Milo Yiannopoulos, commentator on all things that impact the common man, speaks to a Sydney audience on 5th December, 2017. Image: Milo’s Facebook.
Australians may be forgiven for having never heard of Milo Yiannopoulos until recently. He’s only just made his flashy entrance to our shores, and is likely in the future to return to his newly captive audience Down Under.
Mr Yiannopoulos (or Milo, for short) has made a name for himself in the political sphere in the US and UK for his unique brand of commentary that favours frankness and honesty, delivered with boldness and brazenness to call for an end to authoritarian political correctness and for each new generation to earn its freedom of speech.
He is a self-described conservative “supervillain” (he’s really a decent bloke), hoping to reignite passion into a side of politics that he feels has been ignored or bullied into submission by a vast movement of agitators and social engineers who are now in control of institutions like government, media and the creative arts industries.
And if you read his recently published book Dangerous, you’ll understand why he feels compelled to deliver a conservative message dressed in flair and pizazz that counters the dry delivery of what he calls ‘Debate Club Conservatives’, who have almost zero appeal to younger demographics.
And also to counter the irrationally violent fringe agitators, who attract only riot squads outside Milo’s speaking venues.
Milo’s presentation in Sydney on 5th December, 2017 was not for the faint-hearted, but it was an important gauge into the mood of the citizenry that feels it’s been ignored by the distant federal policy-stewing in Canberra.
Although he name-calls, he brawls, he cites Skeletor, Darth Vader, Madonna and Marylin Manson as his cultural idols, he skilfully lures his opponents into a false sense of security until he retaliates with plain and simple facts.
And there was something else that made his presentation well worth the price of admission.
Anyone looking for advice on becoming an active part of government or media, according to Milo, would be facing two distinct paths in their lives and careers.
“Make a decision about whether you want to be inside the club or outside the club,” Milo told the Sydney audience.
“If you are in the club, you’ll be invited to drinks parties, you’ll want to be socially acceptable, it will take you on a very different path,” he said.
On the other hand, “if you want to operate outside the system, you want to make fewer compromises, it will be a lonelier, harder road, but the potential for rewards will be colossal”.
He strongly suggested that an aspiring journalist or public servant make a decision about whether they want to work from within the system, either because they crave the status for power or they want to effect change from within the system, or “do you want to be throwing rocks from the outside?”
“That’s a question about character, it’s about who you are. Make sure you go with your gut and never betray that instinct,” Milo said.
He ended the session with a firm warning that “your career will fail if you try to do both”.
