The Swamp Fights Back: The Character Assassination of Milo Yiannopoulos

"MILO-Gate: The Enigma of the Alt-Right Provocateur"

Black Pigeon Speaks 

       The Daily Mail reported today: "Firebrand conservative columnist Milo Yiannopolous quits Breitbart after he was accused of defending pedophilia - but storms: 'This is a politically-motivated witch-hunt. F*** you for that.' " The article reads:

      Milo Yiannopoulos said Tuesday that political adversaries and mainstream media had sparked a 'witch hunt' against him following the emergence of a video in which he appeared to support pedophilia - but said that despite losing his job and a book deal, he would not be silenced. 

       He used a press conference in New York to fight back after videos were published in which he spoke about 'inter-generational relationships' and was revealed to have said: 'The whole consent thing is not as black and white as people try and paint it.' 

       The storm cost him first a $250,000 book deal, then a prestigious conservative speaking engagement and finally his job as technology editor of conservative website Breitbart, from which he resigned shortly before the press conference. 

       'It was a politically motivated witch-hunt and they waited until the most damaging moment,' he said.

       For those who don't know, Milo Yiannopoulos is a gadfly to the establishment and the left. That he is gay and Jewish has not endeared him with the left because he shamelessly plays his "victim" cards. His provocative speech does not endear him to many conservatives, either. However, what cannot be denied is that, ironically, given his sexual preferences, he has been a great asset for conservatives in the cultural war: he is a very outspoken critic of the current movement to encourage transgenderism, and vocal critic of modern (3rd wave) feminism. He is opposed to open immigration, including being quite critical of the Muslim immigration into Europe. He has been especially effective at pointing out the anti-conservative bias in the media. He has ridiculed gun free zones as "safe spaces for killers." He is the author of most of what CNN labeled as "10 of Breitbart's most incendiary headlines."

       The accusation that Yiannopoulos is pro-pedophilia seems laughable--he has exposed three pedophiles in his reporting: Louise Mensch’s former business partner Luke Bozier, anti-Gamergate activist Nicholas Nyberg and tech reporter Chris Leydon. He also has attacked pedophiles and their progressive defenders in 2015, when, as you may remember, the liberal Salon floated a trial balloon trying to mainstream pedophilia. (Interestingly, in the wake of these attacks on Yiannopoulos, Salon has removed those articles). Rather, the attack on him appears to be intended to divide Republicans. (Although it has also been suggested that conservatives might have been behind all of this).

        The Black Pigeon video above gives most of the pertinent details of the whole incident, including the alleged statements that have landed Yiannopoulos in trouble. Glenn Reynolds also has some background details here. Milo, as most refer to him, had this to say:

       I am a gay man, and a child abuse victim. 

       I would like to restate my utter disgust at adults who sexually abuse minors. I am horrified by pedophilia and I have devoted large portions of my career as a journalist to exposing child abusers. I've outed three of them, in fact -- three more than most of my critics. And I've repeatedly expressed disgust at pedophilia in my feature and opinion writing. My professional record is very clear. 

       But I do understand that these videos, even though some of them are edited deceptively, paint a different picture. 

       I'm partly to blame. My own experiences as a victim led me to believe I could say anything I wanted to on this subject, no matter how outrageous. But I understand that my usual blend of British sarcasm, provocation and gallows humor might have come across as flippancy, a lack of care for other victims or, worse, "advocacy." I deeply regret that. People deal with things from their past in different ways. 

       As to some of the specific claims being made, sometimes things tumble out of your mouth on these long, late-night live-streams, when everyone is spit-balling, that are incompletely expressed or not what you intended. Nonetheless, I've reviewed the tapes that appeared last night in their proper full context and I don't believe they say what is being reported. 

       I do not advocate for illegal behavior. I explicitly say on the tapes that I think the current age of consent is "about right." 

       I do not believe sex with 13-year-olds is okay. When I mentioned the number 13, I was talking about the age I lost my own virginity. 

       I shouldn't have used the word "boy" -- which gay men often do to describe young men of consenting age -- instead of "young man." That was an error. 

       I am certainly guilty of imprecise language, which I regret.

       Anyone who suggests I turn a blind eye to illegal activity or to the abuse of minors is unequivocally wrong. I am implacably opposed to the normalization of pedophilia and I will continue to report and speak accordingly.

First we saw Michael Flynn discredited and forced to resign; now Milo. There will be others.