The Milo Method

If Milo Yiannopolous is the poster child for an impassioned battle for free speech in America, we may have taken a wrong turn.

Today, I’m going to teach you how to be Milo Yiannopolous, God-supposing you ever want to try.

With his easily debunkable diatribes about Black Lives Matter, or his incitation of sexist abuse towards Leslie Jones on Twitter, he becomes a superstar, because if people are offended by what you say, that’s good, and political correctness is toxic for America.

This is the culture Milo exists in. This is the culture Milo exists for.

Let’s break down the Milo method:

1. Blame Political Correctness

Can we all please have a break on “political correctness?”

Just because you can you cite statistics about crime in black neighborhoods, as Milo does and then say in your British accent and with your haughty demeanor that “‘Black lives don’t matter to Black Lives Matter’, otherwise they’d be addressing these issues already,” that doesn’t make you right.

It doesn’t make up for your intentional lack of differentiation between citizen-citizen violence and state-sanctioned state-citizen violence.

It doesn’t make up for your intentional ignorance of the many programs and organizations devoted to a reduction of crime in poverty-stricken areas.

It doesn’t make up for your intentional ignorance of the nature of criticism towards police from Black Lives Matter, and your intentional conflation of that criticism with a call for violence on law enforcement.

So the picture that you paint, however stylishly you believe you do it, is not “politically incorrect”, “edgy”, or “what the leftists don’t want you to hear”, it’s actually just wrong.

But be sure to blame any backlash on that, and not on, you know, not being correct.

2. Conflate Arguments

One might say that Milo is statistically, factually incorrect about his wild assertions concerning the black community. He is. But if that were all there was to it, the argument would be over quickly. Milo has, however, another card.

Milo: “Something offensive.”

Person: “That’s not correct, and kinda really offensive.”

Milo: “You’re being a whiny little bitch if you have a problem with what I’ve got to say.”

See? Milo has turned being offensive into the thing that is right and being offended as the thing that is wrong, and this muddies the waters sufficiently enough that the actual truth value of what he’s saying is never addressed. This is how Milo wants it. It allows him to, with impunity, say ridiculous things and still be “right,” because as long as the offense card is in play, the thing that is correct is being offensive. What he fails to notice is…

The truth is not always offensive.

The truth is not always shocking.

The truth is not always contrary.

3. Decry grievance culture (whilst using it to propel yourself higher)

Milo doesn’t like grievance culture. He thinks that people who have a certain identity, like gay or woman or black have it easy because they can appeal to grievances to get them through. Milo doesn’t focus on the fact that your child drinking lead isn’t a grievance, it’s a fucking problem. Or that being denied a marriage license that you’re legally allowed to get isn’t a grievance, it’s a miscarriage of justice. Milo doesn’t like these.

Milo does like the social media capital that he gets from being banned from Twitter. He does like the rallying cries of #FreeMilo, and people supporting his first amendment rights to speak truth to power on Twitter. The fact that it’s a private company and under no obligation to let anyone use its services for any reason is not important.

Milo likes appealing to that grievance. Milo likes dog-whistling to the white males. Milo likes calling it “being a firestarter” when it could be called “being a dick.”

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Do this. If you do these and develop a shell of a human that shields you from both criticism and empathy, but does have a soft spot in your exoskeleton for money, you’ll be able to auto-pimp your soul, and become the self-made wrecking crew that Milo is.

If you want to.

You can read more about my socio-political ruminations on the dark state of the world at NowThatWereHere.com.