By Gabrielle Seunagal
A few days ago, a video of Milo Yiannopoulos on the Drunken Peasants Podcast surfaced the internet, where the outspoken, gay conservative was accused of endorsing pedophilic relations between young boys and older men. Since the release of this footage, Milo has been falsely branded as a pedophile, disinvited from speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, and lost his book deal with Simon & Schuster. He has also resigned from his position at Breitbart News as a writer and editor. Milo’s comments walked a fine line, but he did not advocate for pedophilia. His comments were grossly taken out of context and what has happened to him over the past few days is unjust.
The liberal media is infamous for attacking prominent, right wing figures and twisting their words with the hopes of presenting a false illusion. This is exactly what happened with Milo. During the podcast, Milo says: “Pedophilia is not a sexual attraction to somebody 13-years-old who is sexually mature. Pedophilia is attraction to children who have not reached puberty. Pedophilia is attraction to people who don’t have functioning sex organs yet. Who have not gone through puberty. Who are too young to be able (unclear and cut off by others)…That’s not what we are talking about. You don’t understand what pedophilia is if you are saying I’m defending it because I’m certainly not.” I am confused as to why the media and even some conservatives are labeling Milo as a pedophile. He specifically condemns the misdeed and clearly defines it. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, pedophilia is defined as: a psychological disorder in which an adult has sexual fantasies about or engages in sexual acts with a prepubescent child.
When Milo was asked if he advocates for cross generational relationships, he says, “Yeah.” This answer treads on thin ice, because it can easily be misconstrued as advocacy for pedophilia. However, in this particular context, it is not. Milo continues: “I think in the gay world, some of the most important, enriching and incredibly life affirming, important shaping relationships very often between younger boys and older men, they can be hugely positive experiences for those young boys. They can even save those young boys, from desolation, from suicide (people talk over each other)… providing they’re consensual.” Let’s assess these statements. Milo specifically says that relationships between younger boys and older men can be beneficial, if they are consensual. Now, one must be a certain age to consent. Depending on the area of the world, age of consent can range from 16 to 18. What Milo said is that if both parties are capable of consent, the relationships can be helpful, especially for younger boys. I would certainly consider 16 or even 18 year old males as “younger boys.”
Following the scandal, Milo posted a Facebook status on Sunday where he denounced pedophilia as a “vile and disgusting crime.” He reminded the world that he exposed three pedophiles throughout his career as a journalist and frequently expressed his disdain for pedophiles via his work with Breitbart. Milo Yiannopoulos is not a pedophile. His words on the podcast were grossly misinterpreted and the plethora of people who have turned on him following their erroneous perceptions owe him a sincere apology.
Moreover, I am fascinated by the liberals who used Milo’s misconceived remarks to brand him as an advocate for child molesters while they (liberals) support a self proclaimed pedophile known as Lena Dunham. If Milo was a gay Democrat, the Left would rally behind him. Anyone who trashes Milo and not Dunham is the ultimate hypocrite. In her own personal book, Lena Dunham graphically describes sexually experimenting with her sister using “anything a sexual predator might do.” I am astounded that Milo has lost a book deal, a speaking invitation, and the respect of many conservatives over misinterpreted jargon, yet Dunham admits to molesting her relative and is still allowed to appear in music videos and campaign for Presidential candidates.
Going forward, it is critical to be mindful of the dangers attached to misinterpretations. Milo’s words were drastically morphed into darkness. He specifically declared support for consensual cross generational relationships between younger boys and older men. Both parties must match or exceed the age of consent in order for a relationship to be deemed as consensual. This should eliminate any concerns of Milo advocating for pedophilia. I wish Milo Yiannopoulos the best of luck going forward and I sincerely hope people will engage in intelligent thinking before jumping to faulty conclusions and damaging reputations.
Pedophelia has to do with pre-pubescent children… like the Washington Pedophile Ring, and the Hollywood Pedophile Ring…
It has nothing to do with gay sex.
The Milo thing was designed to distract from the Klinton/Podesta/Pence REAL pedophile links, that Mike Flynn knew about.
Saved me the trouble of a comment. Thanks.