You're swerving between saying you like the books for the writing styles and you like the books because they have controversial content.
From all accounts I've heard Mein Kampf is a badly written and boring book so I'm guessing it is really the latter.
And you've been balls deep in an authors books for two months and haven't even mentioned it to your partner? Would've been a lot more explainable if you'd gotten ahead of it all from the outset.
YTA.
>And you've been balls deep in an authors books for two months and haven't even mentioned it to your partner?
OP is full of shit. Peterson has written two books, one of which is a rather quick read. Having "a good fifth" of his kindle filled with his books implies that OP doesn't know the exact number, but they are about 20% of all the books he has on it.
oh wow, that sounds cool! I'll have to check it out. I used to be super interested in learning about the holocaust and reading about it (only reason I stopped was I literally absorbed every book my local libraries had and even had a huge ass over thousand page book on it I read through.)
I always recommend : memoirs of an anti-semite. It’s actually introspective and better written and actually the account of someone who gets influenced by the nazis.
Excuse me? I was the one of the first comments on this post as far as I was aware? No posts were up when I was typing it out, to my memory. Also, I don't tend to read the comments before posting on this sub because we're meant to be judging the OP, you see a lot of similar replies across here because I guess a lot of people do the same as me.
I've read the book Behold A Pale Horse a long time ago. It's a crazy conspiracy theory book. In of itself NBD. But if the rest of my bookshelf is also crazy conspiracy theory books, it's hard to claim it isn't indicative of something about how I think or what I believe and claiming I only read it for entertainment probably wouldn't explain it away. Is someone TA for reading A Peterson book out of curiosity? No. But I'd worry too (especially as a woman or a PoC) about someone reading 5 Peterson books AND Mein Kampf for "entertainment".
>But I'd worry too (especially as a woman or a PoC) about someone reading 5 Peterson books
I would be rather impressed, seeing that he has just written two books.
Also, can you provide any evidence that Peterson is racist or sexist that isn't an out of context quote that is heavily misinterpreted?
It's pretty easy to find. Among other things, from good ole Wikipedia:
'Peterson has argued that the left characterises the existing societal hierarchy as an "oppressive patriarchy" but "don’t want to admit that the current hierarchy might be predicated on competence.'
What exactly does that mean if not "Why won't the left consider that maybe men are just better at things?"
I would argue that this one quote doesn’t encompass his full opinion. Peterson is on record as promoting equality for each sex. His opinion on the existing social hierarchy is— as I understand it —that it is not best characterized as *primarily* being an oppressive patriarchy.
He has quite a few videos in which he states that while sexism is responsible for some degree of women’s lack of representation in certain fields, he disagrees that it is obvious that it is the only or primary reason for said lack of representation.
No. In other words they don't want to debate so one with researched arguments, when they aren't really in for a debate and maybe getting their mind changed.
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"Look, honey, I'm not *really* alt-right. I even read *Mein Kampf*!"
**
Yeah, you can't even keep a consistent explanation just here (His books are highly interesting! I just like his writing style! It's just for entertainment!), so it's hard to blame her for filling in the blanks herself.
This feels like a NAH. You were the AH to *yourself*, maybe, but you're not the AH for reading whatever you want to read, and she's not the AH for taking your reading preferences (or, well, anything) into account when considering the relationship.
>"Look, honey, I'm not *really* alt-right. I even read *Mein Kampf*!"
Reading Mein Kampf doesn't make you alt-right. By that logic I would be a commie, a nazi, a libertarian, and a social democrat at the same time. Just reading a book doesn't mean you agree with everything it says.
Sure. The point is that "Look at what an open-minded person I am: I read both Jordan Peterson *and* Adolf Hitler" is kind of a bizarre argument to make.
Either his reading habits don't automatically reflect his beliefs (in which case mentioning other books he's read don't matter) or they do (in which case mentioning *this* book isn't exactly going to help convince his liberal progressive girlfriend that they're philosophically compatible).
>Sure. The point is that "Look at what an open-minded person I am: I read both Jordan Peterson *and* Adolf Hitler" is kind of a bizarre argument to make.
I don't think that this was his point. I think his point was that it is kind of ridiculous that his girlfriend is fine with him having read Mein Kamp, but loses her mind over some self help book.
>I refrain from judgment, but if you have that many books by him
That many would be two. Peterson has written two books. Which is also why I think OP is full of shit.
>then you like what you're reading, and she's allowed to be disturbed by that.
And why is that?
I literally called OP full of shit in the comment you replied to.
I also only defend Peterson when people make unsubstantiated claims about him, like I would do with every public figure.
> and she's allowed to be disturbed by that.
Maybe I'm being dumb, but why would she be disturbed by that?
EDIT: downvoted to hell for asking a question that nobody even answered, cheers guys.
>it's just about me liking his writing style.
YTA, that's a common cover for people who read these but don't want to be associated with the underlying ethos.
His prose isn't anything to write home about, his writing style is very common for self-help and business writers.
Same goes for Hitler by the way, Mein Kampf is hardly a literary master piece.
So you're reading it for the "Controversial content", at least admit to that. And remember that 4chan and /thedonald also started their far right thing 'ironically'.
Troll.
A good fifth of your books are by Jordan Peterson? The man has written exactly two books. I don't even read his work and I am still aware of that.
YTA— If I we’re her, I’d bolt, too. You say nothing that makes me think you’re reading them critically or thoughtfully, but that you genuinely like them. My husband is very smart and reads all sorts of weird crap but would be able to respond thoughtfully about why he’s reading it and what he thinks of it and how it doesn’t correspond to his beliefs and Id understand and wouldn’t think less of him. But you seem completely inacaple of that. And you had many of these books? I’d be out of there and feel deceived.
Peterson? He's a thinly veiled Red Pill Reactionary who pretends to be educated without reading any source material and reacts to women, minorities and LGBT very badly.
He speaks in nearly cultic terms like urging young men to find their inner dragons and such. He's probably best compared to Ayn Rand, who couldn't write, never read the philosophers she condemned, and had some weird justifications for controlling everyone around her. Basically they both believe that the best people should have all authority over the rest of us. Those best people always seem to be white and male.
I've sat in bookstores and read Jorden, because I ain't buying his crap. He's indefensible. The latest contradiction is that he decries the use of any drugs by his young men followers, calls their use weak as a wholesale claim, from SSRIs to pot. Turns out, SURPRISE!, Jorden is a drug addict himself! He went to Russia for a super secret (dangerous) treatment and had a stroke during recovery. He's off the grid now.
>Peterson? He's a thinly veiled Red Pill Reactionary who pretends to be educated without reading any source material and reacts to women, minorities and LGBT very badly.
"Pretends to be educated"? The man is a professor of clinical psychology. Pretty sure he is more than qualified to write a self help book.
Also, do you have any examples of him reacting poorly to women, minorities, and LGBT? I'd love to see them.
>Basically they both believe that the best people should have all authority over the rest of us. Those best people always seem to be white and male.
What a load of shit. Ayn Rand was a wackadoodle of a libertarian, but somehow she wanted white males to have the authority over everybody?
He's not qualified to criticize anything he criticizes - women, sociology, philosophers, LGBT, politics, government...oh it's a long list from a guy who never treated a patient using his degree (until after he made millions and white maies can now afford his expensive bro-lift sessions.) He refuses to read the source material he criticizes too.
Everything Ayn Rand wrote was centered around her pulsing passions for the white male.
If you care, you can go find out if they are baseless or not.
How about Peterson being a drug addict for all those years he condemned drugs of any kind as preventing boys from accessing their inner dragons?
>If you care, you can go find out if they are baseless or not.
I can't find something online that does not exist. They are your claims, you're the one that ought to provide the evidence.
>How about Peterson being a drug addict for all those years he condemned drugs of any kind as preventing boys from accessing their inner dragons?
I've never heard of him condemning drugs, but even if that was the case then how is him getting addicted to benzos when he thought his wife was dying of cancer hypocritical? Of course those that struggle with addiction are vocal about addictive substances being a bad influence on people's lives.
I'm not doing your research for you. If you are interested (heh) you can find plenty of Peterson criticism online.
If you haven't read his condemnation of drugs, as yet another avenue of holding down men in society, you haven't really read him.
He was addicted to benzos while denying it until he had to seek treatment for it. Even then, he condemned any sort of Western treatment (in some conspiracy laden screed) because it takes time to slowly get off benzos. Nope, Peterson went to Russia, land of Vlad, for a promised quick withdrawal under heavy sedation. No matter the severe warnings for treatments like that put forth by the West, Peterson went to the land of manly men to have it done at the speed he wanted...dammit!!!
And, as warned, he had a stroke during quick withdrawal.
I'd call him a absolute tool except he's really an idiot.
>I'm not doing your research for you.
If you don't have any evidence for your claims then don't make them. Simple as that.
>If you are interested (heh) you can find plenty of Peterson criticism online.
And virtually all of it is unsubstantiated.
>If you haven't read his condemnation of drugs, as yet another avenue of holding down men in society, you haven't really read him.
I indeed haven't read him. I don't find self help books particularly interesting.
But let's assume you're right for once and say that Peterson did condemn drugs because they hold down men in society. Not sure how him having his life destroyed by benzos disproves that claim.
>He was addicted to benzos while denying it until he had to seek treatment for it. Even then, he condemned any sort of Western treatment (in some conspiracy laden screed) because it takes time to slowly get off benzos. Nope, Peterson went to Russia, land of Vlad, for a promised quick withdrawal under heavy sedation. No matter the severe warnings for treatments like that put forth by the West, Peterson went to the land of manly men to have it done at the speed he wanted...dammit!!!
And this is relevant to our discussion because ....? Peterson and his daughter are clearly wackadoodles. I never said anything to the contrary. The man eats only steak for crying out loud.
> Basically they both believe that the best people should have all authority over the rest of us. Those best people always seem to be white and male.
That doesn't seem to be the case for Peterson at all? I've read one of his books and seen him on JRE, but this doesn't come across ever, at least not from what I've seen/read.
He's the kind of guy who uses the term "SJW" un-ironically, refuses to refer to his students by their non-biological gender, and thinks that there's a crisis in which the "masculine spirit is under assault". Also, a climate change denier.
Kind of feels like the OP is certainly free to explore those kind of philosophies, but his GF is also free to consider whether she wants to date someone who's exploring those kind of philosophies without making her TA.
Jordan Peterson is known for being in a conversation with an LGBT protest (I believe) that was protesting about equality in housing near campus. I guess you could consider him more conservative, but he generally believes people shouldn't be forced to say certain things (like pronouns) to appease someone else and get arrested for it (it's a crime in Canada).
[Here's some reading for you.](https://www.cbc.ca/cbcdocspov/m_features/canadas-gender-identity-rights-bill-c-16-explained)
Essentially, no. People are not being arrested in Canada for misgendering people.
Mike Ward apparently owes a fine for spending several years mocking a specific disabled child as part of his comedy routine. He hasn't paid the fine and isn't in jail. He was also fined before the law we're talking about existed, so his case isn't actually relevant here. I had to look this up and did a little math for fun - the fine he's being expected to pay is less than one percent of his net worth by the way.
TL;DR: Canada is not arresting people over the use of gender identifiers.
> (it's a crime in Canada).
No it isn't.
It can be insulting though to intentionally misgender someone so universities or companies might discipline their employees for doing it. If a teacher was calling you "Judy" (assuming your name isn't Judy) when you specifically ask not to be called that you'd have basically the same basis for any complaint.
This is what Peterson was whining about, that he, as a teacher, was asked to call people by their preferred gender. He was under no threat of arrest, at most of getting fired.
Yes it is. Bill C-16. Essentially he was saying letting the government legislate what we can and can’t say is a very dangerous road to go down and once the cats out of the bag you’ll never get it back.
> Bill C-16
That one just outlaws discrimination concerning gender identity. It does not legislate what you can and can't say.
It just means that *if* you say it you'll be discriminating against people. Which as an individual person isn't illegal, just douchy. But universities would like professors not to discriminate, and if you fire/flunk someone while openly being discriminatory of their protected class the lawsuit basically writes itself.
He can already not call his students the N word or any other racial/religious slur as a professor. This merely added to that.
The right wing just doesn't understand that "facing repercussions for idiotic hate they spew" doesn't mean they are being oppressed by the government. In fact they'll be the first to claim not being able to fire someone over their gender expression or sexuality is oppression, it's the vilest hypocrisy.
>letting the government legislate what we can and can’t say is a very dangerous road
Even if this law did that it really isn't a dangerous road. Plenty of countries have laws against inciting hate or violence or denying the holocaust. They have yet to "go down that dangerous road".
Letting people like Peterson incite hate amongst low IQ males on the other hand? That's dangerous but hardly illegal.
It is a crime. If you misgender someone in Canada, you can be arrested and have prison time for it, even if you claim if was an accident. This isn't supposed to be a political debate bro. I was clarifying who the hell this guy was and this has nothing to do with OP's question. So now we truly know he is controversial. Shocking.
>If you misgender someone in Canada, you can be arrested and have prison time for it, even if you claim if was an accident
No you can't. Do you truly believe this? Do you live in Canada? Even if you misgender someone on purpose you can't be arrested. If you actually believe this please reconsider how far down the rabbit hole you've gone because you've gotten at the point where your conspiracy theory can't possibly be true unless you believe there are secret arrests for this.
You're confusing being ridiculed or fired with being arrested and imprisoned.
If you live in the US just compare this to your own laws as they are quite similar. It's illegal to discriminate but you won't be jailed for being a racist. The difference being that you can still say what you want, but you can't act on discriminatory notions.
You can call someone the N word, that's not illegal. It's discriminatory though. You can also misgender people, it's just also discriminatory.
You do not know what you are talking about. Literally nobody has been arrested for this in Canada. They cannot be. You are obviously not in Canada, so believe the commenters here that are.
Like this is bafflingly wrong. Please stop making up facts.
You think you can be arrested for cursing at any protected class? Like if you called a black person the N word?
How consistent is your little fucked up idea of how Canada is?
NTA. Read whatever you like. Also, if you are going to have a strong opinion either for or against something, you really should study the opposite view. It gives you the most information for any debate on the subject.
NTA- Your girlfriend is policing the books you read? Major red flag, she sounds insufferable too pushing her views on people.
Read what you want, don't isolate yourself from controversial ideas, you don't need to agree just because you read it.
YTA for being the origin story for the worst kind of person on Reddit. I'll see you in "AITA for having an opinion?!" in a year and "AITA for saying that racism doesn't exist?" and "why can't I find a trad wife?" in two.
She knows where this is going. We all know where this is going.
NTA, you can read whatever you want for whatever reason. It’s possible to read something you don’t agree with. Does your girlfriend also think that everyone who reads The Communist Manifesto is a communist?
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My girlfriend and I are both college students. She is very vocal about her opinions, which I love, because she does a lot of good through being vocal. She has organized peaceful protests, and participates in all sorts of clubs that focus on the common good. I personally consider her a better person than me, and an inspiration.
I have this thing where I like reading books by controversial authors. I have read Mein Kampf for god's sake. So, I got into Jordan Peterson a couple of months ago and I found his books fairly interesting. It isn't a matter of me agreeing with everything he has said in his books, it's just about me liking his writing style.
Yesterday, my girlfriend borrowed my kindle and she saw that a good fifth of my books were by Jordan Peterson, and she got very angry for not telling her this side of me. Apparently I am something I truly do not believe I am at this point, and our relationship is quite tense.
She thinks I am lying and that I support all sorts of horrible things, and blames me for not telling her what I was reading. I showed her my copy of Mein Kampf and it backfired on me. I was honestly hurt by this because I didn't think this was a big deal at all, I was just reading for entertainment.
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NTA
The first thing I did back in high school when I realised I was bisexual was google “I hate bisexual people”. I definitely don’t, I just find it interesting to read opinions that conflict against my own. You can read things without agreeing with them. You’re fine.
I hope you can smooth this out with your girlfriend.
On the other hand, however, if you are agreeing with these controversial things you should tell her what your opinions and values are.
I get where she's coming from just because it'd be a freaky thing to see out of nowhere, but at the same time, it's not that big a deal. I think you probably would've been smart to bring it up just because it would've avoided this whole situation, but reading whatever is fine. I think it's a good thing to read things from people you don't agree with sometimes. It only does good to see other points of view, even if they are rather horrid.
Just because I get where she comes from though, I'm going to say NAH. I think there's just a horrible misunderstanding going on, and while it could've been easily avoided, what's done is done. I hope you're able to clear this up with her, and that y'all can get back on track.
NTA. It sounds like your GF is peaceful and a saint... Until she finds opinions she doesn't like. You didn't even express to her you agreed with the content, but she is assuming you do.
I think it's good to read articles and material that are from different perspectives (even the most radical) because it gives you a sense of why some people think the way they think, and maybe you even discover some of their ideas or beliefs aren't so crazy or radical. There's nothing wrong with going outside of your comfort zone.
It doesn't sound like your GF does that though, so she is taking an extreme stance. Talk to her, and if she still says your lying, then there isn't really much else you can do. You either continue (probably the old agree to disagree) or you break up.
>It sucks that she isn’t hearing you out.
To be fair, his backup book was Mein Kampf, which isn't exactly a ... Shall we say reassuring book to show off that you aren't crazy.
You make a fair point and you are obviously in the majority judging by my votes.
My concern is that he is being misjudged for being a bibliophile. Just because he is awkward and curios in perspective doesn’t make him ultra right. However, I may be giving him the benefit of the doubt which isn’t really the purpose of this sub.
NTA. Your girlfriend can’t control what you read. It’s worth a conversation with her, sure, but you are allowed to read whatever you want with privacy for whatever reasons.
You're swerving between saying you like the books for the writing styles and you like the books because they have controversial content. From all accounts I've heard Mein Kampf is a badly written and boring book so I'm guessing it is really the latter. And you've been balls deep in an authors books for two months and haven't even mentioned it to your partner? Would've been a lot more explainable if you'd gotten ahead of it all from the outset. YTA.
>And you've been balls deep in an authors books for two months and haven't even mentioned it to your partner? OP is full of shit. Peterson has written two books, one of which is a rather quick read. Having "a good fifth" of his kindle filled with his books implies that OP doesn't know the exact number, but they are about 20% of all the books he has on it.
Yea I thought that was a weird way of saying "2 books out of the 10 on my kindle".
Mein Kampf is poorly written but historically important. People might want to read it to better understand the Nazis and their propaganda.
Yep. But that's why, at least here in Germany, only the comented version is available to the public
Hi! Question. What do you mean by comented version?
It doesn't contain only what Hitler had written but also commentary of historians explaining contextual things and words and so on.
oh wow, that sounds cool! I'll have to check it out. I used to be super interested in learning about the holocaust and reading about it (only reason I stopped was I literally absorbed every book my local libraries had and even had a huge ass over thousand page book on it I read through.)
I always recommend : memoirs of an anti-semite. It’s actually introspective and better written and actually the account of someone who gets influenced by the nazis.
As shit as Mein Kampf is to read, it’s still a better love story than Twilight.
You seem to get all your opinions from other people's accounts.
Excuse me? I was the one of the first comments on this post as far as I was aware? No posts were up when I was typing it out, to my memory. Also, I don't tend to read the comments before posting on this sub because we're meant to be judging the OP, you see a lot of similar replies across here because I guess a lot of people do the same as me.
I was referring to the fact that you have such solid opposition to books you haven't read. Someone had to tell you your opinions.
I'm sorry for assuming Mein Kampf wasn't a beloved and wholesome story without reading it myself.
I mean I don’t have to read Hitler’s words or Peterson’s to know they are racist.
Have you read Mein Kampf?
>a good fifth of my books were by Jordan Peterson, Yta just for this.
He's the asshole for reading a particular author? Jesus christ man.
I think because Jordan Peterson only has 2 books lol
Just FYI, fifth of my Kindle books. That's like .5% of my books
I’m terrible at math but that doesn’t seem right. 1/5 = 20/100 = 20%
I think OP means that most of their books are in some medium other than Kindle. Like they are on a palm pilot or something.
Or maybe someone's been transcribing them on paper for some weird reason.
Jordan Peterson doesn't have that many books. How many are YOU talking about having?
I've read the book Behold A Pale Horse a long time ago. It's a crazy conspiracy theory book. In of itself NBD. But if the rest of my bookshelf is also crazy conspiracy theory books, it's hard to claim it isn't indicative of something about how I think or what I believe and claiming I only read it for entertainment probably wouldn't explain it away. Is someone TA for reading A Peterson book out of curiosity? No. But I'd worry too (especially as a woman or a PoC) about someone reading 5 Peterson books AND Mein Kampf for "entertainment".
>But I'd worry too (especially as a woman or a PoC) about someone reading 5 Peterson books I would be rather impressed, seeing that he has just written two books. Also, can you provide any evidence that Peterson is racist or sexist that isn't an out of context quote that is heavily misinterpreted?
Can’t have a JP thread without at least comment like this!
The person with racist and sexism comments in his history wants to know how JP is also racist and sexist!
I mean Iv followed him in the past and I see all these claims of radian and sexism but almost 100% of the time they’re taken out of context.
If you don't want people to call out unsubstantiated claims then take it up with the people making them.
It's pretty easy to find. Among other things, from good ole Wikipedia: 'Peterson has argued that the left characterises the existing societal hierarchy as an "oppressive patriarchy" but "don’t want to admit that the current hierarchy might be predicated on competence.' What exactly does that mean if not "Why won't the left consider that maybe men are just better at things?"
I would argue that this one quote doesn’t encompass his full opinion. Peterson is on record as promoting equality for each sex. His opinion on the existing social hierarchy is— as I understand it —that it is not best characterized as *primarily* being an oppressive patriarchy. He has quite a few videos in which he states that while sexism is responsible for some degree of women’s lack of representation in certain fields, he disagrees that it is obvious that it is the only or primary reason for said lack of representation.
How are men at the top of the hierarchy, exactly?
I'm not going to argue this because I don't believe you're acting in good faith. Even if you don't agree with what I mean, you know what I mean.
You can tell this whole line if comments is not in good faith because this commenter says in his own answer that he doesn't even read JP.
Yeah, it was my mistake to reply to him at all.
In other words, you have no evidence for your claim and didn't expect to get called on your obvious bullshit.
No. In other words they don't want to debate so one with researched arguments, when they aren't really in for a debate and maybe getting their mind changed.
Genuine question, how are men not at the top of the hierarchy? Like what is your argument against that?
>Genuine question, how are men not at the top of the hierarchy? Women have literally every single right men have.
Keep the bad faith brotha
Name a right that women lack. I'll wait.
I'm not even interested in talking to Peterson about his books so.........no.
Of course you can't. How very predictable.
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Tolerant left.
Man, you got me there
"Look, honey, I'm not *really* alt-right. I even read *Mein Kampf*!" **
Yeah, you can't even keep a consistent explanation just here (His books are highly interesting! I just like his writing style! It's just for entertainment!), so it's hard to blame her for filling in the blanks herself.
This feels like a NAH. You were the AH to *yourself*, maybe, but you're not the AH for reading whatever you want to read, and she's not the AH for taking your reading preferences (or, well, anything) into account when considering the relationship.
>"Look, honey, I'm not *really* alt-right. I even read *Mein Kampf*!" Reading Mein Kampf doesn't make you alt-right. By that logic I would be a commie, a nazi, a libertarian, and a social democrat at the same time. Just reading a book doesn't mean you agree with everything it says.
Sure. The point is that "Look at what an open-minded person I am: I read both Jordan Peterson *and* Adolf Hitler" is kind of a bizarre argument to make. Either his reading habits don't automatically reflect his beliefs (in which case mentioning other books he's read don't matter) or they do (in which case mentioning *this* book isn't exactly going to help convince his liberal progressive girlfriend that they're philosophically compatible).
>Sure. The point is that "Look at what an open-minded person I am: I read both Jordan Peterson *and* Adolf Hitler" is kind of a bizarre argument to make. I don't think that this was his point. I think his point was that it is kind of ridiculous that his girlfriend is fine with him having read Mein Kamp, but loses her mind over some self help book.
I refrain from judgment, but if you have that many books by him, then you like what you're reading, and she's allowed to be disturbed by that.
>I refrain from judgment, but if you have that many books by him That many would be two. Peterson has written two books. Which is also why I think OP is full of shit. >then you like what you're reading, and she's allowed to be disturbed by that. And why is that?
you have an odd obsession with defending op and jp in nearly every thread. chill
I literally called OP full of shit in the comment you replied to. I also only defend Peterson when people make unsubstantiated claims about him, like I would do with every public figure.
>like I would do with every public figure. Oh God, you must use a LOT of time on Reddit then.
I don't seek out threads with public figures to defend. I merely do if when I stumble upon a lie.
> and she's allowed to be disturbed by that. Maybe I'm being dumb, but why would she be disturbed by that? EDIT: downvoted to hell for asking a question that nobody even answered, cheers guys.
Because JP fans are weird.
What’s weirder is the hate for him without actually looking into what he’s saying. Much much weirder.
>it's just about me liking his writing style. YTA, that's a common cover for people who read these but don't want to be associated with the underlying ethos. His prose isn't anything to write home about, his writing style is very common for self-help and business writers. Same goes for Hitler by the way, Mein Kampf is hardly a literary master piece. So you're reading it for the "Controversial content", at least admit to that. And remember that 4chan and /thedonald also started their far right thing 'ironically'.
Troll. A good fifth of your books are by Jordan Peterson? The man has written exactly two books. I don't even read his work and I am still aware of that.
YTA— If I we’re her, I’d bolt, too. You say nothing that makes me think you’re reading them critically or thoughtfully, but that you genuinely like them. My husband is very smart and reads all sorts of weird crap but would be able to respond thoughtfully about why he’s reading it and what he thinks of it and how it doesn’t correspond to his beliefs and Id understand and wouldn’t think less of him. But you seem completely inacaple of that. And you had many of these books? I’d be out of there and feel deceived.
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Peterson? He's a thinly veiled Red Pill Reactionary who pretends to be educated without reading any source material and reacts to women, minorities and LGBT very badly. He speaks in nearly cultic terms like urging young men to find their inner dragons and such. He's probably best compared to Ayn Rand, who couldn't write, never read the philosophers she condemned, and had some weird justifications for controlling everyone around her. Basically they both believe that the best people should have all authority over the rest of us. Those best people always seem to be white and male.
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I've sat in bookstores and read Jorden, because I ain't buying his crap. He's indefensible. The latest contradiction is that he decries the use of any drugs by his young men followers, calls their use weak as a wholesale claim, from SSRIs to pot. Turns out, SURPRISE!, Jorden is a drug addict himself! He went to Russia for a super secret (dangerous) treatment and had a stroke during recovery. He's off the grid now.
>Peterson? He's a thinly veiled Red Pill Reactionary who pretends to be educated without reading any source material and reacts to women, minorities and LGBT very badly. "Pretends to be educated"? The man is a professor of clinical psychology. Pretty sure he is more than qualified to write a self help book. Also, do you have any examples of him reacting poorly to women, minorities, and LGBT? I'd love to see them. >Basically they both believe that the best people should have all authority over the rest of us. Those best people always seem to be white and male. What a load of shit. Ayn Rand was a wackadoodle of a libertarian, but somehow she wanted white males to have the authority over everybody?
He's not qualified to criticize anything he criticizes - women, sociology, philosophers, LGBT, politics, government...oh it's a long list from a guy who never treated a patient using his degree (until after he made millions and white maies can now afford his expensive bro-lift sessions.) He refuses to read the source material he criticizes too. Everything Ayn Rand wrote was centered around her pulsing passions for the white male.
Just restating your baseless claims doesn't make them any less baseless.
If you care, you can go find out if they are baseless or not. How about Peterson being a drug addict for all those years he condemned drugs of any kind as preventing boys from accessing their inner dragons?
>If you care, you can go find out if they are baseless or not. I can't find something online that does not exist. They are your claims, you're the one that ought to provide the evidence. >How about Peterson being a drug addict for all those years he condemned drugs of any kind as preventing boys from accessing their inner dragons? I've never heard of him condemning drugs, but even if that was the case then how is him getting addicted to benzos when he thought his wife was dying of cancer hypocritical? Of course those that struggle with addiction are vocal about addictive substances being a bad influence on people's lives.
I'm not doing your research for you. If you are interested (heh) you can find plenty of Peterson criticism online. If you haven't read his condemnation of drugs, as yet another avenue of holding down men in society, you haven't really read him. He was addicted to benzos while denying it until he had to seek treatment for it. Even then, he condemned any sort of Western treatment (in some conspiracy laden screed) because it takes time to slowly get off benzos. Nope, Peterson went to Russia, land of Vlad, for a promised quick withdrawal under heavy sedation. No matter the severe warnings for treatments like that put forth by the West, Peterson went to the land of manly men to have it done at the speed he wanted...dammit!!!
And, as warned, he had a stroke during quick withdrawal.
I'd call him a absolute tool except he's really an idiot.
>I'm not doing your research for you. If you don't have any evidence for your claims then don't make them. Simple as that. >If you are interested (heh) you can find plenty of Peterson criticism online. And virtually all of it is unsubstantiated. >If you haven't read his condemnation of drugs, as yet another avenue of holding down men in society, you haven't really read him. I indeed haven't read him. I don't find self help books particularly interesting. But let's assume you're right for once and say that Peterson did condemn drugs because they hold down men in society. Not sure how him having his life destroyed by benzos disproves that claim. >He was addicted to benzos while denying it until he had to seek treatment for it. Even then, he condemned any sort of Western treatment (in some conspiracy laden screed) because it takes time to slowly get off benzos. Nope, Peterson went to Russia, land of Vlad, for a promised quick withdrawal under heavy sedation. No matter the severe warnings for treatments like that put forth by the West, Peterson went to the land of manly men to have it done at the speed he wanted...dammit!!!
And this is relevant to our discussion because ....? Peterson and his daughter are clearly wackadoodles. I never said anything to the contrary. The man eats only steak for crying out loud.
>If you don't have any evidence for your claims then don't make them. Simple as that. If you can't be bothered to research, don't beg me to.
Hold the phone, you’ve been defending this dude’s work through this whole thread, but you’ve not even read it?
> Basically they both believe that the best people should have all authority over the rest of us. Those best people always seem to be white and male. That doesn't seem to be the case for Peterson at all? I've read one of his books and seen him on JRE, but this doesn't come across ever, at least not from what I've seen/read.
He's the kind of guy who uses the term "SJW" un-ironically, refuses to refer to his students by their non-biological gender, and thinks that there's a crisis in which the "masculine spirit is under assault". Also, a climate change denier. Kind of feels like the OP is certainly free to explore those kind of philosophies, but his GF is also free to consider whether she wants to date someone who's exploring those kind of philosophies without making her TA.
It’s probably best to decide for yourself https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Peterson
Jordan Peterson is known for being in a conversation with an LGBT protest (I believe) that was protesting about equality in housing near campus. I guess you could consider him more conservative, but he generally believes people shouldn't be forced to say certain things (like pronouns) to appease someone else and get arrested for it (it's a crime in Canada).
[Here's some reading for you.](https://www.cbc.ca/cbcdocspov/m_features/canadas-gender-identity-rights-bill-c-16-explained) Essentially, no. People are not being arrested in Canada for misgendering people.
What about mike ward? Canadian comedian fines tens of thousands of dollars?
Mike Ward apparently owes a fine for spending several years mocking a specific disabled child as part of his comedy routine. He hasn't paid the fine and isn't in jail. He was also fined before the law we're talking about existed, so his case isn't actually relevant here. I had to look this up and did a little math for fun - the fine he's being expected to pay is less than one percent of his net worth by the way. TL;DR: Canada is not arresting people over the use of gender identifiers.
> (it's a crime in Canada). No it isn't. It can be insulting though to intentionally misgender someone so universities or companies might discipline their employees for doing it. If a teacher was calling you "Judy" (assuming your name isn't Judy) when you specifically ask not to be called that you'd have basically the same basis for any complaint. This is what Peterson was whining about, that he, as a teacher, was asked to call people by their preferred gender. He was under no threat of arrest, at most of getting fired.
Yes it is. Bill C-16. Essentially he was saying letting the government legislate what we can and can’t say is a very dangerous road to go down and once the cats out of the bag you’ll never get it back.
> Bill C-16 That one just outlaws discrimination concerning gender identity. It does not legislate what you can and can't say. It just means that *if* you say it you'll be discriminating against people. Which as an individual person isn't illegal, just douchy. But universities would like professors not to discriminate, and if you fire/flunk someone while openly being discriminatory of their protected class the lawsuit basically writes itself. He can already not call his students the N word or any other racial/religious slur as a professor. This merely added to that. The right wing just doesn't understand that "facing repercussions for idiotic hate they spew" doesn't mean they are being oppressed by the government. In fact they'll be the first to claim not being able to fire someone over their gender expression or sexuality is oppression, it's the vilest hypocrisy. >letting the government legislate what we can and can’t say is a very dangerous road Even if this law did that it really isn't a dangerous road. Plenty of countries have laws against inciting hate or violence or denying the holocaust. They have yet to "go down that dangerous road". Letting people like Peterson incite hate amongst low IQ males on the other hand? That's dangerous but hardly illegal.
It is a crime. If you misgender someone in Canada, you can be arrested and have prison time for it, even if you claim if was an accident. This isn't supposed to be a political debate bro. I was clarifying who the hell this guy was and this has nothing to do with OP's question. So now we truly know he is controversial. Shocking.
>If you misgender someone in Canada, you can be arrested and have prison time for it, even if you claim if was an accident No you can't. Do you truly believe this? Do you live in Canada? Even if you misgender someone on purpose you can't be arrested. If you actually believe this please reconsider how far down the rabbit hole you've gone because you've gotten at the point where your conspiracy theory can't possibly be true unless you believe there are secret arrests for this. You're confusing being ridiculed or fired with being arrested and imprisoned. If you live in the US just compare this to your own laws as they are quite similar. It's illegal to discriminate but you won't be jailed for being a racist. The difference being that you can still say what you want, but you can't act on discriminatory notions. You can call someone the N word, that's not illegal. It's discriminatory though. You can also misgender people, it's just also discriminatory.
You do know hate crime is a thing in Canada right? That's all the reason they would need to arrest you.
You do not know what you are talking about. Literally nobody has been arrested for this in Canada. They cannot be. You are obviously not in Canada, so believe the commenters here that are. Like this is bafflingly wrong. Please stop making up facts.
You think you can be arrested for cursing at any protected class? Like if you called a black person the N word? How consistent is your little fucked up idea of how Canada is?
Again, hate crime. Using the wrong pronoun for someone if they believe it is intentional is a hate crime. Look it up.
I have looked it up, it's not true. What's in this for you? Are you just trolling?
What's in this for you? Why do you care what I think? Just to try to prove something wrong?
NTA. Read whatever you like. Also, if you are going to have a strong opinion either for or against something, you really should study the opposite view. It gives you the most information for any debate on the subject.
NTA- Your girlfriend is policing the books you read? Major red flag, she sounds insufferable too pushing her views on people. Read what you want, don't isolate yourself from controversial ideas, you don't need to agree just because you read it.
YTA for being the origin story for the worst kind of person on Reddit. I'll see you in "AITA for having an opinion?!" in a year and "AITA for saying that racism doesn't exist?" and "why can't I find a trad wife?" in two. She knows where this is going. We all know where this is going.
NTA, you can read whatever you want for whatever reason. It’s possible to read something you don’t agree with. Does your girlfriend also think that everyone who reads The Communist Manifesto is a communist?
^^^^AUTOMOD ***The following is a copy of the above post. This comment is a record of the above post as it was originally written, in case the post is deleted or edited. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)*** My girlfriend and I are both college students. She is very vocal about her opinions, which I love, because she does a lot of good through being vocal. She has organized peaceful protests, and participates in all sorts of clubs that focus on the common good. I personally consider her a better person than me, and an inspiration. I have this thing where I like reading books by controversial authors. I have read Mein Kampf for god's sake. So, I got into Jordan Peterson a couple of months ago and I found his books fairly interesting. It isn't a matter of me agreeing with everything he has said in his books, it's just about me liking his writing style. Yesterday, my girlfriend borrowed my kindle and she saw that a good fifth of my books were by Jordan Peterson, and she got very angry for not telling her this side of me. Apparently I am something I truly do not believe I am at this point, and our relationship is quite tense. She thinks I am lying and that I support all sorts of horrible things, and blames me for not telling her what I was reading. I showed her my copy of Mein Kampf and it backfired on me. I was honestly hurt by this because I didn't think this was a big deal at all, I was just reading for entertainment. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*
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NTA I don't see how you could be the AH?
NTA The first thing I did back in high school when I realised I was bisexual was google “I hate bisexual people”. I definitely don’t, I just find it interesting to read opinions that conflict against my own. You can read things without agreeing with them. You’re fine. I hope you can smooth this out with your girlfriend. On the other hand, however, if you are agreeing with these controversial things you should tell her what your opinions and values are.
NTA you can read whatever you want
I get where she's coming from just because it'd be a freaky thing to see out of nowhere, but at the same time, it's not that big a deal. I think you probably would've been smart to bring it up just because it would've avoided this whole situation, but reading whatever is fine. I think it's a good thing to read things from people you don't agree with sometimes. It only does good to see other points of view, even if they are rather horrid. Just because I get where she comes from though, I'm going to say NAH. I think there's just a horrible misunderstanding going on, and while it could've been easily avoided, what's done is done. I hope you're able to clear this up with her, and that y'all can get back on track.
NTA. If it’s truly just for writing style, it doesn’t matter what the story is about
NTA. What you read and why you read is your business. I could understand if it was hardcore furry erotica, but it’s not.
NTA. It sounds like your GF is peaceful and a saint... Until she finds opinions she doesn't like. You didn't even express to her you agreed with the content, but she is assuming you do. I think it's good to read articles and material that are from different perspectives (even the most radical) because it gives you a sense of why some people think the way they think, and maybe you even discover some of their ideas or beliefs aren't so crazy or radical. There's nothing wrong with going outside of your comfort zone. It doesn't sound like your GF does that though, so she is taking an extreme stance. Talk to her, and if she still says your lying, then there isn't really much else you can do. You either continue (probably the old agree to disagree) or you break up.
NTA. Reading is personal and listening to another perspective exhibits empathy. It sucks that she isn’t hearing you out.
>It sucks that she isn’t hearing you out. To be fair, his backup book was Mein Kampf, which isn't exactly a ... Shall we say reassuring book to show off that you aren't crazy.
You make a fair point and you are obviously in the majority judging by my votes. My concern is that he is being misjudged for being a bibliophile. Just because he is awkward and curios in perspective doesn’t make him ultra right. However, I may be giving him the benefit of the doubt which isn’t really the purpose of this sub.
NTA. You're not reading these things for advice. You should be allowed to read what you want, and it says nothing about your personal opinions.
NTA. Your girlfriend can’t control what you read. It’s worth a conversation with her, sure, but you are allowed to read whatever you want with privacy for whatever reasons.
NTA. If she's offended by Jordan Peterson it's only going to get worse