had said already. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-milo-yiannopoulos-exist-exactly/760298/444 "2017-02-22T01:24:16Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Suddenly, they’re realizing that it wasn’t actually about free speech. Bummer, dude! > > It’s not that he became too embarrassing. He wasn’t embarrassing at all before. Exactly. He was saying what the majority of Republicans appear to believe. Bigoted things, sexist things, homophobic things, and transphobic things. And they were okay with every single one of them. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-milo-yiannopoulos-exist-exactly/760298/445 "2017-02-22T01:26:54Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Fair enough. > Okay then, how about all the conservatives who complained about the ACU’s inviting Yiannopoulos to speak at CPAC? Was it “arrogant” of them to think that their “personal viewpoint about who should be invited to speak” was more important than the clearly expressed desires of the host organization? > > If you think it was “arrogant” for liberals at [Villanova, say, to pressure the host organization (College Republicans)](http://www.phillyvoice.com/controversial-conservative-milo-yiannopoulos-speaking-villanova/) into withdrawing a speaking invitation to Yiannopoulos by expressing their outrage at the prospect, then isn’t it also “arrogant” of conservatives to pressure the ACU into withdrawing his CPAC speaker invitation by expressing **their** outrage? > > Liberals are outraged at Yiannopoulos for being a misogynist racist aggressive lying asshole. Conservatives are outraged at Yiannopoulos for having said that he thinks cross-generational sexual relationships that violate statutory-rape laws aren’t necessarily always bad. I really don’t see why prioritizing one’s outrage over the “desires of the host” institution should be considered “arrogant” on the part of liberals but not on the part of conservatives. Again as a general rule my thoughts are public universities are a bit different than a private meeting. In this particular case? I think it’s an overreaction. I think discussing taboo issues be they racial, sexual, drug use, religious, immigration etc shouldn’t make one a pariah. Age of consent is a valid subject for discussion. Now you can disagree with the points advocated or debated but I don’t think it’s healthy to demonize people engaged in debate. Why not just offer a rebuttal? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-milo-yiannopoulos-exist-exactly/760298/446 "2017-02-22T02:13:27Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > Can’t be that, Trump is far more of an embarrassment to them. Through sheer volume if not in degree. Evidence of their absurdly high tolerance for embarrassment to be sure, but Trump promises to be profitable for them (and thus they’ll put up with a lot from him), while Yiannopoulos wasn’t worth the continued association so it’s all “Yiannopoulos who?” ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-milo-yiannopoulos-exist-exactly/760298/447 "2017-02-22T02:16:06Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Now you can disagree with the points advocated or debated but I don’t think it’s healthy to demonize people engaged in debate. > > Why not just offer a rebuttal? Because there’s a point where decisions are made, positions are decided and further “debate” only serves to muddy the waters and bring those decisions and positions into question. By your logic, we should simply debate slavery all over again if someone decides to take the public position that we should enslave every black person in America. There’s no value in that other than to validate an indefensible position. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-milo-yiannopoulos-exist-exactly/760298/448 "2017-02-22T02:31:24Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Again as a general rule my thoughts are public universities are a bit different than a private meeting. In this particular case? I think it’s an overreaction. I think discussing taboo issues be they racial, sexual, drug use, religious, immigration etc shouldn’t make one a pariah. Age of consent is a valid subject for discussion. Now you can disagree with the points advocated or debated but I don’t think it’s healthy to demonize people engaged in debate. > > Why not just offer a rebuttal? Milo isn’t interested in debate, any more than the monkey who flings shit at you at the zoo is interested in trading cookie recipes. Milo has made his brand into pissing people off, into insulting people in the most vile way he can imagine. I still don’t think shutting him down through yelling or whatever is correct: on the contrary, that gives him exactly what he wants, that monetizes him. Instead, he should be treated as the deeply unserious rodeo clown that he is. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-milo-yiannopoulos-exist-exactly/760298/449 "2017-02-22T02:57:20Z")
> [@Rick\_Sanchez](#): > > **Kimstu** , can I ask…do you get some kind of commission every time you use :dubious:? You seem to do it in nearly every post and it’s fucking irritating. > > Anyway, **I can’t say for absolute cast-iron certainty whether or not each and every one of the black-bloc thugs who tore up Berkeley were actually students**. I _can_, however, say that **some** of them were. [Here,](http://europe.newsweek.com/berkeley-protest-milo-yiannopoulos-black-bloc-556264?rm=eu) for example, is an article which opens with an interview with a Berkeley student who admitted taking part in the black bloc vandalism. > > I can also say that there were other students on campus who, **even if they didn’t actually take part** in the black bloc vandalism (although they may very well have done), certainly didn’t have a problem with it. Indeed, they _endorsed_ it. [Here](https://medium.com/everyvote/a-defense-of-the-violence-at-berkeley-aae88937776a#.vivtuurfb) is an article written by a Berkeley student entitled ‘In Defence of the Violence at Berkeley’, and [here](http://www.dailycal.org/2017/02/07/check-privilege-speaking-protests/) is another article written by another Berkeley student saying that people who criticise the black bloc violence should (what else?) _“check their privilege”._ > > But let’s be generous. **Let’s assume** , purely for the sake of argument, that which we know not to be true: that none of the black bloc rioters were Berkley students and that no Berkley students endorsed them. All that proves is that it’s not just left-wing _campus_ activists who act like morons when threatened with the terrifying prospect of some unserious, half-bright internet troll doing words at them for an hour or two. Left-wing _non-campus_ activists act like morons, too. So what? All it proves is that Yiannopoulos derangement syndrome isn’t just confined to college campuses. In other words, you got nothing, so at the end you go for yet an other “equivalency” :dubious: WEAK!!! ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-milo-yiannopoulos-exist-exactly/760298/450 "2017-02-22T03:00:51Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > You keep acting like the guy was just some Internet troll who no one was listening to until liberals got upset at him. That’s just not the case. > > It’s not even really accurate to call him a troll. He’s a provocateur, yes. But he isn’t just saying whatever will make people upset at him. He is pushing forth a political movement–the alt-right. He is a sort of leader in that movement, in as much as they can be said to have leaders. > > So, yes, of course liberals would get upset at him. What he was saying was truly awful, and people were actually buying it. He created group harassment campaigns against quite a few people because they dared be anti-racist or whatever. He championed death threats as freedom of speech. > > These type of people do not just go away because people ignore them. And ignoring them doesn’t prevent them from getting more and more followers. > > The correct response is exactly what happened. Liberals got upset at him, and used the tools at their disposal to attack him. Without doing anything illegal, they tried to limit his influence. Debating him was pointless, since he didn’t come to his positions rationally, nor did his followers. So, instead, they appealed to the decency of others to try and get him discredited and shut down his ability to be influential. > > And the end result appears to be that it worked. The guy even lost his job at Breitbart. He’s lost his book deal. He’s lost his influence that he worked so hard to build up in the shadows, before liberals were paying attention. > > In short, liberals attacked him not because they got some sort of perverse pleasure out of it, but because it works. Not taking these people seriously doesn’t. > > DNFTT only works if no one is listening to them. A troll that can get people on his side needs other methods to stop him. I agree. I support this message. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-milo-yiannopoulos-exist-exactly/760298/451 "2017-02-22T03:05:41Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Evidence of their absurdly high tolerance for embarrassment to be sure, but Trump promises to be profitable for them (and thus they’ll put up with a lot from him), while Yiannopoulos wasn’t worth the continued association so it’s all “Yiannopoulos who?” Yeah, that’s pretty much how I feel about it. Trump’s an embarrassment, but he’s an embarrassment who will sign their anti-science and pro-torture bills into law, so they’ll put up with it. Don’t know what will happen come re-election time. Will they kick him to the curb, or will they be so popular with their (surviving) constituents that they won’t need to? ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-milo-yiannopoulos-exist-exactly/760298/452 "2017-02-22T03:22:42Z")
> [@Rick\_Sanchez](#): > > You’ve been paying exactly the right amount of attention. Milo Yiannopoulos is a journalist/lecturer/dickhead who has recently become notorious for going around college campuses worshipfully praising Donald Trump and saying various things that a lot of people (not unreasonably) consider bigoted. In any sane world he would either be debated and his ideas debunked or politely ignored. Unfortunately, it seems that among left-wing college campus activists sanity is an increasingly rare commodity. Instead of responding to him in a mature way (or not responding at all, which would be even better), they do their damnedest to turn every single one of his otherwise forgettable lectures into a shit-bukkake of autistic screeching. They sneak into his lectures and use the heckler’s veto to shout him down, they storm the stage and snatch the microphone out of his hand, they form human walls and block the entrances to his campus venues, they set off the fire alarms, they pepper-spray up his fans, and recently at UC Berkeley they damn near burnt the whole place down. > > The upshot is that Milo, who would otherwise be beneath the notice of reasonable people, has become infamous. There are (it seems) countless people who treat him like Hitler 2.0 and turn into frothing, histrionic retards whenever his name is mentioned. Indeed, they do so with such alacrity and reliability that it’s hard to dispel the notion that they get some weird kick out of it. There are plenty of such people in this dumbfuck shitpile of a thread, if you’re looking for examples. > > The fact that you don’t know who he is reflects well on you. It indicates that you have your priorities in order and don’t allow yourself to be distracted by stupid internet bullshit. Well done. You’re a rare breed these days 🙂 Yesterday I was listening to someone comparing him to Oscar Wilde, in a way I think it’s an apt description, a flamboyant man not afraid to shock by saying some things that people know are true but rather not have them aired in public. I also suspect the hatred he receives from the Left is in large part due to him being a threat to the Left brand image, _an openly gay man being accepted and celebrated by the Right? They are not supposed to do that, that’s our shtick!_ ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-milo-yiannopoulos-exist-exactly/760298/453 "2017-02-22T03:29:57Z")
> [@Ale](#): > > Yesterday I was listening to someone comparing him to Oscar Wilde, in a way I think it’s an apt description, a flamboyant man not afraid to shock by saying some things that people know are true but rather not have them aired in public. > > I also suspect the hatred he receives from the Left is in large part due to him being a threat to the Left brand image, _an openly gay man being accepted and celebrated by the Right? They are not supposed to do that, that’s our shtick!_ No, we just despise him because he is a troll and a scumbag. He is not a threat at all to the Left, or the Middle. He’s that buzzy damn mosquito you swat and forget. Ockam’s Razor. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-milo-yiannopoulos-exist-exactly/760298/454 "2017-02-22T04:04:57Z")
Yeah, he’s said that he thinks that he’s mentally ill or whatever just by dint of being gay. I’m not surprised conservatives love him. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-milo-yiannopoulos-exist-exactly/760298/455 "2017-02-22T04:43:36Z")
> [@Ale](#): > > I also suspect the hatred he receives from the Left is in large part due to him being a threat to the Left brand image, _an openly gay man being accepted and celebrated by the Right? They are not supposed to do that, that’s our shtick!_ How large, and why? Do you have a reason to think people are lying when they say his endorsement of having sex with children makes him a scumbag? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-milo-yiannopoulos-exist-exactly/760298/456 "2017-02-22T04:44:41Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Yeah, he’s said that he thinks that he’s mentally ill or whatever just by dint of being gay. I’m not surprised conservatives love him. Conservative women want to be him, conservative men want to be with him. Or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-milo-yiannopoulos-exist-exactly/760298/457 "2017-02-22T04:56:14Z")
AFAICT, he’s the Kim Kardashian of politics. Why anyone pays any attention to him is beyond me. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-milo-yiannopoulos-exist-exactly/760298/458 "2017-02-22T05:27:41Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > How large, and why? Do you have a reason to think people are lying when they say his endorsement of having sex with children makes him a scumbag? Yes, the reason is that what you are talking about wasn’t a thing until a few days ago, yet the hatred for the man began as soon as he became prominent a couple years ago. I’ve seen time and time again the Left going against people whose cause they putatively own; it’s group dynamics, the one thing In-groups hate more than the Out-Group is people the “betray” the In-Group. For example BLM adherents calling a black person that doesn’t align with them an Uncle Tom. That type of dynamic is true for most, if not all ideological groups, Left, Right, doesn’t matter; what they also have in common is that they also absolutely hate this to be pointed out. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-milo-yiannopoulos-exist-exactly/760298/459 "2017-02-22T05:36:43Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Because there’s a point where decisions are made, positions are decided and further “debate” only serves to muddy the waters and bring those decisions and positions into question. > > By your logic, we should simply debate slavery all over again if someone decides to take the public position that we should enslave every black person in America. There’s no value in that other than to validate an indefensible position. Why not debate it? I disagree that any topic is unworthy of debate. Now it can be a simple to win debate but it doesn’t hurt to debate it. Imho, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-milo-yiannopoulos-exist-exactly/760298/460 "2017-02-22T05:39:41Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > AFAICT, he’s the Kim Kardashian of politics. Why anyone pays any attention to him is beyond me. Some because they love how he riles some people up, some because they need to feel outraged, some because they can sort through the chaff to find something of value on what he says, etc, etc… He is a controversy monger, he thrives on it and he is not alone in the business; that’s why I think that the relevant variable is that his flamboyantly gay persona is accepted by people on the right, and that makes him dangerous to people on the left that derive political capital from painting themselves as the LGBT friendly side, the idea that a person can be gay and on the right threatens their demographics. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-milo-yiannopoulos-exist-exactly/760298.md?page=22) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-milo-yiannopoulos-exist-exactly/760298.md?page=24)