Fraidy-Cat Buzzfeed Reporter Joe Bernstein Won’t Debate His Lazy Smears Despite $6,500 Charity Offer
Last week, one of Buzzfeed’s four “senior technology reporters,” Joseph Bernstein, published a story about me and about the “nascent counterculture” everyone else already knows as cultural libertarianism but which is apparently new to Mr Bernstein and which he has re-christened “chanterculture.”
As happens so often these days, I was spoken of in the same breath as Donald Trump. But the assumption — that
an emerging free speech movement online, which occasionally produces uncomfortable results for progressives, is A Bad Thing — is wrong. Needless to say, despite prominently associating me in his story with what he calls racism and sexism, Bernstein never bothered to get in touch.
In the spirit of Christmas, I waited until yesterday to politely challenge Mr Bernstein to a debate on the merits of what he calls “chanterculture.” I think cultural libertarianism and robust free speech is a force for good, you see, and a necessary reaction to the hand-wringing and language-policing that currently saturates the internet and the media.
Having openly written in the pages of Buzzfeed that “the sincerity of Yiannopoulos… can and should be questioned,” Mr Bernstein’s dismissal of my request was surprising. It was also cowardly. Herewith, for the digestion of the reader, my tweets on the subject. You’ll note two things. One, the extraordinary emergence of over $6,500 from a variety of sources, to be paid to a charity of Bernstein’s choice, if he agreed to have it out with me.
Two, his total silence after announcing that he refused to defend his own ideas — because he’d probably lose.
Yo, @bernstein. You. Me. Live debate on cultural libertarianism. I say it's a force for good. You say it's "dark" "chanterculture". When?— Milo Yiannopoulos (@Nero) December 29, 2015
@Nero That would be foolish of me. First, I don't accept your premise, and Second, you Oxbridge types tend to be very good debaters— Joe Bernstein (@Bernstein) December 29, 2015
@Bernstein Coward.— Milo Yiannopoulos (@Nero) December 29, 2015
@Nero See! That's exactly what I mean.— Joe Bernstein (@Bernstein) December 29, 2015
@Bernstein See what? You are a coward because you refuse to defend your ideas.— Milo Yiannopoulos (@Nero) December 29, 2015
If the world I stick up for is so ugly, so misogynistic, so racist… shouldn't you be able to prove it easily? @Bernstein— Milo Yiannopoulos (@Nero) December 29, 2015
Anyone would think that you virtue-signal for a living, @Bernstein, with no regard for the truth. Surely that can't be so. Debate me!— Milo Yiannopoulos (@Nero) December 29, 2015
Evidence-free pontifications from behind a Macbook screen are meaningless, @Bernstein. Debate me.— Milo Yiannopoulos (@Nero) December 29, 2015
The "premise" thing is BS and I'm not an "Oxbridge type." What else you got? @Bernstein— Milo Yiannopoulos (@Nero) December 29, 2015
Okay, how about this: @bernstein, I'll donate $1,000 to a charity of your choice if you do a live debate with me about "chanterculture."— Milo Yiannopoulos (@Nero) December 29, 2015
I'll throw an extra $2,000 in. @Nero @Bernstein— dewey (@trapgoddewey) December 29, 2015
How is that a "senior technology reporter" won't show up to embarrass a silly little troll like me? C'mon @bernstein. Or people will talk!— Milo Yiannopoulos (@Nero) December 29, 2015
I'm going to bed. If you want $1k for sick kids, cancer, feminist dance therapy, you name it @bernstein, I'm at milo@yiannopoulos.net.— Milo Yiannopoulos (@Nero) December 29, 2015
I know @trapgoddewey is good for it. That's $3,000, @Bernstein. Charity of your choice. Make it something I hate! https://t.co/na63dTe9SE— Milo Yiannopoulos (@Nero) December 29, 2015
That's $4,000, @Bernstein. Any charity you like. Name your debate terms. I'll fly to you and cover all costs. https://t.co/wEwgsi1nCN— Milo Yiannopoulos (@Nero) December 29, 2015
$6,500, @Bernstein. https://t.co/pEL9mJ66HW— Milo Yiannopoulos (@Nero) December 29, 2015
“BTFO,” as they say online.
As I mentioned, Mr Bernstein’s attempt at defining “chanterculture” appears to be lifted directed from these pages, where Allum Bokhari’s
Rise of the Cultural Libertarians
remains required reading. For the sake of a $6,500 donation to the charity of his choice, we hope that Mr Bernstein reads up on the movement he protests and accepts his inevitable defeat with grace. But I’m not holding my breath.
@Bernstein you should pay particular attention to the part about 'skewering' @Nero pic.twitter.com/JbnuhSPddl— Tra Williams (@Tra_Williams) December 29, 2015
$5,000, @Bernstein! Not a joke–I know these guys and know they're good for the cash. What charity will it be? https://t.co/HczSwx2bBA— Milo Yiannopoulos (@Nero) December 29, 2015
— Milo Yiannopoulos (@Nero) December 29, 2015
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