I really hesitated before purchasing Milo Yiannopoulos‘ Dangerous. I was afraid of the controversy that reading the book in public might entail. One of my work colleagues and I discussed Milo and his movement after the riot that followed him at Berkeley. Before hearing about the massive damage left in his wake, I had never heard of him, nor read his Breitbart columns. Shortly after the Berkeley incident, Milo made the news again, resigning from Breitbart after allegations that he supported pedophilia. So, you can imagine why I was leery.

It turns out that Milo relishes the spotlight, referring to himself as a “dangerous faggot” and adopting the drag persona Ivana Wall. His book describes the role he’s created for himself, eagerly pushing boundaries and challenging liberals who try to suppress the free speech of himself and others. Milo promises readers that he is a “good troll,” only using “a certain level of disregard for other people’s feelings” when “reasoned argument and polite entreaty have failed.

Nonetheless, in Dangerous, Milo is occasionally downright mean for no apparent purpose, other than getting himself put squarely back in the limelight. Milo regularly complains about “ugly women” and “fat people,” yet claims he only trolls “deserving targets,” including “the disabled.” What did people with disabilities ever do to get on Milo’s bad side? I find his attitude toward people with disabilities particularly ironic given that Milo claims HIV/AIDS is still a problem worthy of attention, particularly amongst the gay male population. Funny that, when the Americans with Disabilities Act was being passed, disability advocates fought tenaciously to get HIV/AIDS recognized as a disability within the Act’s protection.

The surprising thing is that Milo actually has many astute points. Particularly in regard to social media censorship and the millennial generation’s engagement in the political sphere, Milo has many thoughts worthy of discussion. Because I actually learned something from Dangerous – something interesting, I promise, completely aside from name-calling – I feel compelled to recommend that others give the book a chance. At the same time, I understand if and why you don’t. Fortunately, you have to freedom to expose yourself to Milo. (I’m sure he’d get a kick out of it!)