One of the most common things children are told when dealing with bullies is to not pay them any mind whatsoever. All the bully wants in almost any scenario is the attention the recipient gives them for their actions. However, in the age of the internet, this is a lesson that seems to have not been instilled in most people. Trolls everywhere continue to be successful in their exploits because those they target continue to take their bait, eschewing the tried and true strategies for wild reactions that generate feedback loops of torment.
Recently, Milo Yiannopoulos, one of the greatest trolls the internet has ever seen, has further proven that the internet never learns from its mistakes. On December 29th, the Hollywood Reporter ran a story informing their readers that Yiannopoulos has recently signed a $250K book deal with Simon & Schuster’s imprint, Threshold Editions. His book, Dangerous, details Milo’s opinions on the matter of free speech in the internet age.
This move was met with some considerable outrage, as one would expect from such a character like Milo Yiannopoulos. For those unaware, Yiannopoulos is the tech editor at Breitbart, a prominent conservative publication online. Yiannopoulos is also considered by many to be the figurehead of the alt-right movement, a rebellious conservative movement birthed on Reddit and 4chan with questionable ties to white nationalism, a claim disputed by Yiannopoulos himself. What most people know Yiannopoulos for is his apparent attack on Ghostbusters star Leslie Jones last July, a stunt which got him permanently banned from Twitter.
With such an illustrious pedigree behind him, it is of no surprise that this book deal garnered some less than positive attention, both for Yiannopoulos and Simon & Schuster. The liberal media talking heads were practically falling over themselves to tell Simon & Schuster how bad they were for capitalizing on a hot-button figure in the popular mind, but also to encourage their readers to boycott the publisher. Following a slew of celebrity endorsements of this course of action, the internet set its phasers to “whine” for dealing with this conservative troll.
Despite declaring themselves ideologically neutral on the matter, Simon & Schuster even received backlash from Leslie Jones herself. In the meantime, the news media was eating up every ounce of drama dripping from this immense overreaction, giving the story, and Yiannopoulos by extension, more attention.
It was at this moment that the internet failed to remember that the more attention you pay to the trolls, the more they win. It is widely known that as the taboo the topic, the more curious people will be on the issue. This can be demonstrated by Yiannopoulos himself after he nearly became a household name after the Leslie Jones debacle. By giving this man the attention he wants, those boycotting the book and its publishers are hurting their own cause.
I want to be clear in this article when I say that I’m would not consider myself a fan of Milo Yiannopoulos. Though an interesting character, I disagree with many of his views and he does more harm than good for his cause with his methods. However, boycotting this book deal and making such a ruckus about it is the most efficient way to ensure Yiannopoulos will get another $250K book deal in the future.
