Doing sociology and philosophy in real time by looking at developments in contemporary Western politics and culture, from a Moral Libertarian perspective. My mission is to stop the cultural systemist left and the authoritarian right from destroying the West's Enlightenment traditions.
Daily Centrist: The Majority Report, Jordan Peterson the 'Right Wing Pundit', and Theryn Meyer
Welcome to the reborn Daily Centrist on TaraElla news. While I rebranded the main TaraElla news daily program to Daily Moral Libertarian as of last week, I have decided to revive the Daily Centrist name for something new: a daily segment looking at the frustrations of a centrist trying to navigate the deeply divided political landscape we happen to live in right now. I believe we need something like this to break up the echo chambers, which are threatening the health of our free market of ideas.
Recently, YouTube channel The Majority Report made another episode about how much they dislike Dr Jordan Peterson, titled 'Jordan Peterson's Right Wing Politics Will Sneak Up On You'. You know, the left has been going on and on about how Peterson is supposedly a deeply reactionary hard right wing person, without much evidence to back it up. And in this episode, I didn't find anything new either, aside from the annoying and offensive impersonation of the way Peterson speaks. And no, that was not funny at all. They may like to say how Peterson is 'just a right wing pundit', but rational thinking people like ourselves are still not convinced, because, hey, we need to have some evidence. Now, don't get me wrong, I am no blind Peterson fan, and I actually wrote a critique about Peterson back in April, pointing out areas where his beliefs are more conservative than liberal. Still, this doesn't mean he's hard right or reactionary. Besides, he is the biggest champion of some classical liberal ideals today, and that's why many liberals love him. Again, I don't ask that people agree with Peterson. I just ask them that they be fair to Peterson, so we can all have a constructive discussion about his ideas.
Predictably, the comments section for that video was full of accusations of Peterson being transphobic. Again, there is no evidence for this. His opposition to Canadian Bill C-16 was based on his fears for free speech, nothing else. Besides, he actually held a respectful and interesting conversation with trans woman Theryn Meyer in 2016. Which brings me onto my next topic. Theryn Meyer, who also is the subject of today's episode of Daily Moral Libertarian, recently returned to making videos after a seven month absence from YouTube. Once known as the trans conservative who supported Donald Trump, she says she is not conservative anymore in her latest videos. Anyway, she's always been sort of political non-conformist, and I like that. In this day and age of tribal politics, we need more political non-conformists to break up the echo chambers. Sadly, she hasn't had an easy time being an independent thinker. In today's episode of Daily Moral Libertarian, I explore her journey through the minefield of the YouTube political scene, and discuss the lessons we can all learn from her experience.
That's all for today. I'll be back with more Centrist commentary and drama tomorrow. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss it.
