Ugh, this feels like another attempt to up the page-hits; all it's likely to do is bring out his rabid, incel followers...

"PragerU, Breitbart, the Federalists, Fox News, and other conservative groups are pushing the myth that Republicans are the party of tolerance, and it’s working because everywhere people look, the left is attempting to shut people like Jordan Peterson down. "

What are you talking about? Everywhere I look I see no evidence that Jordan Peterson even exists. I have never heard Jordan Peterson mentioned outside of a few places on the internet. He really is extremely easy to ignore entirely.

But this absurd notion that liberals are the only people with an agency or responsibility for what happens in society - that I do see quite often. You know, even if Liberal HQ could discipline all the liberals to be nice and not call people racist, Cambridge Analytics and Putin's Troll Farms can do the deed for an extremely reasonable price.

So I guess we're doomed.

Great piece Katie. Thank you for writing it. The left in the US is its own worst enemy. We are following the 'how to lose' playbook on so many fronts.

"This will not have the intended effect: Like Jillian Johnson told me, Jordan Peterson is not Richard Spencer, and when people realize that he’s being mischaracterized by much of the left (and he is), they aren’t going to turn against him, they are going to turn against us."

And mocking Trump voters for their 'economic insecurity' will turn them into actual racists, yeah yeah...

@2 yet here you and @1 are, on the double.

@5 - This is correct. Yet they've deluded themselves, much like Peterson's MRA/Incel fanboys have, that they're the true victims.

Protect yourself. The insane majority are coming for you.

Peterson packs out Moore theater twice in a year with plenty of women and PoC showing up to learn about personal responsibility, self reliance and resilience.

Meanwhile, Seattle's looney leftists still haven't cleaned up their bedrooms and expect the State to do it for them. However, on a good day they can organize 15 community college media and gender studies majors to shut down 4th Ave for ten of thousands of people with real jobs and careers like my poor wife.

Feminists' Characterizations of the Involuntarily Celibate Will Make Incels Turn Violent

@9

Your logic sucks

Mischaracterization (read dishonesty) in debating your point definitely does alienate potential allies. And every time I hear someone complain about Jordan Peterson it involves mischaracterization.

Real life: When you're dishonest you lose credibility.

Katie writes that she's not a Jordan Peterson fan. For the extent that she defends him, these seems difficult to believe, if not downright impossible if you're skeptical of Katie's politics0.. As a non-fan of Peterson (but big fan of Katie) I do wish she'd cover this topic using non-Peterson avatars, but he's the most visible figure. But whatever, we're here.

The issue, of course, isn't that Peterson is or isn't sexist/racist/transphobic, but that the progressive left has abandoned truth and honesty as principles, and instead is increasingly looking for more potential enemies to tear down, consistently tightening the allowable "good" ideologies, and have an ideology (which boil down to "multi-cultural society is impossible and segregation is the only answer") that'd make my marched-with-dr-king father vomit in his grave. (there's a big generational gap. I grew up with "Rainbow Coalition" ideology that envisioned judging people not by the color of their skin but by what they said and did. Snake People seem to ONLY care about the color of someone's skin). That leaves us older-school liberals in a lurch and feeling bait-and-switched. The Republican Party shed any last shred of respectability when they voted in Gingrich et al; now mainstream liberalism has gone off on an exceptionally rigid and authoritarian path as well. What's a non parrot-brained person to do?

It's funny that JBP's reaction to some of the most astute and nuanced takes on him/12 Rules—by Nathan J. Robinson and Pankaj Mishra (below)—which go at great lengths accurately portray him and his beliefs, was to threaten physical violence and spew ad hominem attacks on the authors without addressing their critiques.

https://www.currentaffairs.org/2018/03/the-intellectual-we-deserve
http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2018/03/19/jordan-peterson-and-fascist-mysticism/

Yeah, Katie is not a fan.Totally not. Absolutely.

You can’t flip the “I’m not going to vote for Clinton because you keep informing me that I have all of the mental acuity of a four year old chimpanzee with Down’s Syndrome” on them, is basically what I’m gathering.

Commie.

shut up clean your room and vote against jay inslee

A spokesperson for Washington chapter of the ACLU said, “We don’t have anything to say about that [city ordinance that prevents businesses from denying people service based on their political beliefs]

Seriously? The ACLU has no opinion on that law? Maybe because they figure no one in their right mind will try to repeal it. But my guess is the ACLU really, really likes that law, and just can't be bothered defending something so basic when there are bigger fish to fry.

if you actually spend some time on Peterson, Harris Shapiro, and Hitchens, and maybe even Milo, and Dave Rubin, you'll see the reality, fox cnn are a joke- these great humans are, compiling a tremendous following for a reason , debate! there is a tremendous thirst in our society for this,

Oh yes Milo, truly a Great man sparking debate. Is he a Nazi, or does he just really like Nazis? Let’s give him another profile!

@21 Yeah, that Milo. A Jewish, gay immigrant, who married a black guy. Pretty much everything that Nazis hate.
"You shouldn't give a shot about people's skin colour, gender, or sexual orientation; but be weary of the people who do". The same Milo who said that. Yeah, total Nazi principles. At least do some research first. Idiot.

*shit. *wary. Stupid auto-correct lol.

@12 bahahahaha "nuanced". They were straight-up hitpieces of the exact variety Katie is railing against, dressed up in flowery language to sound more legitimate to the easily-impressed, gullible pseudo-intellectuals that populate a large swath of the progressive political domain (which includes you, @12)..... oh lord, my sides. Peterson at least speaks plainly to his audiences - he avidly suggests not trying to read Maps of Meaning if you have trouble with dense text. He doesn't feel the need to impress people by sounding smart. On the other hand, people like you will believe anything that sounds smart as long as it's said by someone you believe to be politically aligned with you...

The only required material on this subject. https://youtu.be/4LqZdkkBDas

FWIW, the Red Hen restaurant is in Lexington, VA, not Lexington KY.

Wow -- never thought I'd see mob rule so readily endorsed.
We're in big trouble in November.

Holy SHIT, Batman!!--thank you, Katie and others for the dire warning about Jordan Peterson.
May this err of insanity end soon.

I read through this entire article and this entire comment thread, and I still haven't learned what this guy has ever said or done or accomplished that people should consider him important. All I can figure out is he's just another hustler after a buck. So I suppose I'll go on ignoring him.

@11 Yes.

All the stupid people who are too dumb to even listen or understand what Peterson is saying are the ones labeling homophobic, racist, transphobic etc. The dangers of the ideological left are very real. Those who can't see that are disgustingly ignorant.

Btw, the only reasons I can see for making one’s bed are to prepare the youth for packing up the hammock in Nam or to keep bugs out in areas we haven’t exterminated most organic matter atop the soil.

@19

Our local chapter of the ACLU is far to the left of the parent organization. Like really far. Farther than that.

If you just looked at what ACLU-WA has done over the past decade or so, and didn't know anything else about the organization, you could easily conclude that their mission is to counteract strong property rights, and has nothing to do with defending people who have been attacked or silenced for political expression.

It's sad that a city which earned an international reputation for racial injustice (lacrosse anyone?) is led by cavalier bigots.

Herzog wrote: "like psych 101 in a three piece suit."
If you're suggesting he is either trivial, or a bill of goods, or ingenuine, that doesn't account for his effectiveness. Have you not noticed that progressives no longer date appear with him onstage to debate these issues, preferring to cast aspersions from safety least they get the ruinous treatment Cathy Newman got during their channel 4 interview and Michael Eric Dyson got during their Munk debate.

Please challenge him publicly. He has called you out on Twitter today. I don't think you are confident enough to.

You are not the prophet.

Extremely well written, Katie. Ditto for the 'My Night with JP' piece. I'm now reading everything I can find that you've written.

@22 - a self-hating man who's only talent is being a conservative propaganda mouthpiece found another self-hating man to be his beard?

I'm shocked.

The left in America is so weak that they are scared of a bland, Canadian psychologist from academia who has been saying the same shit for thirty years, whose groundbreaking advice boils down to "take care of yourself, have goals, and enjoy the little things."

How terrifying.

I'm a centre-left progressive(partly), and I find Mr. Peterson refreshing.

People seem to misunderstand what he says all the time. He is very clear about whether he is talking about his opinions, facts, or tendency in partly inconclusive data.
People that are not properly educated in thinking rationally, can't see the difference between them. Other see the world through an ideological lens that makes facts into opinions. This is dangerous at worst, or at least lazy.

I don't agree with many of his conclusions, but he's helped me think about morals, society, and even myself with new perspectives.

In my list of great influences like Hitchens, Zizek, Chomsky and so on, there is a new thinker. And his name is Jordan Peterson.

For better or worse.

Rumpole 101 - One of the easiest ways to get an acquittal is when the judge sickens the jury by over-egging the prosecution pudding.

I suppose that to some extent this comes down to a question of Know Thy Jury. Whom is one trying to move? The exorbitant chargers seem best suited to a gerrymandered House district in which they're trying to unseat Ms Waters. As for others, a large and growing portion of the fan base is unmovable. I do see that more neutrals are being pushed away than drawn in.

Even the appraisal of Prof P in this piece would likely be enough to make many of his fans dig in and attack. I have wondered, though, what he would make of those "female-led marriages" the evangelicals were decrying some few years ago.

In a way, the more interesting conversation seems to be why so many -ist and -ic words have lost potency and no longer move the middle. Perhaps it's just how so many words and terms are falling into the Humpty Dumpty category after their definitions have been expanded perhaps too far.

@2: Whenever I see a Markov Chain compiled headline ripped from the pages of 4chan and Reddit, I know which alt-right fan is serving up these clickbait hot takes.

I doubt any self-reflection ever enters the picture.

@6:

Aw, do I detect a hint of jealousy? I know how much it triggers you to not be first...

@8:

Well, considering it's probably 80% the same people showing up every time he rolls into town that's not saying much - except perhaps that any lessons regarding "personal responsibility, self reliance and resilience" are evidently being lost on them, if they have to keep hearing the same message repeated over and over again.

Wait, so you pretty firmly establish that he is transphobic, say it’s a matter of free speech, and move on like that is an acceptable argument? So I can call you a f*t or n*r, and it doesn’t make me homopbic or racist, just a free speech supporter? Intentionally misgendering someone is transphobic, demeaning and hateful, and doing so is not a first amendment issue, it is an intentional act of blantant erasure, disrespect, and denial (much the same way many homophobic countries deny the very existence of gay people).

You’re going to need a new blanket term because “biological invalidity” and “Phobos” are not congruent.

I understand Katie's concern, but the problem is that most of us don't have the time or energy for a deep dive into the oeuvre of every social critic who gains a following. There are just too many of them, and more pressing concerns to deal with (especially in the past two years). So we take mental shortcuts, and here's mine: The fact that Tucker Carlson, Camille Paglia and the talk-radio mafia think Peterson is worth listening to is evidence enough that he very likely isn't. Sorry.

@48 that's fine, we don't need to listen him and have every right not to. The issue is that this guy to some is seen as some sort of public enemy #1 to the far left, when to me he is trying to point out the hypocrisy on both sides of the political spectrum. This is the reason why Trump is going to get re elected, the left is too busy trying to CENSOR people ffs instead of focusing on issues that really matter to a majority of voters, like jobs, energy and health care. Just wrap your head around the notion that in 2018 the lefts political tool is to basically shout people down, get them banned or fired because they dont fall in line, that shits not gonna fly in 2020.

@49 I don't personally believe in shouting people down, that's not my thing. But for some who are less privileged, have fewer means of self-expression and feel oppression more keenly than I do, it is a healthy expression of anger and may encourage others similarly situated to pay attention. I refuse to condemn it outright unless unprovoked physical violence is involved, and I VERY strongly doubt it has much influence on how people vote.

@50 I parse plenty of complicated ideas. But we all filter to some extent according to our worldview and the opinions of those we have previously come to respect or dismiss. We have to do this, otherwise we'd be overwhelmed trying to accommodate everyone who demands a hearing. There's no shame in it.

@51 If you think that shouting down others has influence on how people vote I'd like you to see the massive push back from the left to the left on these tactics. Look at Sawant and the Amazon tax, her tactics had a huge impact on people coming out to sign petitions to overturn the tax. That massive turn out in the first week of signature collections was a rebuke not only of the policy but of the method of enacting the policy and it would not surprise me if you see a bigger pro business push in Seattle come out of this.
Self expression has its place, but when the far left uses this tool to try to correct every perceived micro aggression then you end up sounding like the boy who cried wolf. Which in the case of people trying to ban/censor JP is exactly what it is, an overreaction to a micro aggression. That might work with your base, but to the independent voters that switched from Obama to Trump it looks ridiculous and will only drive them farther away from the middle.

“The issue is that this guy to some is seen as some sort of public enemy #1 to the far left, when to me he is trying to point out the hypocrisy on both sides of the political spectrum.”

I concur. And I think I’m pretty far left.
We share some of the same criticisms.

“This is the reason why Trump is going to get re elected… ”

A bigger bump than Bernie*?
Nah. Greater than gerrymandering? Larger than voter suppression? I doubt it
.
As decimating as having “OUR” voting machines luxuriating IN PRIVATE HANDS**?
Not remotely. But still….

most of whose supporters voted for the Corporate Dem
*hands which may be very very dirty

Why do these free speech arguments always end up telling the left to shut up? This whole piece, like so many of its ilk, comes down to arguing that the left simply having a position or an opinion on a conservative's body of work is somehow harming the right's free speech, like my expressing dislike for Peterson, which by definition is speech, is anti-speech. As for blaming liberals and the left for the right's insanity, that's just irresponsible. In the end of the day, adults have responsibility for their own actions. Or are we really going to take up the condescending position that conservatives need to be coddled?

I've supported your free speech arguments in the past Katie, but now you're getting into the kind of brain rot that leads self-described liberals down the right lane.

[where the fuck do my *s GO, Stranger?
is there a damn surcharge (or corking fee?) I'm unaware of?!]

BTW: Jordan Peterson is a hack and a huckster. And if you follow him you're either a self-help loser or a follower of discredited psychoanalysis.

Jesus. Where the fuck did the Stranger dig up Herzog? Brietbart?

Sure the fringe is reactionary, but so what? Peterson IS a pile of shit. Ignoring him isn't going to help. His followers are going to hate liberals no matter what.

Nobody is chasing liberals over to Trump voters by being mean to Peterson, okay. That's just nonsense. For fuck sake.

While I do look forward to Herzog;s weekly parade of logical fallacies as sort of a Philosophy 101 review, her "Both-sides-er-isms" are getting more bush league Fox News quality every week. Why not just give here her own weekly column titled "It's all the fault of the left no matter what 'it' is."

Katie. Come on. Did some girl from a UNC SJW study group dump you? Christ. What's the god damned grudge?

@54:
Why do these free speech arguments always end up telling the left to shut up?

"to Shut Up"? To not Overreact is what Katie's calling for.
Speaking of overreacting.

"And if you follow him you're either a self-help loser or a follower of discredited psychoanalysis."

Speaking of Inflaming the Citizenry.
Well Done.

56: Yeah, this is pretty embarrassing stuff. I'm disappointed because Herzog started with a reasonable position and now she's riding the classic fallacies all the way to right-wing apologist.

Oops, maybe I should hold my tongue. I might force her to become a right-wing Trump supporter by saying mean things about her sloppy thinking.

58: Oh, not inflaming the citizenry! I said something that's basically true in a mean way. Oh god, could it be? Am I responsible for fascism? Tell me it's not so!

58: This is a brilliant demonstration of how the right completely misunderstands free speech as a concept. The fact that liberals have fallen into this trap bodes very ill for the future.

Honestly, you couldn't concoct a better political strategy that convincing your adversaries that they need to hold their own tongues so as not to offend you while granting yourself license to say anything you want. Liberal self-censorship, all in the name of free speech, is a gift that keeps on giving. They could be shoveling people into ditches, and there will be scolds on the left telling the rest of us that we're to blame for being so mean.

@52 It was the head-tax opponents who did nearly all the shouting. Their behavior at neighborhood meetings was not unlike the Tea Party at health-care town halls in 2009, which didn't seem to have cost them very much at the polls the following year. So I'm afraid I don't see your point.

JMS - The fact that the left has fallen into the trap of trying to censor a Canadian self help guru bodes very ill for the future. There fixed it for you

Good column. The only thing I really take issue with is "It’s a bit of a toddler-sized argument (“You can’t make me!!!”)" with regard to Peterson's position on compelled speech. It's easy to make that argument right up until the moment you're the person being censored. Once you figure that out, well, it's a huge paradigm shift. The sanctimonious left has already lost the SCOTUS for a generation. If you blow the midterms (and the way you're behaving there's a good chance you will because you are so enamored with the sound of your own voices that you don't see the bleed from those of us who were once sympathetic) well, you're going to lose it forever. Revolution will be your best option and you'll lose because you always lose. This time will be no different. It's in your DNA...failure, that is.

64: No one is censoring him. The fact you think he's been censored tells us everything we need to know about your understanding of speech. And that's the problem.

This is fine account of the issues and a decent introduction of who Peterson is for those who've never heard of him, and it's also a misguided effort. "Hate speech" doesn't exist in law, at least not in the U.S., so this article misses the mark widely.

Whether you like Peterson or not, this much is true: your elected officials were sworn in voicing an oath to "support and defend the Constitution". Don't believe me? Durham's swearing in ceremony on 4 Dec 17 is posted on youtube; forward to about the 54th minute, www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=C5IdZqOvxuE .

Last I checked the First Amendment is still the Constitution's First Amendment. Ms Johnson's "However, we wish to emphasize that a person’s right to free speech does not include the right to a platform or an audience," is correct about the right to an audience, so long as they are not prevented from attending by authorities, but very incorrect about the platform's status. As a publicly financed space, DPAC may not refuse a performance on speech grounds. The Supreme Court has been consistent and clear when publicly financed universities have played the same gambit - they've lost. So too have cities; the SC ruled actual Nazis have speech rights - you may dislike it, but it is the law. Disapprove of the First Amendment? Change it. Until then, public officials must abide it.

Further, Johnson neglects to recognise free speech also includes the right to listen. If a platform is denied, not only has the speaker's right been breached, so to have the listeners'. The court has affirmed the listeners' right. Presumably some of these listeners are residents of Durham whose rights Johnson and others on the council vowed to defend. What we have is elected officials failing to take off their activist hats and wear their public official hats. This is a violation of their vows, a breach of their duty, and as such a willful dereliction of duty and professional misconduct. Should the taxpayers pick up the legal bill when public officials deliberately fail to perform their jobs in breach of the law and the Constitution?

Ms Herzog tries to make the point about the right wing's sincerity re free speech. Guess what? Hypocrites are protected by the Constitution too. Peterson has spoken in numerous countries around the world, including those that have genuine hate speech laws, and throughout the U.S., proving his talks are no threat to public order and safety.

So, you may huff and you may puff, but if you violate Peterson's and his audience's right to speech they'll blow your house down. Seems to me it will be a fool's errand for Durham to try to fight this out in court. Be assured if it goes this route there will be many joining the class-action lawsuit, and they will happily take the money, which includes punitive penalties, once the court rules against Durham and its officials. Ultimately you have this choice: Give your opponents their speech rights now or give your opponents their speech rights and money later. Up to you to figure out which is the lesser evil.

Someone having a strong opinion on Peterson or hypothetically barring him from a business does not constitute censorship. Nowhere in the article is Peterson censored. Christ, you really don't understand speech at all, do you? Now if you want to talk about what happened in Canada, well that's whole other ball of wax.

It is absolutely amazing to me that people are such bozos that they literally believe that publishing an opinion or saying something mean is now an affront to free speech, that they can literally blame a person having a contentious opinion on actual adults saying and doing shitty things. These are mental gymnastics that would of made Soviet officials blush.

69: #68 was not addressed to your eloquent post.

A lot of the comments here show that the far left, just as much as the far right, don't like rational thinking or thinking about things in a different way. Just like Christians won't argue Christianity on the merits and just shouts down people who disagree, the far left won't actually defend their opinion. They just call them an "-ist" of some variety.

Dumb people are just incapable of listening to things they don't agree with. Smart people can follow an argument they don't agree with to at least hear it, and see how they feel about it.

Problem is, most people aren't that bright.

“PragerU, Breitbart, the Federalist, Fox News, and other conservative groups are pushing the myth that Republicans are the party of tolerance, and it’s working because everywhere people look, the left is attempting to shut people like Jordan Peterson down.“

Wrong. Republicans for the most part are pointing out the left’s intolerance, while not demonstrating the Right’s intolerance. And why should they? It politically convenient.

I was shocked to hear a stadium of Republicans cheer when Trump stated gay marriage is settled. I believe it is with regard to most Republicans. Rarely do we get to witness a party cede such critical ground.

Then again we have witnessed Liberals-which I am-cede the ground of critical thought, freedom of thought and speech. It’s alarming how quickly Leftists have pitched those important Liberal notions overboard for Stalinism.

I’m a transsexual and have went to Peterson’s shows here in seattle. Not at his shows, nor in any other media I’ve watched him have I heard one transphobic thing come from his mouth.

Wife and I raised our 4 kids with two moms in the house. I still think children should grow up with s mother and father, ideally. Preferably healthy ones, which obviously myself as a transsexual Female couldn’t offer in the dad department. So they got the best Best I could give.

Jordan Peterson isn't actually rational. Yes, a lot of the hyperbolic attacks on him aren't rational or helpful either. But his argument isn't intellectually challenging or new. And calling him out for that doesn't magically shift political ideologies. I would like to see quantitative evidence that people "mischaracterizing" Peterson's work is causing people to move to the right. Because if it is, people really are pretty dumb, and we might as well call it day on democracy. But then Herzog presents no evidence of this actually happening, so we just have to take her word for it.

Sadly, I fear that Herzog's posts will look a lot like Shirtless in Seattle's in five years.

@72 Peterson isn’t actually rational. Because. Because JMS said so!

Maybe people are on the right because they accept the arguments the right is making, maybe they're choosing to back a certain set of policies or prescriptions based on a worldview, maybe a certain moral viewpoint is more appealing to them, maybe some of them are actually bigots who want a Christian theocracy. This whole idea that the left is making the right is actually deeply condescension to conservatives, suggesting that they are not the bastions of self-sufficiency they claim to be. If I was on the right I'd be offended by the suggestion that I had no agency.

To all my fellow transsexuals: clean your room, stand up straight, figure out what your interests are and get to bloody work.

The Left isn’t going to save you. The Leftists and much of the LGBTQ Movement are going to drag you down their nihilistic rabbit hole. No good is going to come from this Leftist meltdown. Jump ship while you still have your dignity, and individuality.

74: Jungian and Reichian psychoanalyses, the core stuff of Peterson's worldview, are pretty much the opposite of rationalism. Peterson is by his own accounts, deeply interested in mysticism and archetypes, and routinely makes pseudo-scientific arguments and misrepresents other people's scientific work to score points. His arguments are based on presuppositions he simply comes up with no real empirical basis. He makes grand proclamations about the sexes we're supposed to take at face value. He is rational in presentation, but his actual thinking is riddled with anti-rational and quasi-religious positions. So no his arguments, however compelling you may find them, are almost proudly irrational. Except for the common sense bootstrap shit he seems to pull right out of Oprah bookclub titles.

76: Man, do you get fanclub benefits for writing this stuff?

@75 The Left is certainly making the Right look like a viable alternative to some Progressives.

Just because someone is either isolated from, or drops political affiliation of Progressive doesn’t mean they are suddenly moved into the Conservative camp.

@78 some of 76 was a dig at you.

There are real differences between males and females, men and women.

Hell, I’m a transsexual Female, and most transsexual females are not like cis women. There are a small number of transsexual females that are very much like cis women, but they are the outliers. Biological sex, identity, and gender are real things, not just arbitrary lines drawn in the sand.

80: The fact that self-described progressive are falling for this shit is probably the most depressing spectacle I've seen.

81: Yes, of course there are differences. That doesn't make Peterson right about what those differences are.

In fact a big part of the problem with this whole "debate" is that most of what THE LEFT believes is just an invented strawman. THE LEFT doesn't take its marching orders from some activist's twitter account. Believe it or not a lot of people on the left have different opinions on things like sex, gender, women, men, etc. Just because I don't think Peterson's views are valid doesn't mean I have some monolithic ideas about these topics distributed to me from the central committee. The fact that any opposition to or even valid criticism of figures on the right is now held up as evidence of the left's intolerance is ridiculous on its face. Herzog is basically worked up about censorship that hasn't even happened simply because one person, with their own opinion, is saying mean shit that will likely lead to nothing. That's not THE LEFT's responsibility.

“it's probably 80% the same people showing up every time he rolls into town”

Citation please, Comte, and your rectum doesn’t count.

My room is spotless, my posture is excellent, I have several college degrees and a successful career that pays me well to advocate progressive ideas and encode my Leftist agenda into multiple institutions (as well as help my fellow human beings), so I'll pass on JBP. Sounds like he doesn't have much to offer me.

@65 Come again? The Left always loses?!

Looks around: there's a bevy of government social safety net programs, minimum wage, child labor laws, unions, a 5 day work week, women can vote, discrimination is illegal, slavery and Jim Crow are dead, abortion is legal, gay marriage is legal, weed is legal ...

Hmmmmm.

"there's a bevy of government social safety net programs, minimum wage, child labor laws, unions, a 5 day work week, women can vote, discrimination is illegal, slavery and Jim Crow are dead, abortion is legal, gay marriage is legal, weed is legal"

But according to the intersectional left we live in the most racist, homophobic, transphobic, sexist, oppressive, fascist country on the planet.

89

We do have a lot of work left to do, yes. Our systems, institutions, and processes are based in white patriarchy and oppression. But that's changing ... it's already come a long way. The best and brightest in government, education, and business, a long with community leaders and activists, are working tirelessly to remedy that. I work alongside them every day. Not to mention the upcoming generations see the things you mentioned and don't want them. As a culture, we are finally beginning to recognize the sins of our past and how they continue to manifest themselves in our society. That's the first step towards healing, IMO.

We have it pretty great here, but we can do better. True patriots know that and are working to fulfill America's promise of freedom and justice for all. I have great optimism for our future (if we can survive our present).

Keep in mind the Duke Lacrose debacle from about 10 years in Durham. We all know how that unfolded and ultimately ended up. Sounds like the good people of Durham didn’t really learn anything after all.

Katie, stop being butthurt that your guy is super unpopular after all the stupid shit he's said recently. He has been and is a pseudoscientist who got famous based on a lie about a law in Canada. I'm glad to see that most of my centrist friends have recently abandoned Peterson after his especially stupid comments about atheists.

The problem for those academics, activists and students Peterson calls “The Left” is that he speaks plain English. Without even trying, anyone who uses language to be understood can make a laughing stock of rigid ideology. Camille Paglia, Christine Hoff Summers and even the wretched alt-right jester Milo have made careers of doing just that.

K I just read three paragraphs on Jordan and atheism and it appears he is doing little more than repeatedly altering the parameters of Pascal’s wager.

You are not the prophet.

Also, there is nothing morally wrong with killing nihilists. Ask one.

I can't wait until they hire a real editor again.

Ms Shirtless - If memory serves, "gay marriage is settled" (temporarily) came up in an interview, not a speech. The line that got the big ovation was Candidate T's pledge "to protect you from hateful foreign ideologies".

I have already opined that the huge ovation came because, as Charles Nelson Reilly would have pointed out, the operative word was FOREIGN. Of course a DOMESTIC audience would love that line. And it appears to have taken in almost all the gay-friendly anti-SJWs.

The alt-left has already destroyed my identifying with the left. You bastards started hating me and said, I was the problem, because I am white and male. WTF? That I should shut up and sit down. WTF? Well, FU. You need to put a leash on your minions and come back to attacking the right and stop attacking (the male half) half of your own f-ing constituents. I mean you know what happens after they push out all the white men right? They will come after white women because you are the second most powerful (not really true, you are the most powerful) identity group on the left.
And you all wonder how Trump won. YOU are the reason Trump won! Now be a man, take responsibility for what you have done and f-ing fix it! And if you do as I have requested and you ask nicely, I may come back to you. Oh, come on, I am only joking. I love you guys, I cannot wait to come back. But do not wait too long or it will be too late for all of us. Let's go! Man up! Gett'r done!

'The Russians are coming'?!

The Russians are HERE.

Gawd, if only: I had a few extra Billions$,
just lying around....

The more you squeeze and double down, the more followers Peterson gets. This is the giant irony of it all. The left can't learn. This "leftist" is getting off the highway and turning around. Can't stand to see the utter childishness of 'left liberals' anymore. It's gone far beyond any tolerable stance a person of reason can agree with. The "club" is over. Goodbye. Keep doubling down...and see where you end up in life. Remember, you WILL die. And there's much much much more beyond your petty, Red vs. Blue dumb ass American society bs. Get over yourselves.

We live in a world where (1) the president, Fox News, and talk radio daily spew vitriol and lies against the left, and (2) some leftists in Durham were arguably overzealous in accusing a (polite, well-spoken and subtle) racial dog-whistler a racist. Anyone who lives in that world and is turned to the right by it was going to turn to the right no matter what.

Edit: "accusing" should have been "calling." Sorry bout that.

Peterson is a "philosopher" like McDonald's Double Bacon Smokehouse Burger is a Gourmet™ Artisan Sandwich

Everyone shut the fuck up

99

Who hates you, man? I'm a white straight male and all the leftists fucking LOVE me. Especially the altys. They give me hugs. Why you so worked up? Maybe go for a walk. It's a beautiful day.

@101
"This 'leftist' is getting off the highway and turning around." --lsw

This "leftist" is a Pro.
But where'd he go?!
Dump 'n run.
Well played.

Reminds me of the summer of '16.

"you've got a right to public accommodations, but not THIS lunch counter" - Bull Connor.

Brilliant article. Watching the "illiberal" left become the party of hate, smug self-regard and censorship over the last several years has become beyond depressing. Their straw-man mischaracterization of Jordan Peterson is particularly noxious.

Hello