Theaters in many locations are terminating their showing of the documentary “The Rise of Jordan Peterson” after receiving threats of violence.
According to The Stranger, showings in theaters in Toronto and Brooklyn had all been canceled due to complaints by staff that they were fearful of “getting in trouble.” It’s the kind of “trouble” that is seen whenever Antifa and violent leftists show up to impose their anti-fascist fascism on everyone present.
The film’s co-creator, Maziar Ghaderi was giving an interview to The Stranger when he received a text message from a pastor who had agreed to screen the film in his church after theaters refused to play it. He too had begun receiving complaints and threats.
One threat involved an “or else” kind of message, threatening that if he doesn’t obey then these radical leftists will “bring out the guillotine to fix society”:
“Fair warning,” it read, “several community organizations are planning to shut down your showing of the Jordan Peterson propaganda film. While many of us aren’t Christian and some even flat-out condemn the religion, we do not want any harm to come to your place of worship or those within. However, we cannot allow fascism to continue to rise and will not tolerate its presence in our city, whether it is on the streets or on the waterfront or in a church. Read some history books, read about eugenics, read about sex and gender and then compare it to Peterson. Pray on it if you must. Do the right thing. As much as we joke about it, we really don’t want to have to bring out the guillotine to fix society.”
Peterson, a Toronto clinical psychologist and professor, achieved international fame when he became a central figurehead in the conversation of ethics and his opposition to identity politics and political correctness. This put him square into the crosshairs of hard-left activists and protesters. This includes Antifa, who often utilize violence to silence political opposition.
The reason the hard-left becomes so vehement about Peterson’s silence is that much of what Peterson says makes sense, and as such, even members of the left find him appealing. Peterson is dangerous. He doesn’t just change minds, he changes hearts, and those are two things the radical left would like to own.
But it also exposes the weakness of their position. If they can only retaliate to Peterson’s words with violence for silence, then their arguments aren’t very good. Peterson has already won the debate.
While I doubt the radical left would pull out a literal guillotine (yet), I do believe they would resort to violence. The kind of violence that puts people in hospitals. Those screening the movie should continue to do so despite the threats, but make sure that security is a factor.
Speech shouldn’t be silenced, whether it’s Jordan Peterson or not, and shutting down showings of the movie isn’t going to progress anything forward.
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