Wednesday night’s riots at the University of California, Berkeley in response to Breitbart editor and professional provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos’ scheduled talk is certainly troubling, and it should be condemned.
Many people, not just liberals and progressives, view Yiannopoulos’ act as distasteful, grotesque and offensive. Some argue he’s good for society, while others believe he’s a wart on the underbelly of society that needs to be dealt with.
I have a better solution. For those who don’t like Yiannopoulos, the best way to counteract his message is this: ignore him.
Give Milo the “Sarah Palin treatment.”
What did the media and folks on the Left do after Sarah Palin ran on John McCain’s ticket in 2008? They gradually reduced her influence by not making everything she said or did a national headline.
Sarah Palin’s influence is now reduced to seldom-watched television game shows like “Match Game.”
Albeit, people didn’t vociferously protest Palin like they do Milo, or even other prominent conservatives like Gavin McInnes, Ben Shapiro, or President Trump.
Yiannopoulos has generated the sort of fame and stardom that includes a six-figure book deal with Simon and Schuster not because of his message, but what he represents.
He’s not a neo-Nazi or a white supremacist like some would characterize. He’s a gay Jew from Kent, England who doesn’t fit into the construct or stereotype that society has deemed appropriate for people of those backgrounds.
While Yiannopoulos had been writing for Breitbart for a couple years and had been touring college campuses, he hadn’t truly gained prominence until mid-2016. Milo was banned from Twitter for allegedly targeting and trolling actress Leslie Jones and violating the social media site’s terms and conditions after panning the “Ghostbusters” film reboot.
There are few people who don’t have an opinion on Yiannopoulos. Either they’ve heard of him and have very strong positive or negative feelings, or they haven’t heard of him at all.
It’s time for us in the media (including me) to stop giving this real life troll, who calls Trump “Daddy,” the attention he desperately craves.
For people like Milo, attention is his oxygen. Without it, his personal brand will die and he’ll fade into obscurity.
Siraj Hashmi (@SirajHashmi) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is an assistant editor at Red Alert Politics (which is also published by the Washington Examiner’s publisher, MediaDC).
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