Hate Breeds Hate II - The Posh & Fabulous Edition

Like the last post that bore this title, this is going to be another message directed primarily at the intellectually honest left.

Dear aforementioned honest leftists and left-leaning moderates,

I know you exist. I read your columns at The Atlantic and elsewhere, and I've interacted with you in meat space. Our ideological differences are significant, but when it comes to the importance of preserving free expression, I know we are in complete accord. Thus, I simply must ask you: What the hell did Twitter just do?

No, seriously: Unverifying this guy --

-- was the dumbest thing a social media platform could've possibly done. To borrow my friends' lingo, it bypasses radish and goes on to full potato. How could Twitter Support not have foreseen the global backlash that would follow?

There is no evidence that Milo Yiannopoulos has done anything other than say outrageous and potentially offensive things. You may violently disagree with his views regarding #Gamergate and feminism. You may hate him and think he's an asshole. But unless you can point to a specific, verifiable instance in which he actually violated Twitter's Terms of Service - as opposed to, say, making off-color jokes or challenging leftist viewpoints - his unverification is an unjustified act of intimidation.

And you know what makes this worse from your point of view? Milo is now a martyr. That's right: Instead of boosting the cause of social justice, what Twitter has just done has made Milo more attractive to the contrary and cross-grained. If you think he's wrong, well -- too bad. Your supposed allies have scuttled any chance of rational discussion. That's what always happens when people seek to silence views they find unpalatable instead of engaging them in a calm and logical manner.

Milo is now a phenomenon. Twitter has affirmed his claim to being victimized by a leftist Gestapo. Are you happy with this? If not, I suggest you start defending free speech and the open marketplace of ideas before it's too late.

Sincerely,

A conservative observer