WillHurtDontCare
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I’m not some super fan of JP or anything, but I think you are being a bit hyperbolic. I have enjoyed and agreed with the majority of the stuff he has put out there.
If more people lived by these rules, we would have a lot less useless idiots in the world. I would hardly call him poison.
So my question is why? Why would you consider him poisonous and why would you suggest people avoid him? I’m not fighting you, just genuinely intrigued.
I guess my only issue with him is the whole guru thing. He is telling people how to be fulfilled and happy, but I think I’m probably more fulfilled and happy than he is, so… I generally don’t chase down his content.
You’ll need to elaborate.
I know he’s got drug problems. And he’s a polarizing figure. But I never thought of his work as “poison”.
What examples can you post that made you think that way? (I’m no JP fanboy, to be clear… you just made a bold claim).
I took both of your comments as sincere questions, which is fair considering I made a bold claim.
My point is that he wrote a book on how to live, yet that same book couldn't keep him from falling into drug addiction and suicidal thoughts. His has feel good ideas that crumble when shit gets real.
I read and really enjoyed 12 Rules in the beginning of 2018, but I started reading serious books later (Nietzche, the Classics, others) and realized this book was feel good garbage.
My other criticism of him is political. Since this is an entrepreneur I'll try to keep the summary tame inasmuch as political topics ever are, but there are a lot of serious, ugly, society-wide / international issues that have caused the issues that made young men read his books. And the answer isn't focusing on yourself - the answer is getting together in groups of men, talking about what an unacceptable mess everything has become, and taking action as a collective; not cleaning your room, petting a cat, or fulfilling the rest of his list alone. His ideas don't scratch the surface of that though. Basically, he's a gatekeeper, whose ideas prevent people from getting to the ideas that would make a difference.
Maybe still has demons to fight. I wouldn’t give it much thought or judgement, people should judge his work on its own merit.
I don't like to resort to ad hominems too quickly or over irrelevant details, but if you write a book on titled rules for life and your life falls into shambles after that book was written, it is a legitimate criticism to say that because your book didn't even help you, it won't help others.
And I'm not trying to talk smack on Peterson for the sake of it. There is a massive issue with lost young men and women that needs to be addressed. But I don't see his ideas as beneficial to the people who need help, which is why I brought this up.
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