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Reflections on Paul VanderKlay’s video, “Has Jordan Peterson become Fat Thor?” But, really, it is on more than this. For example, Peterson’s discussion with Joe Rogan about cancelling certain guests, his co-authoring a paper attacking those who proclaim “Christ is King,” things like that (this last one has opened a bit of a rift with Peterson for Jonathan Pageau).
In other words, Peterson is just another free speech advocate who no longer supports free speech – a move that basically defines the Daily Wire, for whom Peterson happens to work.
Apparently, in Peterson’s recent appearance on Joe Rogan, Rogan began by asking something about picturing a Hollywood man in a marriage to a difficult woman, and how through this the marriage destroyed the man’s career and, eventually, the man. I say “apparently,” because I almost never watch anymore anything involving Peterson – this was per VanderKLay.
Now, when I heard of this open, I thought this is why Rogan makes a lot of money; it was a brilliant open for a discussion with Peterson – not because Peterson is a psychologist, but because Peterson is the man about whom Rogan is asking.
Peterson changed the subject – of course he would. In no way does he want to deal with this subject. He is the Hollywood man married to the Daily Wire, and this marriage is destroying Peterson’s career and will soon enough destroy Peterson. What is tearing him apart is the same thing that is tearing the (political / republican / Trumpian) right apart.
You lose all credibility when you are one who has been advocating for free speech and against cancel culture and then, on a dime, call for cancel culture and come out against free speech. Peterson isn’t the only one. We saw this with Douglas Murray on Rogan with Dave Smith, and we see it with other high-status individuals on the political right.
The only way to salvage this for Peterson – his career and maybe his sanity – is to leave the Daily Wire and not worry about being cancelled or losing status.
Others have done it successfully.
I think you are correct about Peterson, Murray, etc. This also applies to James Lindsay though I don't see the same financial connections with him. He is connected more closely to others who seem to be operating in more good faith than the ex-IDW folks, like Michael O'Fallon, James White, and Bill Roach. I don't they are that correct either, because they use the "woke right" slur, but they are not openly for Israel's destruction of Gaza.
ReplyDeleteStill, I do see some need to correct the ethno-nationalist or CN authoritarians. I don't want them doxxed or canceled. Don't ruin the lives of those on the right, so to speak. But more and more there are disturbing racial, theological, and political ideas coming from that direction. See some of Corey Mahler's comments on the Holy Spirit and black people. There are also notions of combing Church and State with the State directing the Church, see Joel Webbon. There are a list of Sabbath, public worship laws, and anti-vice laws that CNs and fellow travelers want to enact. You see some of this in the rhetoric about the US government waging war against Mexican drug cartels. They call themselves the New Right, but what I see is a revivified Progressive, social gospel Spirit. Social gospel is simply the less secular version of social justice. Across the board these different factions want laws to enforce their version of natural law, not simply laws to protect natural rights. It is funny, they talk about laws to force morality (natural law), but then they insult the concept of natural law as "liberal", "universal", and "totalitarian". Very strange contradictions by these people.
Back to your point Bionic, the IDWers don't just attack the ethno-right wingers. They also attack any flavor of Rothbardian, Hoppean libertariansim and Gottfried-style paleo-conservatism. They target Dave Smith I think because they perceive him as a big enough voice to derail their movement. And of course a big part of it is to justify Israel dictating US foreign policy and US domestic speech laws. It's sick.
Like with any other topic I find myself in the middle of factions I thought I aligned with and seeing shots fired over my head at others beside me. Strange times indeed.
https://thecrosssectionrmb.blogspot.com/
Graham (unmarried), Lindsay (atheist), Murray (gay, atheist) and Shapiro (Jew) et al. I regard as worse than the radical left. At least the radical left is open about being my enemy and hating my way of life. At least they do me that justice. The former group pretends to be a friend of Christianity and of Western liberty while subverting it from within. My litmus test for right-wingers is always what their opinion on Lincoln is. If they regard Lincoln as a hero, they're not on my team. 9.999/10 times these guys are Lincoln lovers.
DeleteMy POV on the church and state relationship is that the Church should be the moral authority of not only society but the state as well, and the state should only be the political authority, but it should leave social justice matters to the Church (aiding the poor, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, helping refugees, tending to the unaided sick, adoption, etc.). The Church should be independent from and above any particular Christian state, but the Church should not have an army or a police force, apart from the territories where it functions as a political authority (Vatican City, papal estates, etc.), etc. Law enforcement is properly the realm of local political authorities, whatever form that may take.
Protestant CNs often promote some kind of throne and altar arrangement, but Caesaropapism is not a good system. It was the tension between the state(s) and the church which created the polycentricity in authority necessary for liberty to develop in the West.
RMB, yes. Very strange times. However, I also consider on many issues the tide has turned or is turning in a good direction: the covid "story," support for zionists no matter what, as a couple of examples.
DeleteATL: "At least the radical left is open about being my enemy and hating my way of life."
DeleteYes. Like what was said about the Soviet Union: we pretend to work and they pretend to pay us. On the left, they don't hide their objectives. The so-called right wants us to believe they are on the side of the little man and his liberty / property.
As for the "leaders" who are now failing us, you make a good point. They all, in different ways, hold to views or to lifestyles that are other than solidly Christian and Christ-based.
I will offer what appears to me to be one exception...at least thus far: Glen Greenwald. The guy seems honest and consistent. Let's see if that holds - I hope so.
ATL. I completely agree with the church and state comments. I wouldn't mind some churches having small militias or have some affiliation with local militia building.
DeleteYour comment about caesaropapism is spot on. I am reading The Struggle For Libery: The History of Libertarian Political Thought by Ralph Raico. The first chapter is all about the development of freedom in Western Europe. Two large factors were 1) the small, divided fiefdoms and 2) the church competed with the noblemen and kings, they weren't subservient to them.
I like Glenn too, one of the few public people who consider themselves leftists that I have a lot of respect for. Jimmy Dore is great too. I've even gained some respect for Cenk at TYT for his willingness to side with libertarians on the Gaza crisis.
DeleteYears ago I remember Peterson crying on camera for disaffected right-wing young men (so called "incels") on Piers Morgan and taking up their banner, accepting the left's nomination of him as their hero. That was heroic Peterson. Owning the label, come what may. Now he is calling more or less these same young men "dark triads [or tetrads?]", "Pharisees", and "psychopathic parasites", because why? They dared to criticize Israel or they drew attention to inconvenient truths about Jewish involvement and impact in American politics. And they said Christ is King to Jews online.
ReplyDeleteIt should be clear to anyone with a functioning brain stem that the Daily Wire is for free speech except when Israel or the Jews are criticized. Then it's representatives commit all the same bullshit logical fallacies and rhetorical strategies of the radical left: lived experience arguments (have you ever BEAN!?), slandering people as conspiracy theorists (don't say Wolfowitz...), dismissing people as anti-whatever instead of taking on their arguments (Massie is anti_Semitic scum for opposing funding Israel), appeal to authority (need more "experts" on podcasts), projection (woke!), trying to get people cancelled (be careful who you are platforming), etc.
They are the woke right (their sacrosanct victim group is just the Jews, instead of the radical left's blacks, gays, Muslims, and all other browns and degens), but they call their right wing opposition the woke right, a tried and true tactic that has worked since at least the Federalists vs the Antifederalists: if what you are is unpopular, call your opponent that and make it stick.
Do you remember when Steve Crowder was negotiating with Daily Wire to host his show 2 or 3 years ago? He walked because even they would front him millions and millions there were poison pills about them controlling the message some or taking all the money away if Crowder crossed some line they didn't want him to cross. Crowder is a douche bag but he sensed a bad deal. Now I think it is clear that Daily Wire pays millions to people and uses that as leverage against their employees from criticizing Israel. That looks like the one topic for which they want to control the narrative.
DeleteATL, I talk to a couple of young men about Peterson. They have, in the past, found him helpful - and he truly was. Now I caution them to be very discerning when approaching him. Calling those against mass-murder / genocide "psychopaths" is beyond description.
DeleteI do believe it is eating at Peterson's gut. So, why doesn't he walk away, as did Candace? I don't know. Given the comment by RMB, regarding the millions involved and the contract terms, maybe it doesn't eat at his gut THAT much.
RMB,
ReplyDeleteYes I do remember that. There was also a coordinated attack on Crowder's personal life around that time if I remember correctly. It's no question that the Daily Wire has a lot of money to throw around. Let's hope the Jordan Peterson can find his spine again and leave that poisonous organization.