CULTURE WARRIOR
Professor courts controversy
REGINA Whether celebrated or loathed, Jordan Peterson has quickly become a household name in Canada and beyond. As the controversial professor prepares to speak in Regina and Saskatoon this week, here’s a quick primer on who he is — and why he seems to inflame emotions wherever he goes.
Who is Jordan Peterson?
Two years ago, the Alberta-born Peterson was simply a clinical psychologist and professor at the University of Toronto, generally unknown outside his field. Since then, he’s become a bestselling author and one of the most polarizing figures in the ongoing culture wars. His sudden notoriety has led New York Times columnist David Brooks to suggest he might be “the most influential public intellectual in the Western world right now.”
How big of a deal is he?
Peterson has been selling out venues across Canada, the United States and Europe, as part of a speaking tour promoting his book, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos. A sometimes dense work shifting from Biblical analysis to practical advice to evolutionary biology, it’s become the third bestselling book on Amazon for 2018. But Peterson’s real strength is online. His Youtube channel has 1.3 million followers and some of his videos have been viewed over two million times.
His fans span a wide range of opinion — from Christian traditionalists to atheist libertarians — but they’re largely united by a shared disgust at political correctness and perceived threats to free speech from those they call “social justice warriors.”
How did he get so famous? Peterson’s first forays toward intellectual superstardom were on Youtube. In 2016, He posted a series of videos entitled “Professor Against Political Correctness,” where he criticized the federal government’s Bill C-16.
He said the proposed law, which makes gender expression a prohibited ground of discrimination, is based on assumptions that are “dangerous and ideologically motivated.” He argued that he would be forced to use gender-neutral pronouns like “they” or “zhe” for those who don’t identify as male or female — though some legal experts have countered that the law would do no such thing.
Trans rights activists took action to oppose him, using noise machines to drown out a speech he gave at a free speech rally in October 2016. That led to confrontation with his supporters. The video went viral, further cementing Peterson’s name in the media landscape.
Why is he so controversial?
Critics have called Peterson “transphobic” for his resistance to preferred pronouns, which trans people say denies their identities. Peterson has countered that the issue hasn’t often come up in his teaching, and that he only objects to what he sees as government attempts to force him to use the terms under penalty of law.
But that’s only the beginning of what makes Peterson so toxic for broad segments of the political left. He denies that inequality is always oppressive and defends hierarchies, saying they often stem from “competence.” His most explosive statements include support for “enforced monogamy” as a way to reduce male violence and the suggestion that some feminists have an “unconscious wish for brutal male domination.”
His book is more self-help than polemic, however, with Peterson exhorting his readers to take responsibility for their lives — rather than blaming society for their problems.
What’s the reaction to his Saskatchewan events?
Peterson has spoken to sold out crowds in Ottawa, Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton and Winnipeg in recent weeks. But there are still tickets for his Tuesday event in Regina and his Wednesday event in Saskatoon, according to the box offices at Conexus Arts Centre and TCU Place.
Peterson’s appearances have sometimes attracted impassioned counter-protesters. One of the most extreme examples came this March at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., where demonstrators could be seen banging on windows and shouting profanity. One woman was later arrested while carrying a garrote, an instrument used for strangulation.
That doesn’t seem to be a risk in Regina, however, and the box office was not aware of any special security measures. Local trans activist Cat Haines told the Leader-post on Facebook that those opposing Peterson’s views don’t want to give him “a larger platform” through a counter-protest.
Peterson will speak at Saskatoon’s TCU Place on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., with prices set between $35 and $100.