So Long TYT... I Hardly Knew You

Last night, I canceled my subscription to The Young Turks (TYT).

I became a fan of TYT starting with the run-up to the 2012 presidential election and continued moving forward. I appreciated their straight talk and their willingness to criticize both wings of the political bird, honestly.

As for Cenk’s trademark rants and screaming fits? I didn’t enjoy them. I felt, and still feel, they drive away more like minded people than they bring in. But I was able to look past them because I agreed with the foundation of what he was espousing.

Also, they were farther left of the spectrum than any other serious news outlet. As I was a leftist, although I didn’t consider myself a Socialist at the time, it was a breath of fresh air to have my views expressed on a large platform. For a long time, more than a decade, I walked side by side with TYT. They seemed to be the champions of the Progressive movement.

Then things changed.

I think it all really started with the 2016 Presidential Election. I believe the infamous TYT meltdown when the race was called for Trump broke them.

In the years since the election, TYT changed.

The screeds from Cenk and Ana became more polarizing and, at some points, unhinged, where before I could overlook their hyperbole, I found myself cringing. They seemed to be doing exponentially more damage than good to the Progressive cause.

It turned out I was kind of right.

The once large TYT network shrunk as the changes in the main show became more and more… insane. Shows once affiliated, even allied, with TYT left and quit having anything to do with them.

Still, I held out, hoping the ship would be righted.      

Since the pandemic, The polarizing speech, 40 minute segments on issues that don’t significantly affect the average American, and the views of TYT skewing away from my own have all spiked. These have all contributed to driving me further and further away from a news source I once respected.

That’s fine. People change, and I don’t hold that against them. When I was a teenager, I considered myself a Liberal Republican.

Have you ever suspected I adhered to such nonsense?

The TYT views on the struggle of transgendered people finally made me pull the ripcord. The Main Show hasn’t gone full on TERF (Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist), but they’ve been dipping their big toe in that world all year.

I have transgender friends.

I have transgender loved ones.

I could accept, if not fully support, TYT’s positions. I still agree with them on a full 90% of their views. I want money out of politics, an end to the Electoral College, ranked choice voting (I don’t know if they support that, but I do), and common sense gun reform.

 can’t accept or support this newish position on transgender people. That’s the final drop in the bucket. The water is running over the sides, and I am choosing to abandon the ship rather than try to save it.

- Josh (11/29/2023)