Jordan Peterson as canary in the Left's coal mine

There is no coherent reason for the left’s obliterating and irrational hatred of Jordan Peterson. What, then, accounts for it? It is because the left, while it currently seems ascendant in our houses of culture and art, has in fact entered its decadent late phase, and it is deeply vulnerable.

An interesting piece.  And I love the possibility that the above observation is correct.

The Left has responded to Peterson as it does most non-conformists: with hatred and contempt.   Most criticisms of Peterson are variations on 'He's so dumb man, and like so dumb and dumb man, and so not as smart as me man.'  Anyone who's commented on liberal blogs will recognized the worn out tactics that are always the same:

1. Declare your infinite intellectual and moral (and if religious, spiritual) superiority to the non-conformist
2. If this doesn't work, wade into the discussion with name calling and variations on 'Your mamma wears army boots and she dresses you funny.'  It's childish, but can be effective for rallying like-thinking Leftists  
3. If this still doesn't work, then go for the throat; make damaging and potentially harmful accusations, engage in character assassination, or even call upon others to destroy the life and livelihood of the non-liberal heretic in question

It's as old as modern liberalism.  This has been going on for some decades, and today is almost etched in stone.  Just ask Rush Limbaugh.  Next time you see a debate between a progressive and anyone, or see a progressive take on a challenger - like Peterson - think of the above steps.  They'll fit how the progressive is approaching the debate almost every time.

This might be because most of the grand promises of the Left have died, or have led to unbelievable suffering, misery, carnage, death, suffering, and the potential disintegration of the civilization that actually brought concepts of equality, human rights, freedom, and democracy to the world.

In light of this, the usual tactics will be used against anyone who challenges the narrative.  Whether it's someone who fails to conform to the Left's dogmas, or a former believer who is in danger of leaving the plantation, the attack is the same and is predictable.  And it's often worked to beat down those non-believing conservative types far more worried about staying in the best liberal parties than standing on principle.

Enter Jordan Peterson.  Peterson isn't right about everything.  Peterson isn't God.  A powerful Leftist trick has been to convince people that anyone who disagrees with the Left must be smarter than God and perfect in every way.  Even the slightest deviation from perfection is grounds to reject the whole package.  Hence why most progressives probably think you've done nothing less than wish their death and destruction if you dare disagree with them.  Thieves who think everyone else is a crook after all.

Anyhoo, Petersen continues to be a bee in the Left's bonnet. Caitlin Flanagan at The Atlantic wades into the question about why Peterson is so hated.  Obviously because he's not liberal, and he's a threat.  Most of what Peterson says that is the most hated is, naturally, the most obviously common sense observations, like the fact that boys and girls exist, and that teenagers who can't make their bed probably aren't smarter than corporate moguls in charge of multi-billion dollar international corporations.

It's interesting that as we see the Left consolidate power and teach more Americans to embrace a Soviet styled terror state mentality, where you can arbitrarily be destroyed for sins committed when you were a child, Ms. Flanagan insists the Left is actually on its dying leg.  Hence the panic, the hysterics, the growing willingness to show its hand and declare its desire to destroy America, religious liberty, Christianity, and teach hatred and extermination of people based on the right skin color, national origin and creed.  Always promising, of course, that this oppressive regime will only punish everyone else.   It's nice to see her believe that many are beginning to see through the lies and the evil:

These are people who aren’t looking for an ideology; they are looking for ideas. And many of them are getting much better at discerning the good from the bad. The Democratic Party reviles them at its peril; the Republican Party takes them for granted in folly. (emphasis mine)

Bonus points for Ms. Flanagan noticing what I noticed: Not a single major morning "News" outlet has had Peterson on to promote his book.  That's called the press deliberately censoring unacceptable thinking, which it has done for many years.  It's just that with the Internet, it's not nearly as effective as it used to be.  Thank goodness for the Internet I guess:

It’s hard to think of a best-selling self-help book whose author has not appeared on the classic morning shows; these programs—Today and Good Morning America and CBS This Morning—are almost entirely devoted to the subject of self-help. But the producers did their part, and Peterson did not go to their studios to sit among the lifestyle celebrities and talk for a few minutes about the psychological benefits of simple interventions in one’s daily life.