Last weekend, a friend sent me a link to a podcast and the host was Joe Rogan. Since then, YouTube has been suggesting me Joe Rogan’s other interviews. One of the suggestions that piqued my interest was Joe Rogan interviewing Jordan Peterson. I have been intrigued by this Peterson guy for some years now. Please note this post is not really about Peterson, but stay with me for some dope on him.
Jordon Peterson seems to feel strongly against people who are fighting to uphold social justice. He groups them into a category called “postmodern neo marxism” - make what you would, of it. He openly and vehemently opposed gender-neutral pronouns becoming a law (Bill C-16) under the pretext that it takes away his linguistic freedom. Who is to say his freedom is more important than the freedom of transgenders in how they want to be addressed!?
Peterson says gender inequality is a non-issue; his argument is men and women are made differently. Women are more agreeable, so are naturally attracted to nurturing jobs while men are curious (or something to that effect) so they are more STEM oriented. Even in Nordic countries where they seem to have won over gender issues, 80% of nursing jobs are held by women while 80% of engineering jobs are held by men (his stats, not mine). According to this college professor, if women are in low paying jobs, it’s not so much the nurture (read anomaly) as it’s the nature. Wah, Professor!
He has similar pearls of wisdom on pay gaps, how the oppressed gain moral high ground, while life is difficult for everyone (I see how difficult it must be - that job of oppressing!). This man is articulate, convincing, sounds scientific, has been a teacher, turns to Bible to support his arguments and wears the hat of a preacher too. One of the rules from his book “12 Rules for life” is “Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world”. What if the world is, in a way responsible for the chaos or loss of order in someone’s house? I don’t think he wants to entertain that perspective.
Anyway, let's get back to Joe Rogan’s podcast that features Jordan Peterson. Both these men kept going back to a Channel 4 interview, from a couple of years ago, where Cathy Newman was the interviewer. I recollect, that interview was almost Peterson’s claim to fame. I had seen it when it went viral and heard Jordan Peterson for the first time, probably. Cathy was trying to engage him on pay gaps and gender inequality when it came to top jobs; our man just rubbished them without losing his cool and smiling all through. Cathy was losing it, quite obviously.
I am coming to the point of this post, finally. There are people who don’t view social justice like some of us do. In an argument both parties quickly put the other in neatly labeled boxes – “capitalist”, “socialist” “arm-chair activist”, “protestors” and so on. These protests, the voices - that remind us of our privileges probably trigger something unpleasant for some. The voice that stands up for the vulnerable, the George Floyds, seem to assume a moral high ground with people who would rather not have that unpleasantness awakened. Some moral high grounders also seem to adopt a tone of holier than thou, provoking the peacefully privileged.
This is what Cathy Newman did. She had notions about Peterson even before she walked into that interview. She didn’t agree with his take on some of the social issues that she felt strongly about. She knew his views, she didn’t probe into his reasoning just because she didn’t agree with them and she was visibly angry; though he was being assholish (in his views) he was measured and his language, very polished. This may have triggered her further and the trolls had a field day pulling Cathy down.
Often, I wonder or even angered at how blind some people are, to such obvious inequality and social injustice. When I vehemently argue, my (unintended) message could be, “I am sensitive and you are selfish”. However, what is obvious to me need not be viewed in the same proportion or even in the same direction by others. This is reality!
No matter how passionate one is about a cause, if we don’t take away anger from the equation, there is a fair chance you will be a called an activist or socialist and you may even be made to feel responsible (even if only slightly) for what happened in Venezuela or Timbaktu. This is even more frustrating, because all that you felt was empathy for a section of people.
If you have to talk about social issues, keep cool. If you don’t, it’s pretty much a soliloquy.
This is more a note to self!
p.s: after i wrote this piece, I heard Dr. Peterson is critically ill and undergoing some experimental treatment in Moscow. I wish him a speedy recovery...
No comments:
Post a Comment