Let’s Talk
I’ve looked at Jordan Peterson a few times in past posts and I think he might just be one of the most fascinating figures of our cultural generation. In a regressive time of group-think and identity politics where “speech is violence” and PC agendas have manifested at the highest levels of the market, Peterson cuts through all of that noise and nonsense with a persona that is so very different than any other social leader, politician, or pundit. Peterson is his own animal and able to navigate these tumultuous times with poise and rationale - two characteristics I admire above most others.
I won’t brown-nose too much. I admit, Peterson is sometimes tiresomely rational and I wish there would be moments where he puts a solid and rally-able opinion forward. But of course that’s my own projection of his persona.
The reason I bring him up is that Peterson has been in the ‘press’ an exorbitant amount lately, directly related to his recent publishing. I myself am in the process of reading his latest hit book, “12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos,” and have followed what seems like his machete-wielding adventure through leftist jungles.
And it seems that the media is all in on this game of “GOTCHA” - trying to see who can outwit the psychologist in a recorded interview. We’ve seen the infamous 7+ million-viewed Cathy Newman debacle on Channel 4 where all the artillery prepared by the broadcast backfired, leaving the host speechless in Peterson’s stead.
Now just a small while after that, we catch VICE News red-handed in their attempt to do just the same - jab Peterson into a corner in an attempt to bolster their edgy liberal reputation. But the original was released and shined light on their underhanded editing tactics.
First off, it astounds me that both of these reporters entered the ring (a ring they constructed themselves) with Jordan Peterson when there are countless videos of him dancing intellectually around every topic that is brought up against him. They attack him without substance and it seems like the only desired goal of the interviewer is to bully the other down with ideological emotion. But Peterson has grown reptilian skin against such tactics.
Peterson reflects on this perfectly at a public lecture -
Actual Discussion
Interestingly enough, Peterson’s chat with musician/comedian/crazed yogi of the world Russel Brand is one of my favorites. There’s no attacking and no brown-nosing. It’s a pure back and forth of intellect and Brand seems widely educated enough to play well with Peterson’s deeper thinking.
The symptom of debate aggression that has been wielded against Peterson highlights one of the more tyrannical aspects of ideological thinking in the modern world today. These are not exchanges of ideas. These are not arenas of thought. These are gas chambers with the accuser pushing the lever down on an unsuspecting victim. Thank goodness that Peterson can hold his breath to an almost inhuman degree.
New Media
We’ve always known that media has an agenda. Conservative, liberal, totalitarian, anarchist. Every bit of the political and economic spectrum seeps into media. Never for once assume that information is left un-tinted by severely darkened lenses.
What makes things more desperate and self-destructive in today’s age of media, as Peterson begins to point out, is media’s added pressure of competing with clickbait and social media. The bottom line has become the number of eyeballs and clicks. So instead of setting themselves apart from the predetermined and shallow agendas of less though-out/populist one-liners, they’ve hopped on that train.
It’s precisely this type of thinking that’ll prevent anyone from slithering around the ankles of Peterson. Sorry, no ‘gotchas’ to be seen here.
