It looks like you believe I have some issue with you personally finding some value in Peterson’s writing. I don’t. You’re basically paraphrasing the same thing I’ve said. Can his writing help people? Yes, probably. Can you approach it in a healthy way, avoiding the toxic part and not becoming part of a cult? Yes, I’m sure it’s possible. Did most people approach it like this? Well, my sensation is that no, they did not. The community that grew around him became part of the right wing toxic masculinity and transphobic movements. And he never renounced it, it keeps playing a right wing guru. So yes, I don’t have any issue with people that read some of his books and found something valuable in them. But I also believe (and I think most people that are against him think the same) that he did more harm than good overall and that the world would be better without his philosophy. But of course it’s impossible to measure, it’s a subjective point of view and you can disagree.
This thread started when I questioned someone who seemed to question his relationship with his own brother because he read a book of Peterson’s 3 years ago which he liked, but says he is otherwise decent. I don’t really know how to put it into words without talking in a bunch of circles, but that bothers me a lot. Not because it’s Peterson, I’d be bothered no matter who the author was. I hate that we’ve come to a place where someone’s entire character is put into a box based on a single action or thought. I get it with strangers to some degree, but with brothers… that’s really bad. Whatever ideology is feeding that is just as toxic as any of these other toxic things being mentioned, maybe even worse. I think that has done much more harm than good.
It looks like you believe I have some issue with you personally finding some value in Peterson’s writing. I don’t. You’re basically paraphrasing the same thing I’ve said. Can his writing help people? Yes, probably. Can you approach it in a healthy way, avoiding the toxic part and not becoming part of a cult? Yes, I’m sure it’s possible. Did most people approach it like this? Well, my sensation is that no, they did not. The community that grew around him became part of the right wing toxic masculinity and transphobic movements. And he never renounced it, it keeps playing a right wing guru. So yes, I don’t have any issue with people that read some of his books and found something valuable in them. But I also believe (and I think most people that are against him think the same) that he did more harm than good overall and that the world would be better without his philosophy. But of course it’s impossible to measure, it’s a subjective point of view and you can disagree.
This thread started when I questioned someone who seemed to question his relationship with his own brother because he read a book of Peterson’s 3 years ago which he liked, but says he is otherwise decent. I don’t really know how to put it into words without talking in a bunch of circles, but that bothers me a lot. Not because it’s Peterson, I’d be bothered no matter who the author was. I hate that we’ve come to a place where someone’s entire character is put into a box based on a single action or thought. I get it with strangers to some degree, but with brothers… that’s really bad. Whatever ideology is feeding that is just as toxic as any of these other toxic things being mentioned, maybe even worse. I think that has done much more harm than good.