Reading the comments of my recent video about Jordan Peterson, I was reminded of something:

KangaRude Media
Vox was not right, hahahaha more soy boys

Getting in touch with the archetype of the hero…

Trance Tallentine
Mr. Robertson riding Petersons coat tails today, next Trump and then Kanye – what have you (Robertson) actually done vs. Speaking / Degrading someone who has never heard of you or would ever care about you or you verbal Hater-ade. Peterson has greatly helped others – What has Robertson done besides being the eternal Hater.

“The Eternal Hater.” I have been dubbed. Buy my book.

Andrew Penny
He said he would refuse to be forced against his will to use compelled speech and will go to jail instead of complying to their demands. He did not remotely imply that he would actively seek out this form of protest. Low IQ.

What’s really high IQ is to listen to the 2:04 – 2:18 section of the video. But we’ll get to the subject of intelligence shortly.

– Har9low –
It was just an idea on how to help stop the chaos.Nobodies perfect.JP is still the best even if he isn’t 100% perfect.He’s knows and helped this world more than most of us put together.Just leave him alone.

Leave Britney Jordan alone!

Savior Money
Ha you two have hindsight that JP just can’t have – ha

I’m not sure what hindsight I possess that Peterson does not, given that my criticisms are of his current positions.

And of course…

Threat Assessment
Clean up your room! Do you think subscribers want to look at that disgusting mess put up a bed sheet f***

Bucko.

Michael James
your room looks like shit

I don’t know if they missed the thumbnail of Peterson’s room, or if they missed the part of the video where I rejected Peterson’s philosophy. But it reminded me of a Q&A session with Dr. Peterson, where he was asked about the Alt-Right:

…one of the things that’s quite disturbing about the Alt-Right is its continual proclivity to degenerate into anti-semitism. I see that in the comments, for example, on my videos continually.

Dr. Peterson is, of course, correct about this. There is a kind of classlessness in the Alt-Right that keeps rearing its head, online or in the real world. This observation, however, is a bit of a double-edged sword. If YouTube comments are representative of the movement as a whole, what do YouTube comments say about Jordan Peterson’s cleaning party? One may be inclined to wonder what these commenters are doing on YouTube in the first place, and why aren’t they off dusting something.

But jokes aside, there are really two interpretive routes one can take. You can say that YouTube comments are not indicative of the movement as a whole — in which case, Jordan Peterson is wrong to criticize the Alt-Right for its anti-semitic comments, and is certainly wrong to be criticizing them if his own house isn’t entirely in order. On the other hand, one can say that YouTube comments are indicative of the movement as a whole. In that case, Peterson’s movement is composed of condescending and hypocritical non-intellectuals who feel as if they have been given permission to criticize any speech they dislike or don’t understand by pointing at the background. It would almost appear as if Peterson’s meandering patter is literally inducing and amplifying the Dunning-Kruger effect in those who listen.

This may sound harsh, and especially so from me, given my own soft-spot for Peterson and some of what he has to say. I have seen him speak in person, have read (some of) 12 Rules for Life and Maps of Meaning, and have watched probably close to 100 hours of his lectures online. But as Metokur pointed out, the fans are not the same as the real thing, and while Peterson himself can be engaged and argued with, his fans have become insufferable. What his fans say about the man himself is their choice, in both senses, but they’ll only have the right to distance their own immaturity from their guru if they are willing to grant charity to other movements which the man himself is not willing to grant.

If I had to put money on it, I’d bet the YouTube comments are probably indicative of the Peterson base at large. I might consider changing my mind if I actually meet a Peterson fan in person who has read Piaget, Nietzsche, Jung, or Solzhenitsyn. So far, I’m 0/5, excluding myself.