So today I saw on my Twitter an article from Wonkette about Jordan Peterson
And it contained probably THE stupidest six words ever spoken, written, thought, or conceived of.
First, some context. Peterson, who for some inexplicable reason is someone that a ceertain segment of the population thinks is a serious public intellectual, was opining on why women should all be running around plopping out babies all the time.
There's a serious conversation to be had with young women. A woman asked me a question on my Q&A this month. She said that her friends are really down on her, because she claims to not be a feminist, but even more importantly, because she wants to have children. And they're telling her that only an evil and cruel person would bring a child into a world this terrible, and worse, to do the damage to the planet that that child will inevitably do. And people are very serious about this. And they are very hard on young women.
Okay, that never happened.
I'm guessing that this woman doesn't exist, that no such question was asked. Especially seeing as how what Peterson claims the woman "asked" was not a question, but a statement.
The only other possibility is that Peterson did actually get this "question" on his website or whatever and was too thick to realize that the person "asking" the "question" was bullshitting him. Because no one is responding to their friend's stated desire for a cute cuddly baby by telling her that she is "evil and cruel." This is an obvious lie,. But it's not even the stupid part yet. Well, it's A stupid part, but it's not THE stupid part.
Her is THE stupid part. The stupidest part. The sentence containing the stupidest six words ever assembled into a single phrase:
I always think of the Pieta because I kind of think of it as the Christian equivalent of the crucifix,
Yes, there it is. Did you catch that? "the Christian equivalent of the crucifix." The CHRISTIAN equivalent of the CRUCIFIX!
Peterson is saying that there is a thing that exists which is a version of a statue of Jesus Christ on the cross, but is a CHRISTIAN version of that. How do you respond to that? I have no words.
A Christian equivalent of this:
Like there's a non-Christian version of a crucifix.
I mean, you could certainly have a Buddhist equivalent of a crucifix. Or a Muslim equivalent. Or a Hindu equivalent. But a Christian version of the crucifix is like an athletic version of the Olympics. It boggles the mind that this is a person who is taken seriously by anyone.
Here's the whole quote:
I always think of the Pieta because I kind of think of it as the Christian equivalent of the crucifix, you know, you have Mary there with her broken son in her arms. And I think that the great adventure for women, at least in part, this is the maternal adventure, is to bring a child into the world, knowing full well the consequence is a crucifixion-like brokenness. And that it's still a mark of faith in the possibilities of being, to participate in that and not to hide from it and to say: 'Well, despite everything, I'm going to act out my faith in life and in the possibilities of being and I'm going to bring someone into the world who will be a net force for good rather than evil. And that's my moral obligation.'
Holy Saint Stupid on an idiot stick!
Where to begin?
Pewrhaps by boasting that I have seen the Pieta in person?
No, that would be rude. But true!
Anyway, this dolt thinks that even though a woman would know full well that the end result of bringing a child into the world is going to be " a crucifixion-like brokenness," She should somehow wish to do that anyway? Like if you told some woman that she has a rare genetic condition that will cause any sons or daughters she has to die a slow painful death while they are still young, you're supposed to find it admirable for her to say "well, that's okay. I really feel like I oughta have some kids anyway?"
Or the fact that he thinks that having babies is a "moral obligation," no matter how much pain and suffering and "crucifixion-like brokenness" those children would be fated to endure?
Or that he thinks that having a child whose fate it is to endure a "crucifixion-like brokenness" is not only a moral obligation, but also an "adventure?"
Maybe the worst part is that he thinks he has the right to tell women what they are "morally obligated" to do with their baby-making parts.
.
It's hard to fathom how much stupidity, arrogance, and just general shittiness Peterson can pack into one brief paragraph. I've read that bit over and over and each time I notice something new, some new nugget of idiocy or hubris or general dickishness to marvel over. A better writer than I could probably write a book about just that one paragraph.
You could probably get at least a magazine article out of the stupidest six words in the history of the English language.
