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Jul 17, 2022Liked by Matt Welch

Jordan Peterson is known most for the stuff he is worst at. His social and political commentary is average at best, and he is much better in conversation than on stage by himself or in a silly produced lecture like the one linked.

He is a phenomenal interviewer. One of my favorites (https://www.jordanbpeterson.com/podcast/s4e49/) is of Mohamedou Ould Slahi, who was wrongly detained in Guantanamo for a decade following 9/11. Peterson asks a few good questions and occupies at most 5-10% of the time. He is also really good when talking about psychology, specifically developmental psychology.

Basically, Jordan Peterson excels at the stuff that he does most of the time, which doesn't get covered. I agree with you all that the stuff of his that you criticize is crap, and I fault him for putting that crap front and center -- though he does know how to make a dollar.

No one beats you guys on politics, social commentary, and history -- least of all Jordan Peterson. But, I'll keep him in my mix because of how much I like his interviewing style and how much I learn when he stays within his area of training and expertise. I have never had much use for his splashy forays into the culture wars -- and it is at least partly on him that these efforts are the ones for which he is most well known.

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Just listened to an interview Bari Weiss did with Douglas Murray. I find it interesting that both these folks are spoken well of by the fifth, rightly in my opinion, yet they both have strong, positive relationships with Jordan Peterson. Yes, I’m one of those in the Peterson camp. Maybe Peterson on the fifth?

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Liked the Douglas Murray interview. Hard no to JP on the Fifth 🥴

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Biden’s agenda just went from “save the world” to “live until the last day of my second term.” In a related story, Biden will issue an executive order making “brain dead” no longer a medically valid term.

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I thought Russia invaded Ukrainian because of NATO’s expansion, now I know it’s due to the things I did during Pride.

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If you think Russian about it, those two reasons are the same.

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It's ALL YOUR FAULT!

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Jul 16, 2022Liked by Matt Welch

For JBP acolytes and apostates this is worth a read...

https://rebelwisdom.substack.com/p/what-happened-to-jordan-peterson

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author

Really interesting, thanks.

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Jul 17, 2022·edited Jul 17, 2022

What struck me about the piece is how much Twitter itself was a character in this tragedy. That doesn’t expiate Peterson for any specific behavior of course, but in so many cases (both public and in personal experiences) it seems as if social media plays an outsized role in altering one’s behavior. It’s becoming a theme, and I find it hard to ignore - this thing that’s only been around for about a decade appears to be altering people’s brains, and no-one really seems interested in exploring that phenomenon.

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Everytime I thought about going to one of those freedom things or libertarian conventions I'm struck with the realization that I don't want to be around 95 %(+) of the people there.

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Since I got a specific finger wag from Matt in the post saying "Did you even read it" and I had to say no, I read your piece. And you were right - you knew all the things I was aiming at in my response. You gave credit and captured the appeal of Peterson very well. It's almost like you did the Journalism. I particularly liked this summation: "It's Allan Bloom's Western Civ and Robert Bly's masculinity pep talks refracted through Jung and Nietzsche, with some Paglia-esque genre hopping to spice things up."

I don't know that I agree with the conclusion, or the subtext about his "future" as you mentioned in this post. But his DailyWire move may be evidence in your favor. I started French's piece and I may listen to Peterson's video. But generally, that is not what I listen to Peterson for. I think he has interesting things to say, but to sum up what Jon said elsewhere in the comments - He should stay in his lane.

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If only Americans (Moynihan) would stop plowing cocaine and whores, Russians wouldn’t have to murder their neighbors, again.

Tsk tsk America (Moynihan).

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Let’s focus on things at least in the realm of possible.

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The first images from the Webb telescope came out last week. One of the suppressed photos, apparently, is just God giving us the middle finger.

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Our country is not as divided as people think. For example, 91% of those polled believe that Trump voters finally got the President they deserve.

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Hmm. Who deserved Biden?

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Loved the Moynihan/Lake conversation especially on Joe Strummer. That Rock Against Racism shirt not only featured the Red Army Faction but the Italian Red Brigades. Why rep one terrorist group when you can rep two!

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I could definitely subscribe to a regular podcast where Neo-Cons drag the musicians they love

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Originally the Saudis asked if Biden would accept a “fisting” but he settled for a “fist bump.”

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As a right wing conservative who agrees with David on 99% of political and religious questions, I don't like him speaking for me very much. I listen to virtually everything he is on because of his cohosts and my issue with David is that he is so Never Trump that he is the most acceptable level of hysterical whenever anything even tangentaly related to Trump comes up, and when he goes on shows like this, he softens his positions to be popular with the social libs. He is by no means a squish, he's just arrogant and superior, I know he's a lawyer, but he unfortunately often gives the image to the caricature of the shyster

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Eli Lake's podcast is really great, and I can't wait to listen to the recent episode with Moynihan.

I would also like to echo the sentiment expressed by Matt that FreeThink is basically a money laundering operation (what the fuck do they even do?)

Cheers.

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I was struck by something David French said during the interview.

He brought up the fact that when abortion is illegal, it doesn't lessen the abortions that are done. He left out the part that It just makes them riskier for the women having them and more women die.

I know a couple of Catholic priests, one of them my cousin, who privately support abortion rights for this very reason.

I have three nearly grown children. I remember vividly, the night before my first child was born, being alone in the hospital and scared that I- or the baby- were going to die. I cannot tell you how lonely and terrifying that long night was, with my contractions becoming ever more painful and frequent.

Out of my close friend group of 8 women who I've known forever, two of them would have died in childbirth were it not for excellent modern medical care. Another one of them would not have become a mother were it not for invitro. I worked with a nurse years ago whose heart was so damaged by the pregnancy and delivery of her baby that she ended up needing a heart transplant. Imagine having a failure of birth control and having the state essentially give you a death sentence.

I mostly respect David French, and I listen to him a fair bit. But I think that just as pro choicers need to own that they are alright with potential babies being killed ( and sometimes not even just "potential" when the abortion is after viability) pro lifers need to own that they are ok with women dying from botched abortions and forced childbirth. They just are.

Being a vocal pro-lifer lets you feel virtuous while at the same time asking you to sacrifice nothing.

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Hope you guys talk about Biden’s Mid East visit!

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In the interest of Human Rights, why didn’t Biden at least insist on them painting an oil rig rainbow? Or tech transfer on their bone saw technology?

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Leonid Brezhnev is alive and well, posing as a sitting member of congress—Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.).

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