A week or so ago, I was approached by the woman who did Milo Yiannopoulos’ Fusion profile, Kristen V. Brown. I gave her some thoughts that she ended up not using, but I wanted to reprint them here for you all. As for the article she ended up writing, you could tell by what she wrote that she wanted to hate Milo, but just couldn’t help loving the roguish motherfucker. I imagine he gets this reaction a lot. I especially liked what he said about himself, and in a minute you’ll see why. Here’s his bit first:

“I don’t write anything I don’t believe,” he told me via e-mail one day, “but I won’t pretend I don’t provoke on purpose, because of course I do!”

OK, now let’s examine my experience with the reporter. Here’s the email she sent me…

Hi! Where are you based?
I’m interested in hearing why you’re a Milo fan, what turned you onto him, and how he’s influence your point of view on things. I’m happy to chat by e-mail or phone!
Followed by my reply…

Hey, Kristen. I’m based out of Richmond, Virginia at the moment (originally from Memphis, TN). We can do it any way you want. My number is 901-***-****. I’ll go ahead an write a little bit though, and you can call me later if you want.

I was turned onto Milo at the beginning of GamerGate, in August 2014, when he was pretty much the only journalist to come and really listen to our side. I hadn’t heard of him before, truth be told, but I quickly got up to speed. I was already reading him daily when I started getting a little attention for my own work. I’ll always be grateful to him for helping spotlight some of that. Even if he hadn’t, I would still be a Milo fan.

It’s funny, because I certainly don’t agree with him on every single thing he says. The man has a way of saying something you disagree with in the most entertaining ways, though. He reminds me of people like the late Christopher Hitchens or William Buckley. Milo is so erudite and witty, that you can’t help but smile, even when he’s saying something that is utterly disagreeable. Plus, he’s a throwback…the kind of talking-head who will go out on TV and throw blows against his opponent, but be found out at the bar drinking with said opponent after the show is over. That’s how it should be, but I feel that spirit is all but dead in the current environment.

He’s a provocateur in the best sense of the word. He has a real flair about him that I feel is seriously lacking nowadays. The current class of writers and pundits are so drab and boring. Milo is neither of those things, and stands in stark contrast to almost everyone else.

As for how he’s influenced me, well, he has taught me to be a lot freer with what I say. I was already anti-PC when I first came into contact with Milo, but he’s solidified my views on that. The language police have poisoned public discourse for decades. Finally, we’re starting to see that boomerang back around in the other direction.

I feel like people are sick of seeing officials and entertainers exiled from public life because of an ill-considered statement or two. In fact, sometimes the statements aren’t ill-considered at all. They’re simply out-of-step with what the ultra-progressives and media-types believe. Milo has talked about this early and often. He pushes the PC-nuts into a corner with his own brilliant commentary and does a lot to spotlight others along the way. I met him in person and I found him to be very kind. I know he’s quite flashy and biting, but the guy is really generous underneath it all.

Like I said, if you want to call me and ask anything more specific, feel free. I just figured I’d go ahead and send you a few words either way. Thanks!

Now, I had thought that she was going to give me some kind of substantial reply, but out of that long ass response, she had only one question:
“What views of his do you disagree with?”
I guess I should have known that she wanted to take some angle like that, but it ended up being even more curious after I read the piece. I liked it a lot, but her thesis seemed to be that Milo’s fans eat up whatever he’s saying without question. I don’t feel like that’s true, however. Just because I’m a huge fan of someone doesn’t mean I agree with them on every single issue. That would be absurd. There is no person on this planet who I agree with on everything. As I said in my next reply, I love the guy even when he’s saying things I find offensive for one reason: he does it in a entertaining and fun way.

Well, I’m not a very religious person, so some of the stuff he said about atheism wasn’t really up my alley. Still, there was some truth in those criticisms. For example, there are a lot of militant atheists who seem to take glee in kicking sand in the face of believers. They kind of act like trolls in a way, mocking religion at every turn (mostly Christianity, since they’re often afraid to make fun of Islam). To me, that sort of attitude is stupid. So I definitely understand Milo’s desire to give them a taste of their own medicine. Plus, his comments were funny as hell, even though it’s not what I would have written or uttered. There’s a lot to be said for wit, and you either have it or you don’t. Milo has it.

He also got into it with Joe Rogan over circumcision, and I didn’t agree with him there either. Still, he wrapped all those comments in jokes and I laughed about it, even though I hold a different view. I think some people don’t understand that his job is to stimulate discussion in a sometimes provocative manner. They take things personally when they shouldn’t. I’ve never been that way, so I don’t get it. Some folks are just easily triggered, I guess.

A good show is a good show. That’s the bottom line to the whole thing. While I do agree with him on most cultural things, and consider him one of our greatest allies in the fight against the twin menaces of political correctness and radical feminism, that doesn’t mean I have to co-sign everything that comes out of his mouth. It works in reverse, as well. Allied doesn’t mean you’re the same exact person. Someone asked me about the pro-Trump column I ran earlier. They weren’t happy with it at first. If you read my site, you don’t have to agree with everything I say about politics. But hopefully it’s still entertaining and/or thought-provoking enough that you enjoy consuming it. That’s the goal around here and like to think I hit it more often than not.

Anyway, sound off on Milo, or anything else that strikes your mind. I’ll be back with something else in a couple hours.