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aristarchus [soylentnews.org] writes:

Yeah, like this is going to go front page. But at least it might make the Sulla compendium, if he ever actually compends one! So, from The Rolling Stone [rollingstone.com], which seems to have a taste for such things.

Milo Yiannopolous was once on top of the world. The former editor at Breitbart News had built his brand around supporting Gamergate and trafficking in racist, misogynistic, Islamophobic, and anti-Semitic rhetoric, winning him a devoted fan base among disaffected young white men and a lucrative career as an author and campus speaker. Then, his career took a swift nose dive after several video clips surfaced, featuring Yiannopolous suggesting that sex between adult men and boys as young as 13 can be “perfectly consensual.” Yiannopolous subsequently lost his book deal, his job, and an invitation to speak at CPAC, and it’s clear he’s been struggling as of late: last week, he complained on the messaging app Telegram thread that he was unable to promote his work because he had been deplatformed by all of the major social media companies, causing many on the internet to play the world’s tiniest violins and revel in his downfall.

Oh, consensual sex, between really old priests, and pubescent altar boys? Sure! That is just like a Bunny and a Wolf getting it on in a closet in the winter hotel of "The Shining". All work and no pay makes Milo a dull boy. Saw this coming.

Apparently, however, there are still a few spaces where Yiannopolous felt welcome, one of which was MidWest FurFest, a furry convention to be held near Chicago this December. Although Yiannopolous had planned to attend the conference, many within the community weren’t happy, and successfully campaigned to have him banned.

In an email statement to Rolling Stone, a representative for MidWest FurFest says that Yiannopolous’s attendance at the convention “may lead to an inability to provide a safe and welcoming experience for convention participants,” and as a result has rescinded his registration and barred him from registering for Midwest FurFest events.

Well don't that just set it all to hell? First the Midwest, and next, probably, the South by Southwest, and then the Northwest University High Culture Tea will be off limits to Milo. Poor Milo. If only he had not said all those alt-right things he said!

Many in the furry community were baffled that he wanted to come in the first place. “The initial response was, wow, this is really funny that he feels the need to come to us,” says Sam*, 26, a member of the community and annual MWFF attendee. (Sam asked to remain anonymous for fear of being doxxed by Yiannopolous’ supporters.) But after the initial shock wore off, the reaction within the community shifted from mild bemusement to fear and anger. “A lot of people see these conventions as safe spaces for us to be ourselves,” the man said. “Now people are scared that he’ll bring all of his followers and we’ll be doxxed and harassed.”

Considering Yiannopolous’ history of inciting harassment, these fears were not unfounded. In 2016, Yiannopolous was permanently banned from Twitter after encouraging his followers to barrage Ghostbusters star Leslie Jones with racist and misogynistic harassment. In 2017, the University of Berkley canceled one of Yiannopolous’ scheduled appearances after protests broke out between student protesters and his supporters, resulting in violence and nearly $100,000 in damage. And in Seattle that year, a couple was charged in connection with the shooting of a protester outside of an event where Yiannopolous was slated to speak. The couple had arrived with the express intention of “provok[ing] altercations with protesters who they knew would also be at this controversial event,” Mary Barbosa, senior deputy prosecuting attorney, wrote in their charging papers. (The case ended earlier this year in a mistrial after the jury failed to reach a verdict.)

Well isn't that, um, "special", as the Church Lady on SNL used to say.

Original Submission