Sometimes it just takes people a little while to catch up.
Longtime reader, and the first time I had ever considered dropping off my visits to the blog were when you began going after Jordan Peterson. IIRC, you began with his denial of Jewish IQ numbers and denunciation of any discussion of it being Evil Alt-Right, and it made sense to push back against him for that. However, it began to seem like another Scalzi was emerging and I couldn’t accept him being put into that basket. I have derived plenty of value from his basic messages of taking care of oneself, and as a Canadian, his opposition to Bill C-16 was badly needed and with our insane speech regulations and Rights Commissions/Tribunals, he was brave to do it.
Then the meat and salt diet, extracts from Maps of Meaning and other stuff just couldn’t be justified. Now with the Kavanaugh tweet he has completed his self-immolation even for those like myself who are likely too generous and held his positive messages in such regard as to outweigh the insanity. Also, pairing up for his tour to “debate” with Sam Harris, one of those contemptible creatures in existence, was a massive signal and I came back to reading the blog daily when I saw it. Reflecting now, if I have the idea right about genetic fallacy, I am still happy for the bits I got out of him that I have benefited from, but he is on the whole indefensible at this point. I am writing so you know there are plenty like myself who couldn’t go along with you at first (same with other topics I suppose), and now have caught up and appreciate you going out on a limb to speak the truth.
You must get a lot of hate in the daily inbox, so I hope this one thank you serves some purpose to let you know your work is appreciated.
It’s always encouraging to see people breaking free of the hold that Jordanetics has on their minds. As for retaining the beneficial bits, well, if a cult leader didn’t have something genuine to offer people, no one would follow him. One can find aspects and elements of the truth even in the biggest, most shameless charlatans.
The fact that Jordan Peterson is a crazy intellectual con man pushing an evil globalist philosophy doesn’t mean that every thing he has ever said is wrong. I won’t pretend to understand why some people need to be told to take care of themselves, or why anyone would ever consider it to be a profound truth in the non-Darwinian sense, but if they do, so be it.
But they should keep in mind that you don’t go to your dentist for heart surgery or automotive repairs just because his advice about brushing your teeth every day worked out so well for you.