By T.B. Lefever:
Just three days ago, former Breitbart Tech Editor Milo Yiannopoulos was riding atop a Tsunami wave of success. On the heels of a major book deal with industry giant Simon and Schuster that saw preorders rocket to the top on Amazon, the man known by many simply as “Milo” was set to be the first openly gay conservative to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Such is no longer the case now that the political lightning rod has finally managed to hang a curveball for his opponents to smack out of the park.
Up until now, the pundit has been a sort of identity politics Houdini that the left just couldn’t figure out how to contain no matter how hard they tried. Outspoken and unapologetically gay, yet Christian and conservative, Milo just doesn’t fit the right-wing mold that the left has been so effectively able to vilify. Thus, Milo rose to prominence the way an undefeated and menacingly violent boxer does– with brute force. It seemed as if the Brit was on a legendary winning streak–scoring knock out victories one after the other over hard left feminists, celebrity politicians, the liberal college institution, and every aspect of the “regressive” left that has only really ever been politically trained to attack with Alynski style tactics focused on gender, race, identity, etc.–But like most fighters who achieve that mystical “unbeatable” status, the fall from the top comes just when you think the champ is untouchable. Breitbart and Milo have officially separated. So, what events led up to Milo becoming unemployed, widely disgraced, and without a book deal?
The things that are most interesting to me about the video that took Milo down are that one, footage of his costly remarks have been around for a while now and, two, it was the conservative website Reagan Battalion, not one of its liberal counterparts, that took the opportunity to mount the offensive. Following his invitation to speak at CPAC, Reagan Battalion released a video of Milo appearing on a Drunken Peasants podcast where he made remarks that there is a difference between pedophilia where the victim is a pre-pubescent child unacquainted with sexuality and what he describes as a relationship between an adult and a consenting 14-year-old who is sexually active and even sexually aggressive at such a young age.
Milo then describes himself as having been said 14-year-old in his youth and divulges a relationship he had with a priest he calls, “Father Michael”. The self-described “flippant” and casually joking manner in which Milo talks about the issue adds to the creepiness and lends to the opposition narrative that he condones pedophilia. While I do think Milo has made some very good points in the past regarding both the left’s hypocrisy in shielding the Islamic world from criticism over their handling of homosexuality and the LGBT community, as well as his criticism of the social justice warrior and regressive left mindset on college campuses, it is the overly provocative nature in which he does so that has kept me from ever being much of a fan. Lo and behold, it is his signature incendiary style that has served as the rope to which he has hanged himself with.
From a business and PR standpoint, I understand why Breitbart has cut ties with their former employee. Some controversies are too hot to handle. Pedophilia is a scarlet letter branded on the forehead of anyone being accused of being anywhere near it and rightfully so. But per usual, both the establishment left and right are taking aim politically and maximizing the outrage factor with omissions of factual circumstance. They’re reporting it as if his statements advocate kiddie porn and sexual assaults of very young children when in fact, Milo has been a part of the exposing of three pedophiles in his career. This isn’t a Jerry Sandusky or Jared from Subway type situation and the man’s statements on the matter do bring up an interesting point that rational people should at least be able to have a conversation about in theory– but this is politics– and there are limits.
According to the explanation Yiannopoulus has given, some 14 year olds, like himself at that age, are sexually active and mature to a point of actively seeking out sexual partners. He goes into his use of “sarcasm”, “flippancy”, and “gallows humor”, to apologize for making his statement in a way that hurts people who have been a victim of sexual assault. On one hand, many people might think if a 14-year-old is sexually aggressive towards adults then something is wrong with that kid and they need help. I don’t feel that this behavior is healthy and I do not believe that it is something that should ever be condoned in a well-intentioned society, but I am a realist enough to acknowledge that there are plenty of 14 year olds out there that are actively, vigorously, and enthusiastically engaged in sexual activities with both their peers and with older partners.
As a police officer on both the streets and within the school system, I have personally witnessed this behavior. It is perhaps the ugly byproduct of the sex-crazed culture we live in combined with poor parenting and maybe even underlying mental health disorders. The Facebook accounts of the teenage boys and girls I have investigated are enough to make an adult film star blush. I do not, nor should anyone condone this behavior, but I want to articulate probably one of the best single arguments a person could make in the defense of Milo for the sake of discussion.
We live in a time of “progress” where the mainstream narrative expects us and demands us to treat homosexuality the same as heterosexuality. We are taught ideas of tolerance and equal treatment of people of all races, sexes, ethnicities, religions, cultures, and sexual preferences from a young age. The far left is rewarded for its belief that it is ok for men to use women’s bathrooms and the far right is vilified by the mainstream for still being stuck in opposition to gay people by wanting to live a monogamous lifestyle in accordance with the institution of marriage. Applying some of that equity that is rewarded by the mainstream when dealing with a comparison between an adult female having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old boy and a gay adult male having a sexual relationship with a gay 14 year old boy leaves us with Milo’s statement. It’s a strange double standard.
When really being honest, how many men would say they feel like these teenage boys are feeling victimized when they get caught having sexual relations with a female teacher and the story winds up in the news? If I’m being honest, I don’t think I’d see myself as a victim if a Spanish or Biology teacher threw themselves at me when I was that age. At age 14, how many teenage boys aren’t hormonal and sexually charged basket cases with the idea of losing their virginity not constantly on their mind? Is a 14-year old boy who seduces his teacher truly a victim? Some people would say no. Are there long term negative effects on his psyche? Perhaps there are. The point is that there is reasonable discourse to be had.
I think most people would agree that this is not the scenario they think of when they think of pedophilia. Now, are the teacher’s actions unprofessional and have absolutely no place in the student-teacher relationship? Of course. Is it grounds for termination and cause to be barred from working with kids in the future? Obviously. Clearly the female teacher is guilty of sexual assault, but is the male student left feeling victimized? It appears that the idea of it wasn’t frowned upon enough by society to prevent the 2012 comedy That’s My Boy starring Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg from becoming a box office hit. Not only was a teenage Sandler glorified for impregnating his teacher, the movie turned into a bizarre feel-good story as he attempted to “be dad” years later with some pretty absurd parenting techniques. Applying that logic to a gay 14-year-old male who is having the same adolescent lusting for sex that a heterosexual one seems to be the crux of Milo’s statement, although he makes the statement provocatively and gets what he ultimately deserves.
With every act, there are consequences. This is a guy that clearly got ahead of himself. You can either be a serious political pundit or a comedian but you cannot be both. Hiding behind “comedy” doesn’t fly when you are making a living dealing with important subjects that effect peoples’ lives. No one should expect that they can talk like this in America today with such casual demeanor as someone in Milo’s position and not get publicly lynched for it. Yet at the same time, these controversial statements are nothing new from him.
During an appearance Milo made on the Joe Rogan Experience last July, he stated the same sentiment of there being a difference between pedophilia involving a pre-pubescent and non-sexually active teen and what he sees as a teenager actively seeking out sexual partners. The media’s rush to call Milo a “sympathizer for pedophiles” rather than engage in the discourse of the strange double standard involved comes off as disingenuous and politically expedient to some. Note that those with proven records of engaging in forms of pedophilia on the left such as Roman Polanski or Lena Dunham have been given a pass while Milo is crucified. I wouldn’t want Milo or those two near my children after the behavior they exhibited but it’s obvious that equal treatment has not been given.
Stating again, I am very understanding of Breitbart cutting ties. A company cannot play second fiddle to one of its employees and no one person is bigger than the team. Milo brought some pretty horrible public relations on a syndicate already engaged in around the clock political warfare. Try reading the comments section on any given Breitbart article, though, and you’ll see that there certainly is a lunatic fringe of readers that will disagree. The same can be said for Simon and Schuster. One best-selling book is not worth a PR nightmare of this magnitude. As for CPAC, they did what they had to. Frankly, Milo Yiannopoulos’s stances on radical Islam and social justice warriors alone really don’t make him a conservative that ultimately fits within this group.
To conclude, who knows what is next for Milo Yiannopolous or Breitbart? I’m sure Milo will still carry around a considerable following of those who have stuck by him throughout his many other controversies but he obviously flew too close to the sun and burnt his wings off. Breitbart and many “Alt-Right” leaders will probably have to come to terms with the fact that they anointed an obvious narcissist incapable of recognizing his own limits as one of their fiercest champions and adjust accordingly. As for the rest of us, we’ll just have to be thankful that the right and the left finally came together on something without tearing each other’s heads off and hope they can apply that cooperation to something more beneficial for the country down the road.
T.B. Lefever is an OpsLens Contributor and active police officer in the Metro-Atlanta area. Throughout his career, Lefever has served as a SWAT Hostage Negotiator, a member of the Crime Suppression Unit, a School Resource Officer, and a Uniformed Patrol Officer. He has a BA in Criminal Justice and Sociology from Rutgers University.
To contact or book OpsLens contributors on your program or utilize our staff for your story, contact [email protected]
