Indoctrination Cult University

[Ana the Ist]

Wilfrid Laurier University exonerates TA Lindsay Shepherd

I'm sure many here remember a thread about controversial professor Jordan Peterson and his attempts to make a list of classes within his university that he believes are cultural-marxist indoctrination cults. This was met with a lot of skepticism and a little outrage by some leftist posters who felt he was overstepping the bounds of good taste and attempting to somehow manipulate the dialogues within universities.

This article, if you're unfamiliar, is about a teacher's assistant in a Canadian university who showed a video to her language class. The video was about gender pronouns, and it involved a 5 minute debate between Jordan Peterson and some idiot on the topic of gender pronouns. She gave equal time to both sides of the issue...then held a class discussion about the validity of those positions. Nothing wrong with that, right? Sounds to me like pretty standard teacher stuff....

Well, her supervisor professor and a couple of other administrators held a meeting with this TA where they reprimanded her for "violating university policy" by "creating a toxic environment that's dangerous to trans and non-binary students". They claimed that there were student complaints about her lesson and that from that point on....she would need to get every part of her lesson plan pre-approved by her supervisory professor.

Luckily for her, she had the good sense to record the audio of the meeting and she leaked it (either online or to the media) afterwards. Turns out there was no student complaint...these professors had simply heard about her lesson by word of mouth from other staff. The audio of the meeting caused a rather large embarrassment to the university...as it was a very clear cut example of professors trying to silence any narrative that didn't fit with their current "progressive" views. Why....it's almost indoctrination-cult-like behavior.

If anyone wants to hear the actual meeting she had, it can be found all over YouTube along with lots of great commentary. Just search for the name of the university and the name of the TA. In it, Jordan Peterson is compared to a nazi for not agreeing with the regressive left's views on gender pronouns. While the TA did get an apology from the university...and the professors are being investigated for their possible violations of university policy....it's worth pointing out that if she hadn't been smart enough to record the meeting, it would've been business as usual for the university.

They are deliberately pushing a political narrative and actively trying to silence any narrative which might oppose theirs. It's not learning, it's not critical thinking, it's indoctrination garbage.

If you've got a kid about to go to college....I'd seriously reconsider what they're spending their money on these days. Higher learning isn't what it used to be.

 

[Humble me Lord]

We have a few new teachers fresh out of college in our high school. They are trying to push that agenda on high school students too.

 

[Ana the Ist]

We have a few new teachers fresh out of college in our high school. They are trying to push that agenda on high school students too.

Yeah, I was looking for a video I saw recently where a high school boy was being interviewed for getting kicked out of his "white privilege" class for disagreeing with the teacher. He claimed the teacher said his opinion didn't matter because he's a white male.

 

[SoldierOfTheKing]

There's a reason why non-college educated people were more likely to vote for Trump. It's not because they're stupid or ignorant, it's because they haven't been exposed to garbage like this. Or rather, exposure to it makes them sick.

He noted this himself in his victory speech after the Nevada caucus when he said "I love the poorly educated".

 

[Humble me Lord]

Our daughters history teacher was actually referring to white people in history as "whitey". He was showing pictures of historical figures and saying "whitey here did this or that". It blew my mind.
We have many Native Americans in the school, but he was trying to make the white kids feel inferior and ashamed to be white, because of what happened in history.

 

[SolomonVII]

Jordan Peterson really comes off as a regular small town guy. There is nothing too exotic or weird about his values that ought to label him as controversial.
Canada is a country where Jordan Peterson is now regarded as controversial.

I don't see Canada as being a free country any more. The university felt obliged to apologize because they got caught in a lie.

 

[Ana the Ist]

Our daughters history teacher was actually referring to white people in history as "whitey". He was showing pictures of historical figures and saying "whitey here did this or that". It blew my mind.
We have many Native Americans in the school, but he was trying to make the white kids feel inferior and ashamed to be white, because of what happened in history.

That teacher should be fired. There's no part of teaching history which requires shaming anyone...especially in such a blatantly racist way. The entire "white privilege" argument is inherently racist...and has far less to do with explaining inequality in society than it does claiming moral superiority and thereby justifying treating whites poorly.

 

[Ana the Ist]

Jordan Peterson really comes off as a regular small town guy. There is nothing too exotic or weird about his values that ought to label him as controversial.
Canada is a country where Jordan Peterson is now regarded as controversial.

I don't see Canada as being a free country any more. The university felt obliged to apologize because they got caught in a lie.

Yeah I doubt the university would've been apologizing for the professors or examining it's policy if it hadn't been caught red-handed.

It appears that Peterson was labeled "alt-right" as an attempt to dismiss his arguments without anyone actually examining them. I've read several things he's written...heard him talk on a variety of outlets...and he comes across as a moderate conservative. The left simply doesn't want anyone to listen to those who disagree with them. This has become a go-to tactic on the left these days that's I've seen articles written about...praising it. I used to look at the left as the party that openly discussed ideas and encouraged honest debate...now that's been traded for rampant blind dogma.

 

[SolomonVII]

Yeah I doubt the university would've been apologizing for the professors or examining it's policy if it hadn't been caught red-handed.

It appears that Peterson was labeled "alt-right" as an attempt to dismiss his arguments without anyone actually examining them. I've read several things he's written...heard him talk on a variety of outlets...and he comes across as a moderate conservative. The left simply doesn't want anyone to listen to those who disagree with them. This has become a go-to tactic on the left these days that's I've seen articles written about...praising it. I used to look at the left as the party that openly discussed ideas and encouraged honest debate...now that's been traded for rampant blind dogma.

I don't think that he is even a conservative, actually. He worked for the NDP, which is Canada's most leftist party.
What Jordan Peterson is, or what he tries to be, is a scientist. Like most everyone, else he kind of notices that men and women are different in a whole lot of ways, and as a scientist, he notes that the differences between men and women can be measured empirically.

It is really quite sad when the only people who come to the support of liberals end up being conservatives. I remember a time in Canada when even liberals did not like the idea of the government telling them what to say and how to think.

 

[Ana the Ist]

I don't think that he is even a conservative, actually. He worked for the NDP, which is Canada's most leftist party.
What Jordan Peterson is, or what he tries to be, is a scientist. Like most everyone, else he kind of notices that men and women are different in a whole lot of ways, and as a scientist, he notes that the differences between men and women can be measured empirically.

It is really quite sad when the only people who come to the support of liberals end up being conservatives. I remember a time in Canada when even liberals did not like the idea of the government telling them what to say and how to think.

I've heard the explanation the left has been using to justify both dismissing people like Peterson and denying the free speech rights of those like Milo...

When it comes to people who are just talking heads like Milo...who don't necessarily have any credentials for speaking on the topics they speak on...there's a rather quickly Hitler comparison. They argue..."If you could go back in time and deny Hitler his free speech rights, wouldn't you?" ....which is directly implying that the opinions of those who disagree with the left are so dangerous they must be silenced immediately lest they be heard and thereby do damage.

If the person speaking actually has credentials...or some kind of relevant expertise to the topic like Peterson....then they compare him to Creationists. The claim is that if they give him a platform for spreading his false ideas...that will trick gullible people into believing his false position. It's actually a legitimate argument...in the hard sciences which require evidence to support a theory. In the social sciences though, it's merely observation which can lend credence to a theory...and often even after evidence disputes a theory (like critical race theory) people will still promote it for a variety of personal reasons.

 

[Shadow]

I've heard the explanation the left has been using to justify both dismissing people like Peterson and denying the free speech rights of those like Milo...

When it comes to people who are just talking heads like Milo...who don't necessarily have any credentials for speaking on the topics they speak on...there's a rather quickly Hitler comparison. They argue..."If you could go back in time and deny Hitler his free speech rights, wouldn't you?" ....which is directly implying that the opinions of those who disagree with the left are so dangerous they must be silenced immediately lest they be heard and thereby do damage.

The Hitler comparison has limited value even for denying free speech. Most of the people involved in the atrocities of the 20th century were essentially nobodies who wore a uniform, followed orders and accepted an ideology to rationalise their actions. We may talk about Hitler, Stalin and others, but they are simply the most recognisable names of entire infrastructure of state repression. Lots of "little Eichmann's" if you will. If you'd met them outside of the context of their "work", you wouldn't know they were actually dangerous and its why many of them were able to hide for so many years after the regimes they supported collapsed. You had people like Comrade Duch of the Khmer Rouge being a school teacher, standing in front of people's kids for years and no-one knew he was responsible for executing and torturing tens of thousands of people. It is the error of totalitarian systems to take a label and think that tells you enough about a person to decide their opinion, rights or life is not worthy of consideration. In some ways its part of free societies too as we filter out what and who is important, but not without infringing those basic rights.

As far as the rise of Nazism goes, Hitler himself wasn't necessarily the problem. He had been a nobody for most of the 1920's except for the Munich putsch. Rather, he was able to expertly take advantage of the dire economic and political situation in Germany during the Great Depression. What made him dangerous was that people become so desperate they were willing to follow him. For most of the twentieth century far-right views have been marginalised, but what's concerning about the Alt-right is how they have started to go mainstream because people are not sufficiently desperate that they will listen to these voices. The same can be said for the views of the far-left. What's frightening is that these views have become necessary if only to describe how badly things have gone wrong and drifted further away from how we expect the world to work in liberal-conservative narratives.

I like Peterson.There is depth there and a certain moral courage as well which I can admire even if I don't agree with him. Milo I'm less sure about. He is more of an entertainer and it is troubling that our political discourse is now essentially a reality show where opinions are valued, not on whether they are true or useful, but by their ability to get ratings. That tends to favour the more sensational and therefore extreme views and it is not a healthy way to go. Censorship only removes the symptom of the problem, but not the underlying reason why extreme views have become more attractive.

 

[Liza B.]

Wilfrid Laurier University exonerates TA Lindsay Shepherd

I'm sure many here remember a thread about controversial professor Jordan Peterson and his attempts to make a list of classes within his university that he believes are cultural-marxist indoctrination cults. This was met with a lot of skepticism and a little outrage by some leftist posters who felt he was overstepping the bounds of good taste and attempting to somehow manipulate the dialogues within universities.

This article, if you're unfamiliar, is about a teacher's assistant in a Canadian university who showed a video to her language class. The video was about gender pronouns, and it involved a 5 minute debate between Jordan Peterson and some idiot on the topic of gender pronouns. She gave equal time to both sides of the issue...then held a class discussion about the validity of those positions. Nothing wrong with that, right? Sounds to me like pretty standard teacher stuff....

Well, her supervisor professor and a couple of other administrators held a meeting with this TA where they reprimanded her for "violating university policy" by "creating a toxic environment that's dangerous to trans and non-binary students". They claimed that there were student complaints about her lesson and that from that point on....she would need to get every part of her lesson plan pre-approved by her supervisory professor.

Luckily for her, she had the good sense to record the audio of the meeting and she leaked it (either online or to the media) afterwards. Turns out there was no student complaint...these professors had simply heard about her lesson by word of mouth from other staff. The audio of the meeting caused a rather large embarrassment to the university...as it was a very clear cut example of professors trying to silence any narrative that didn't fit with their current "progressive" views. Why....it's almost indoctrination-cult-like behavior.

If anyone wants to hear the actual meeting she had, it can be found all over YouTube along with lots of great commentary. Just search for the name of the university and the name of the TA. In it, Jordan Peterson is compared to a nazi for not agreeing with the regressive left's views on gender pronouns. While the TA did get an apology from the university...and the professors are being investigated for their possible violations of university policy....it's worth pointing out that if she hadn't been smart enough to record the meeting, it would've been business as usual for the university.

They are deliberately pushing a political narrative and actively trying to silence any narrative which might oppose theirs. It's not learning, it's not critical thinking, it's indoctrination garbage.

If you've got a kid about to go to college....I'd seriously reconsider what they're spending their money on these days. Higher learning isn't what it used to be.

First of all? I've got the YouTube video going? And right away? Everyone is talking in up-talk? Why does everyone in college do this? It's so annoying?

Also, first word: "problematic". I'm so dead sick of this word. Listening now, will read and listen and get back.

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

I don't think that he is even a conservative, actually. He worked for the NDP, which is Canada's most leftist party.
What Jordan Peterson is, or what he tries to be, is a scientist. Like most everyone, else he kind of notices that men and women are different in a whole lot of ways, and as a scientist, he notes that the differences between men and women can be measured empirically.

It is really quite sad when the only people who come to the support of liberals end up being conservatives. I remember a time in Canada when even liberals did not like the idea of the government telling them what to say and how to think.

Petersen has described himself as a "classical British Liberal", so moderate left roughly one could say. He does say that when he worked with the NDP before, he realise they didn't like the poor, just hated the rich.

My wife really likes Peterson. I agree with your estimation of his attempts to look at the evidence presented. He is however a staunch opponent of both the far left and the far right, and totalitarian ideology in general. It is a shame some dismiss him without even attending to what he says. He is nothing except reasonable and equitable, usually.

We were planning to emigrate to Canada before this whole story. I am registered to practice there, but after Peterson being so misrepresented and all these stories of legally considering it hate speech to even consider the possibility of gender not being a mere construct, we are probably going to look elsewhere.

 

[Liza B.]

Wilfrid Laurier University exonerates TA Lindsay Shepherd

I'm sure many here remember a thread about controversial professor Jordan Peterson and his attempts to make a list of classes within his university that he believes are cultural-marxist indoctrination cults. This was met with a lot of skepticism and a little outrage by some leftist posters who felt he was overstepping the bounds of good taste and attempting to somehow manipulate the dialogues within universities.

This article, if you're unfamiliar, is about a teacher's assistant in a Canadian university who showed a video to her language class. The video was about gender pronouns, and it involved a 5 minute debate between Jordan Peterson and some idiot on the topic of gender pronouns. She gave equal time to both sides of the issue...then held a class discussion about the validity of those positions. Nothing wrong with that, right? Sounds to me like pretty standard teacher stuff....

Well, her supervisor professor and a couple of other administrators held a meeting with this TA where they reprimanded her for "violating university policy" by "creating a toxic environment that's dangerous to trans and non-binary students". They claimed that there were student complaints about her lesson and that from that point on....she would need to get every part of her lesson plan pre-approved by her supervisory professor.

Luckily for her, she had the good sense to record the audio of the meeting and she leaked it (either online or to the media) afterwards. Turns out there was no student complaint...these professors had simply heard about her lesson by word of mouth from other staff. The audio of the meeting caused a rather large embarrassment to the university...as it was a very clear cut example of professors trying to silence any narrative that didn't fit with their current "progressive" views. Why....it's almost indoctrination-cult-like behavior.

If anyone wants to hear the actual meeting she had, it can be found all over YouTube along with lots of great commentary. Just search for the name of the university and the name of the TA. In it, Jordan Peterson is compared to a nazi for not agreeing with the regressive left's views on gender pronouns. While the TA did get an apology from the university...and the professors are being investigated for their possible violations of university policy....it's worth pointing out that if she hadn't been smart enough to record the meeting, it would've been business as usual for the university.

They are deliberately pushing a political narrative and actively trying to silence any narrative which might oppose theirs. It's not learning, it's not critical thinking, it's indoctrination garbage.

If you've got a kid about to go to college....I'd seriously reconsider what they're spending their money on these days. Higher learning isn't what it used to be.

I'm ten minutes in to the recording, and these professors are employing every single Puritanical trick they can. They are the moral superiors and they will call their lessers to account. They are insufferably self-satisfied and hope they get a sturdy set-down from everyone. Everyone.

I wish the young woman hadn't cried--but she's very young, so I understand.

 

[Ana the Ist]

The Hitler comparison has limited value even for denying free speech. Most of the people involved in the atrocities of the 20th century were essentially nobodies who wore a uniform, followed orders and accepted an ideology to rationalise their actions. We may talk about Hitler, Stalin and others, but they are simply the most recognisable names of entire infrastructure of state repression. Lots of "little Eichmann's" if you will. If you'd met them outside of the context of their "work", you wouldn't know they were actually dangerous and its why many of them were able to hide for so many years after the regimes they supported collapsed. You had people like Comrade Duch of the Khmer Rouge being a school teacher, standing in front of people's kids for years and no-one knew he was responsible for executing and torturing tens of thousands of people. It is the error of totalitarian systems to take a label and think that tells you enough about a person to decide their opinion, rights or life is not worthy of consideration. In some ways its part of free societies too as we filter out what and who is important, but not without infringing those basic rights.

As far as the rise of Nazism goes, Hitler himself wasn't necessarily the problem. He had been a nobody for most of the 1920's except for the Munich putsch. Rather, he was able to expertly take advantage of the dire economic and political situation in Germany during the Great Depression. What made him dangerous was that people become so desperate they were willing to follow him. For most of the twentieth century far-right views have been marginalised, but what's concerning about the Alt-right is how they have started to go mainstream because people are not sufficiently desperate that they will listen to these voices. The same can be said for the views of the far-left. What's frightening is that these views have become necessary if only to describe how badly things have gone wrong and drifted further away from how we expect the world to work in liberal-conservative narratives.

I like Peterson.There is depth there and a certain moral courage as well which I can admire even if I don't agree with him. Milo I'm less sure about. He is more of an entertainer and it is troubling that our political discourse is now essentially a reality show where opinions are valued, not on whether they are true or useful, but by their ability to get ratings. That tends to favour the more sensational and therefore extreme views and it is not a healthy way to go. Censorship only removes the symptom of the problem, but not the underlying reason why extreme views have become more attractive.

I think extremist views always gain popularity during times of difficulty. Debt is high, meaningful employment is low...companies are raking in massive profits yet wages haven't increased. I read a statistic that said half of the citizens of the United States wouldn't be accepted for a loan for the cheapest new car on the market (12-13,000$) because their credit is so bad.

Education isn't improving...children are living worse than their parents...healthcare is a mess. Things aren't improving and everyone feels the pressure. Opioids are shattering white families and violence is tearing apart black families. For every step forward it seems like we take two steps back...and the divide between the wealthy and the poor just grows larger.

The left has latched onto identity politics and, to be frank, blaming whites for all of societies ills. The right used to have a whole slew of groups to blame...from muslims, to illegal immigrants, to blacks. Now they're slowly realizing that they no longer need to convince whites that there's some insidious group out there trying to take what they have...the left is practically making it their new mantra. The left hasn't had any success in getting "reparations" or convincing whites to hand over their inheritances to minorities...so they started to attack symbols, because symbols don't fight back and it's easy to claim victory. Whether it's a statue of a white historical figure or the national anthem...if it means anything to whites anywhere it's a target.

They claim that the U.S. is a white supremacist nation, that racism is to blame for everything bad that happens to minorities...and white privilege is to blame for everything good that happens to whites. It's gotten to the point where both professors and students have been in their little ideological echo chambers for so long that they're surprised when people aren't in favor of "white genocide" or saying that "white DNA is an abomination".

The left has gone goose stepping down this path without any thought of the consequences (or total ignorance of what they would be)....and then they act surprised and perplexed when nazis are on the rise and Trump gets elected. Actual white supremacists have been trying to convince whites for decades that the minorities are out to get them, that they want the white race stamped out, that they'll take your culture/heritage/wealth if they get the chance....and now the left is actually saying they want whites stamped out and their wealth should be given to minorities lol.

Extremist views are popular because people are idiots. The problems we face as a society are complex and multi faceted....and so are the solutions. People are dumb though...and they want simple answers. It's easier to blame all your problems on racism and whites than it is to take a look at your culture/values/choices and figure out where you went wrong and how to fix it. It's easier to blame the left...than to take a look at where your taxes are going and actually choose a leader who is willing to work towards real solutions instead of just blaming the poors. The people in the middle, the moderates, the ones who use their brains to try and figure things out instead of just following the rhetoric of either side are completely alone....and disappearing. The left calls them nazis....the right calls them snowflakes...and that's a position that no one wants. It's easier to pat yourself on the back and spew the same garbage as everyone else.

I'm simplifying the situation, of course. There's a lot of factors that have sped up this process....like social media and our 24 hour news cycle which has completely abandoned objectivity for outrage and ratings. Twitter doesn't reward a rational, well reasoned argument....it rewards virtue signaling and trolling. Instant access to the opinions of others like ourselves has taken precedence over facts.

How can extremism not thrive in this environment? Our technology has outpaced our intelligence. If we were a better educated, more patient society that valued important things instead of popularity...perhaps we wouldn't be ripping ourselves apart. That's just speculation though...maybe we were always this awful and we only recently have the chance to see it in each other.

 

[FireDragon76]

I like watching Jordan Peterson, even if I don't always agree with him. He's a thoughtful person and I don't think it is in itself bigoted to raise questions about gender identity in the abstract. That's what universities should do, they are supposed to discuss ideas in an atmosphere of diversity and pluralism.

My impression of Peterson is that he's alot like Andrew Sullivan, he's a non-ideological conservative or classical liberal in a more British style than American-style conservativism.

 

[iluvatar5150]

Anybody got a link to the 5-minute video the TA showed in class?

This article, if you're unfamiliar, is about a teacher's assistant in a Canadian university who showed a video to her language class. The video was about gender pronouns, and it involved a 5 minute debate between Jordan Peterson and some idiot on the topic of gender pronouns. She gave equal time to both sides of the issue...then held a class discussion about the validity of those positions. Nothing wrong with that, right? Sounds to me like pretty standard teacher stuff....

Maybe, maybe not. Anyone who's spent any time in the world of young earth creationism can tell you how easy it is for "debates" to be presented in a way that can legitimize nearly any absurdity.

 

[Shadow]

I think extremist views always gain popularity during times of difficulty. Debt is high, meaningful employment is low...companies are raking in massive profits yet wages haven't increased. I read a statistic that said half of the citizens of the United States wouldn't be accepted for a loan for the cheapest new car on the market (12-13,000$) because their credit is so bad.

Education isn't improving...children are living worse than their parents...healthcare is a mess. Things aren't improving and everyone feels the pressure. Opioids are shattering white families and violence is tearing apart black families. For every step forward it seems like we take two steps back...and the divide between the wealthy and the poor just grows larger.

Pretty much entirely in agreement here. Things are bad and all the expectations of living easy, comfortable lives in a consumer paradise we picked up from TV and popular culture clearly aren't true. In a way I'm one of the lucky ones as my parents are comfortable even if I had no income of my own. I don't know about the future and I'm just glad to keep going (as depression has been an issue for nearly a decade).

The left has latched onto identity politics and, to be frank, blaming whites for all of societies ills. The right used to have a whole slew of groups to blame...from muslims, to illegal immigrants, to blacks. Now they're slowly realizing that they no longer need to convince whites that there's some insidious group out there trying to take what they have...the left is practically making it their new mantra. The left hasn't had any success in getting "reparations" or convincing whites to hand over their inheritances to minorities...so they started to attack symbols, because symbols don't fight back and it's easy to claim victory. Whether it's a statue of a white historical figure or the national anthem...if it means anything to whites anywhere it's a target.

They claim that the U.S. is a white supremacist nation, that racism is to blame for everything bad that happens to minorities...and white privilege is to blame for everything good that happens to whites. It's gotten to the point where both professors and students have been in their little ideological echo chambers for so long that they're surprised when people aren't in favor of "white genocide" or saying that "white DNA is an abomination".

The left has gone goose stepping down this path without any thought of the consequences (or total ignorance of what they would be)....and then they act surprised and perplexed when nazis are on the rise and Trump gets elected. Actual white supremacists have been trying to convince whites for decades that the minorities are out to get them, that they want the white race stamped out, that they'll take your culture/heritage/wealth if they get the chance....and now the left is actually saying they want whites stamped out and their wealth should be given to minorities lol.

I admit to being surprised (and deeply depressed) when Trump got elected. I stayed up at night and watched the results come in because I thought he might win. I live in the UK so I had already seen "Brexit" and thought the same thing could happen again. I am pretty pessimistic about the prospects of the Democrats winning the mid-terms or even 2020 elections and don't really know how much difference impeaching Trump will make (even if I'd welcome it). The Democrats are still a "Capitalist" Party and will move further right to the "centre ground". They aren't going to deal with the implications of decades of neo-liberal economics. Sanders is an exception, but I'm not sure he would have won and I suspect he'd face the same level of institutional resistance as Trump has faced if he'd become president (if not more for being a Socialist). The American ruling class won't going done without a fight.

What currently constitutes the left is "identity politics" and really pushes back against more explicitly Marxist ideas on class struggle. It substitutes "cultural wars" for talking about the socio-economic problems and institutions that may well be at the root of it. They really don't go beyond "reforming" capitalism, thinking that getting people to stop saying "bad words" means that "bad things" can't happen. Its great if you want "diversity" when you watch TV or are trying to look up stuff in Academia to see issues from different angles, but it never really changes anything. Its the new opiate of the people.

But yeah, when it gets stupid and starts talking about forms of "Seperatism" along racial and gender lines, its indistinguishable from the "Separate but equal" identity politics of the "Alt-right". They are almost selling the same thing but with different people to blame.

Extremist views are popular because people are idiots. The problems we face as a society are complex and multi faceted....and so are the solutions. People are dumb though...and they want simple answers. It's easier to blame all your problems on racism and whites than it is to take a look at your culture/values/choices and figure out where you went wrong and how to fix it. It's easier to blame the left...than to take a look at where your taxes are going and actually choose a leader who is willing to work towards real solutions instead of just blaming the poors. The people in the middle, the moderates, the ones who use their brains to try and figure things out instead of just following the rhetoric of either side are completely alone....and disappearing. The left calls them nazis....the right calls them snowflakes...and that's a position that no one wants. It's easier to pat yourself on the back and spew the same garbage as everyone else.

I'm simplifying the situation, of course. There's a lot of factors that have sped up this process....like social media and our 24 hour news cycle which has completely abandoned objectivity for outrage and ratings. Twitter doesn't reward a rational, well reasoned argument....it rewards virtue signaling and trolling. Instant access to the opinions of others like ourselves has taken precedence over facts.

How can extremism not thrive in this environment? Our technology has outpaced our intelligence. If we were a better educated, more patient society that valued important things instead of popularity...perhaps we wouldn't be ripping ourselves apart. That's just speculation though...maybe we were always this awful and we only recently have the chance to see it in each other.

The extremists of today makes the extremists of the 1930's look smart. To some extent that true of even supposed intellectuals who typically don't come up with new ideas, but are simply more articulate at expressing the bigotries that gain traction. If you go into a second hand bookshop andpick up a book from maybe fifty years ago, its usually better written where as if you go in to a book shop its simply marketable pulp. Making everything simple, reducing it down to soundbites makes ideas easier to sell and market.

The weird things about today's extremists is how unoriginal they are. They aren't even trying really. Fascism and Communism were new political movements, whereas what we have today is a pale and shallow imitation. The far-left and the far-right are not revolutionary movements, more like branding exercises. Again, I'm agreeing with you about Twitter and Social Media; its all an outrage culture about ratings and clicks. If we were more patient and could unplug more often we would be able to think clearer. I haven't watched the TV since 2013 and got my parents to try and go without it when the last one broke; probably one of the best decisions I've ever made. I'm still a self-confessed internet addict, but there is more flexibility with the internet if you know where to look.

 

[Ana the Ist]

Anybody got a link to the 5-minute video the TA showed in class?



Maybe, maybe not. Anyone who's spent any time in the world of young earth creationism can tell you how easy it is for "debates" to be presented in a way that can legitimize nearly any absurdity.

Did you just accidentally use the argument I claimed your side has been using in post #10?

I should play the lottery.

 

[Landon Caeli]

Jordan Peterson:

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