There's a reason that video clips of would-be terrorists who inadvertently blow themselves up, or flag-burning protesters who accidentally light themselves on fire instead of Old Glory go viral. There's just something oddly satisfying about seeing the radical get a healthy dose of what they are trying to pour down the throats of others.
It's that very reality that made this tweet one of my favorite of the year:
Yes, of course I am aware that YouTube eventually reinstated Right Wing Watch's channel. The two play on the same ideological team, after all.
Still, the hilarity of their temporary ban is truly first class. Right Wing Watch is the internet/media stalker agency created and funded by the radical left-wing group People for the American Way. They cull the web for video clips, commentaries, speeches, or sermons of some of the most obscure figures on the political right to supposedly depict just how kooky and dangerous conservatism is.
It's always been a bit of a silly gambit when you think about it – there can be a fair discussion about whether mainstream conservatism is still the Jonah Goldberg/Thomas Sowell/Ben Sasse kind or the Donald Trump/Steve Bannon/Marjorie Taylor Greene kind. But is there anyone in their right mind who would base their understanding of modern conservatism off of the meanderings of "Prophet" Robin Bullock, broadcaster Stew Peters, or End Times TV host Rick Wiles? Those are three of the more frequently cited voices on the channel.
Shoot, Right Wing Watch even had a six-month period a decade ago where they highlighted some of the things I said on the radio. Even in my most egotistical moment I have to laugh to think that anyone with a brain in 2011 would have considered mine a defining voice on the right.
But RWW thrives on extremism and shock value. They are paid to post the craziest, most fringe voices they can find. You won't find an intellectual undressing of a Thomas Sowell column on their channel, but you will find plenty of clips of Pastor Greg Locke screaming about pedophiles. It's how their bread is buttered – post the shocking clip, paint with broad strokes as they warn that this is the "direction of the right," incite outrage, and demand "action" to stop this dangerous form of radicalism.
And that's why this YouTube ban is so funny. YouTube actually did what RWW has asked for repeatedly. They banned the "offensive" right-wing speech as inflammatory and inaccurate. But who did that really hurt?
"Prophet" Bullock might have 100 people watch his material. But when RWW runs one of his clips, it's seen by tens of thousands. So if Bullock gets banned, that deprives him of 100 views, but RWW – the ones who demanded the ban – will lose 50,000 views.
And someone in the People for the American Way boardroom apparently never thought through the lack of wisdom inherent in making public demands to censor the very content that you count on publishing to make your living. Jim Treacher noticed the irony:
Look, I hold no ill will toward a group that plucked me from obscurity years ago to "feature" some of my brash remarks. And truthfully, given that I think the answer to speech I don't like is not to ban the speaker, I'm glad their channel has been restored.
But just like watching the man whose own flannel goes up in flames rather than the American flag he was preparing to torch, there is something satisfying about seeing the left-wing speech police being hoisted on their own petard.
