Jordan Peterson Chews Up Debate Demand Letter, Spits Out Pure Gold
Jordan Peterson, the Canadian psychologist, author and constant thorn in the left’s side, has responded to a threat from leftists trying to egg him into a debate.
The letter, which Peterson posted to his Twitter account on Tuesday, appears to be directed towards Jordan’s supporters.
Saying Peterson does not “engage with any serious leftists,” the letter announces a conference that seems to be centered around the conservative icon.
“It would be better for Peterson,” the invitation says, “to directly communicate with me and other leftists as soon as possible, or things like this will continue to reflect negatively on him, by his own hand.”
The letter closes with a threatening “Get him the message.”
The signature line reveals a Brent Cooper as the sender, who identifies himself as the executive director of something called “the Abs-Tract Organization: Metamodern Think Tank.”
An "invitation" to "debate," and my response: pic.twitter.com/ytupoK1gPE
— Dr Jordan B Peterson (@jordanbpeterson) September 25, 2018
However, as Peterson made clear in his response, the letter’s attitude pretty much closed off any chance of the leftist group engaging Peterson in a debate.
“Believe me, a message with the tone of your missive has as much chance of attracting me as an honest 1920’s Ukrainian farmer had of living long and happily in Stalinist Russia,” Peterson’s reply opens.
The original missive is then deconstructed, with Peterson pointing out all the ways the group sabotaged its own initiative. It’s clear that the original letter didn’t meet Jordan’s standards of serious dialogue, and Cooper would have to hold his conference without Peterson.
The invitation’s “presumptuous” nature is skewered, as well as how “dismissive,” “rude,” “impolite and demanding” it is.
Peterson closes his response in a way that reveals his true mastery of the back-and-forth.
“You unwittingly managed to demonstrate almost everything wrong with the radical left in six sentences,” he wrote. “And, in case you didn’t notice, we just had our debate.”
Peterson is famous for these kinds of engagements. In a world where debate and rhetoric is often dominated by those who can make the most ludicrous claim — no matter how logically indefensible — he’s been emerging a rock of reason.
Check out his tour-de-force performance here in a British television interview in January promoting his book “12 Rules for Life.”
Lawmakers and others in leadership have much to learn from the tactics of a thinker like Jordan Peterson.
No response has been posted against Peterson’s scorching remarks. And with the demonstration he gave, it’s unlikely we’ll see another one.
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