Jordan Peterson has only entered by “event horizon” recently. In all honesty, I know little about him. I hope my excerpts from ‘Chick’s on the Right’ blog post peak your interest. If it does, please read the whole post. An Extraordinary Thing Happened At Jordan Peterson’s Indianapolis Performance. | Chicks On The Right
When I discovered he was coming to Indy, Mr. Mock and I were pretty stoked. We bought tickets, and spent a little extra on VIP passes so that we could meet him and attend a smaller Q&A session with him.
You guys, I was really struck by the youth of the audience. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but while Mr. Mock was parking, I stood inside the Murat and people-watched as folks made their way into the theater and through the security lines. I’d venture to say that the vast majority of attendees were younger than 30. The theater seats 2500, and it was close to sold out. I saw many gay, male couples. I saw tatted-up biker-like folks. I saw spectacle-wearing, book-carrying student-types. It was as diverse a crowd as I could have imagined. And I loved that.
When Dr. Peterson made his way onto the stage, you’d have thought you were attending a rock concert. It wasn’t the expected polite applause you’d imagine might be appropriate for a lecture of this sort. It was full on, raucous, whooping and hollering cheers. We were in the 5th row, where it was easy to see Dr. Peterson’s facial expressions, and as he looked at the audience – smiling humbly and nodding slightly – taking it all in, it seemed to me that he wasn’t altogether used to this kind of reception. I expect he receives it often, but it seemed like something that still surprises him. It reminds me of how Daisy and I are still shocked when someone is all excited to meet us. You’re simultaneously delighted and humbled all at the same time, that you have a palpable level of impact on another person. It’s overwhelming, and for us at least, it’s not something you get used to.
Click on the link to read about presentation and most importantly the Q&A that followed. A man’s life was saved. It’s worth your time.
I’ve been aware of Peterson since the spring of 2017. I think I found out about him through Joe Rogan’s podcast, and a Facebook friend may have made me aware of that. The reason I found out about him was I heard about how the Canadian Senate was considering Bill C-16, which, among other things, makes it a crime to “misgender” somebody (the bill was passed later in 2017). He was fighting that at the University of Toronto, and was making a big deal about it, because of how it affects free speech. Lindsay Shepherd has been Exhibit A on that. Her position at Wilfred Laurier U. was threatened, because of Bill C-16, because she played video of a Canadian TV broadcast where Peterson appeared. She was accused of threatening transgender people–a human rights violation, under the bill–just by playing it.
Through the Rogan podcast with Peterson, I found out about another academic “warrior” for free speech, Canadian evolutionary psychologist, Gad Saad, who was fighting the same bill.
I’ve followed Peterson off and on since then. Most of what he’s talked about that has interested me is he contrasts the Western tradition, which he values, against the neo-Marxist movement that is postmodernism, inside and outside academia, which is destructive to Western civilization. He’s tried to make people aware of postmodernism, because he says these people, who are pushing things like Bill C-16, are serious about destroying Western civilization in its entirety. They must be stopped, and he’s not shy about making arguments that threaten their ideology. What he’s had trouble with is that people in the media tend to think he’s attacking transgender people, etc., which he’s not. This subterfuge is quite deliberate. It’s become pretty clear to me that the neo-Marxists that Peterson describes use certain groups as “human shields” for their ideology. You try to attack the ideology, and people think you’re attacking certain groups, because they don’t talk about their ideology in public. They talk about racism, sexism, “homophobia,” etc.
Peterson’s position at the Univ. of Toronto was threatened as a result of his activism against Bill C-16, but he survived that, and “lived to fight another day,” so to speak.
Peterson not only has his own videos online, but there are a lot of people who post excerpts of his speeches, ostensibly on specific topics. (His speeches are typically a stream of consciousness. He does them with little to no notes.)
https://youtu.be/jnJEEdp6W24