Jordan Peterson and the Anonymous Trolls

Dr. Jordan Peterson, beloved public clinical psychologist and academic, purveyor of common sense (uncommon these days) braided with decades of clinical experience and academic research, has recently publicly denounced “anonymous troll demons.” Contrary to popular opinion, Dr. Peterson isn’t referring to the anonymous commenter who adds something kind, thoughtful, or constructively critical to the online discourse (key word there being constructive). He is referring to anonymous social media accounts that use their anonymity as a shield to express the most sexually perverted, scatalogical, hate-filled opinions on a variety of platforms, most notably Twitter and YouTube. 

Many listeners and watchers are concerned that Dr. Peterson, speaking from his position as a public figure, does not understand that some people cannot speak their thoughts under their own name because they could lose everything. As a rather outspoken writer, I profoundly share this concern. I’m a single Mum attempting to build a writing and teaching career.  How can I take the risk to speak out against what is pressing on my heart in today’s era of cancel culture?  I came across a story in my university coursework that completely changed my mind, and I’d like to share my reflections with you. 

 Will anonymity protect us from denouncement, shame, and disgrace? Consider the story of a science professor from the University of New Hampshire.  This university professor was apparently concerned about the postmodern neo-Marxist ideology pervading his workplace, and he decided to do something about it. He created an anonymous Twitter troll account for the purpose of expressing his views. How could anyone connect this unassuming Professor of science with the WOC, underprivileged avatar of the anonymous account? To make a very long story short, he was found out, publicly disgraced, publicly denounced, and put on administrative leave. That Professor will never set foot in a classroom as an instructor again. 

When Solzhenitsyn famously wrote, “Live not by lies,” he could have been addressing this same Professor.  The prophet Isaiah’s words over two thousand years ago serve as a solemn warning for those “scornful men” who boast that they have “made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:”

     “The hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.”

This is exactly what has happened to everyone who has “lived by lies.” And one might suggest that speaking one’s thoughts anonymously is a lie. Here’s what I learned from the science Professor’s story: lies and anonymity do not protect us. And his story is not unique; there are many similar stories. As technology advances, the chances that we will be able to hide our identity under anonymity become slimmer and slimmer. ‘But Dr. Peterson can afford to speak out,’ his critics will argue.  ‘He has the support of the Daily Wire and he is financially equipped to do so.’

When Dr. Peterson first took a stand and opposed Bill C-16 in Canada, he had three forms of livelihood: his professorship at the University of Toronto, his clinical practice, and his business. He lost two of those forms of livelihood as a result of his stand, and just as he was rebuilding, he and his wife, Tammy, became so ill that they nearly lost their lives. They are only now rebuilding. They both know what it is to lose everything because they have taken a stand for what they believe. Dr. Peterson has the fame and fortune he has today precisely because he risked everything. 

But why would Dr. Peterson waste his precious time and energy engaging with bad-faith actors? Isn’t it best to ignore the so-called anonymous troll demons? Every day, we hear another tragic story about a young person who has harmed themselves due to anonymous trolls and bullies on the internet. What if, by publicly denouncing “anonymous troll demons,” Dr. Peterson is sending a very public message, not to the trolls, but to those vulnerable ones who may lack the sophistication to recognize those taunting voices for what they are? 

Could he convey to those vulnerable young people, by calling out those accounts, that the jeering, sneering, sexually perverted, scatological, loathsome words are not worth dying for? Bullies like those anonymous trolls don’t stop because we ignore them. They scatter like cockroaches when we shine the light on them. Perhaps Dr. Peterson is drawing upon his years of clinical experience and psychological research to confront a serious problem in online discourse, and perhaps we ought to give heed to what he is trying to tell us.