“Stop covering politics,” some of our dear readers cry every time we post something relephant. Look: politics are life. Equal rights, empathy, fair economy, healthcare. We can’t ignore what’s happening, and you shouldn’t either.
Elephant Journal articles represent the personal views of the authors, and cannot possibly reflect Elephant Journal as a whole. Disagree with an Op-Ed or opinion? We’re happy to share your experience here. ~ Ed.
~
Milo Yiannopoulos’ career as the unrelenting troll of the far-right is now over.
The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) recently invited Milo to speak at their event. Some conservatives took issue with that and tweeted out videos of Milo appearing to defend pedophilia and molestation, which brought his career to a close in just 96 hours.
But let’s be clear about one thing: Milo was no Jimmy Swaggart. He did not pull the wool over anyone’s eyes. He made no effort to conceal his awfulness. These comments, like all of his other disgusting and insensitive comments, were made in public forums. His adoring followers chose to ignore it because he was their Anti-Hero.
In Milo, the far-right had a kind of caricature of their stereotypical liberal—a gay, quasi-intellectual, Jewish-millennial with a black, Muslim boyfriend—who unapologetically attacked the left (I think em dash or something here) and they relished it. The far-right so enjoyed Milo’s vicious attacks that they ignored his indecency. For them, the ends justified the means. And, for me, that is the real take-away of the Milo scandal:
The far-right resents the left to such a degree that they are willing to overlook deep character flaws and tolerate remarkable amounts of insensitive, vitriolic behavior in the service of their ultimate end, which is the annihilation of the left’s agenda and the political correctness that, in their view, shields the left from criticism and transforms their traditional beliefs into social taboos.
And Milo is not even the most prominent example of this. They did the same thing with President Donald J. Trump.
Donald Trump savagely mocked a disabled reporter.
He bragged, not only about grabbing women by the p*ssy and kissing them without consent, but about how his celebrity status enabled him to do so with impunity. And when women came forward accusing him of the very behavior he was caught bragging about, he said their accusations couldn’t be true because they weren’t attractive enough: “Take a look. You take a look. Look at her. Look at her words. Tell me what you think. I don’t think so.”
He called Mexican immigrants criminals, rapists, and drug-dealers. He went after a gold-star family and attacked John McCain, saying “He’s not a war hero…I like people that weren’t captured.”
According to the Politifact scorecard, Trump lies more than he tells the truth. And last, but not least, he has cozied up to Vladamir Putin—the murderous, kleptocratic President of Russia—all the while claiming that the real enemy of the American people is the free press.
And the right looked the other way.
In their minds, the ends justified the means. They are willing to look past Trump’s bizarre, dishonest, and indecent behavior because in him they see a warrior who is willing and able to push back the rising tide of secularism, globalization, diversity, religious pluralism, and political correctness that threatens the far-right’s nativistic traditionalism.
When fear and anger reach a crescendo, you stop voting on principles are start voting for expediency.
Milo Yiannopoulos’ downfall is by no means a victory for the left. The videos that brought Milo’s career as the far-right, liberal-bashing troll to a screeching halt have been around for months. The far-right only agreed to abandon him this time because his services are no longer needed.
They now have the Troll-in-Chief.
~
Author: Benjamin Riggs
Image: YouTube
Editor: Khara-Jade Warren
Leave a Thoughtful Comment
Read 0 comments and reply