Hi John, a great read, thank you. I kind of agree with you. Maybe we have elevated him to such a high status. At the end of the day, he’s a mere mortal, just like us. The direction in which the world is moving is making me question everything and making feel confused and upset regularly. With regard to God, maybe he’s not sure? I still love listening to him and find him fascinating. In my life I have been strong and weak. It’s tough.
Thank you, Vanessa—that means a lot. I hear you. This world can feel upside down some days, like the very ground beneath us is shifting. And yes, maybe he is unsure. But when someone builds a platform on moral clarity and spiritual wisdom, ambiguity starts to feel like a dodge. Especially now, when so many of us are trying to find something solid to hold on to.
There's one aspect of Peterson that you touch on at the very end of your piece that I'd draw further attention to, which is: his eagerness to play the exposure game and bask in attention. At one point, it seemed like there wasn't a podcast in the galaxy that he wouldn't appear on. It all came across as not very selective or discerning, like the media equivalent of promiscuity.
I can't think of another public figure towards whom I harbor more starkly contrasting mixed feelings. To this day, I can watch footage of Peterson's class lectures and marvel at his intellect. Then I can watch him in other settings and marvel at how moronic and ill-considered his points can be.
Ultimately, I think Peterson is someone who'd have been WAY better off had he not become famous. I feel like he became ravenous for attention, and watching him seek it out and devour it with such unrelenting relish was a red flag. When his psychological implosion arrived, it came as no surprise whatsoever, at least not to me.
I think you're spot-on referring to him as a cautionary tale. I completely agree. I look at his arc as a warning to all of us that we enter the thunderdome of public combat at our own risk. He went further, though. He practically dove at the opportunity to allow himself to be conscripted as a kind of human coat of arms. Is it any wonder that the front-facing posture of conviction ate away at the human being whose heart was beating inside all the bluster?
One's own destruction is inevitable when one takes that path. It might as well be a deal with the devil. And I wonder whether, if his old self could see what he would eventually become, if he'd have said "no, thanks." Sure, he made lots of money, but (as I'm guessing you'll agree) he completely lost his spiritual mooring.
I mean, the irony of someone barking at people from under a giant circus tent to clean up their rooms while sinking knee-deep into drug addiction is almost laughable. It's like "clean up your fucking benzo problem first, dude." To say nothing of the slick, greasy film that oozes from him now that he's basically a sales rep for his own brand. Installing his daughter as one of his brand ambassadors would be hilarious if it wasn't so cheap and trashy.
A one-of-a-kind intellectual powerhouse reduced to ambulance chasing con artist -- and all by his own hand. As you say: tragic.
I think he should have taken a break back in 2019 and focused on his family.
Absolutely, Gabi.
Hi John, a great read, thank you. I kind of agree with you. Maybe we have elevated him to such a high status. At the end of the day, he’s a mere mortal, just like us. The direction in which the world is moving is making me question everything and making feel confused and upset regularly. With regard to God, maybe he’s not sure? I still love listening to him and find him fascinating. In my life I have been strong and weak. It’s tough.
Thank you, Vanessa—that means a lot. I hear you. This world can feel upside down some days, like the very ground beneath us is shifting. And yes, maybe he is unsure. But when someone builds a platform on moral clarity and spiritual wisdom, ambiguity starts to feel like a dodge. Especially now, when so many of us are trying to find something solid to hold on to.
There's one aspect of Peterson that you touch on at the very end of your piece that I'd draw further attention to, which is: his eagerness to play the exposure game and bask in attention. At one point, it seemed like there wasn't a podcast in the galaxy that he wouldn't appear on. It all came across as not very selective or discerning, like the media equivalent of promiscuity.
I can't think of another public figure towards whom I harbor more starkly contrasting mixed feelings. To this day, I can watch footage of Peterson's class lectures and marvel at his intellect. Then I can watch him in other settings and marvel at how moronic and ill-considered his points can be.
Ultimately, I think Peterson is someone who'd have been WAY better off had he not become famous. I feel like he became ravenous for attention, and watching him seek it out and devour it with such unrelenting relish was a red flag. When his psychological implosion arrived, it came as no surprise whatsoever, at least not to me.
I think you're spot-on referring to him as a cautionary tale. I completely agree. I look at his arc as a warning to all of us that we enter the thunderdome of public combat at our own risk. He went further, though. He practically dove at the opportunity to allow himself to be conscripted as a kind of human coat of arms. Is it any wonder that the front-facing posture of conviction ate away at the human being whose heart was beating inside all the bluster?
One's own destruction is inevitable when one takes that path. It might as well be a deal with the devil. And I wonder whether, if his old self could see what he would eventually become, if he'd have said "no, thanks." Sure, he made lots of money, but (as I'm guessing you'll agree) he completely lost his spiritual mooring.
I mean, the irony of someone barking at people from under a giant circus tent to clean up their rooms while sinking knee-deep into drug addiction is almost laughable. It's like "clean up your fucking benzo problem first, dude." To say nothing of the slick, greasy film that oozes from him now that he's basically a sales rep for his own brand. Installing his daughter as one of his brand ambassadors would be hilarious if it wasn't so cheap and trashy.
A one-of-a-kind intellectual powerhouse reduced to ambulance chasing con artist -- and all by his own hand. As you say: tragic.
I suspect Peterson is experiencing that mental breakdown that occurs to great thinkers when they are
against the stream. It's almost Nietszchean.
To put it in biblical terms, he's lost in the belly of a whale.