Support Jordan Peterson in the Fight Against Cancel Culture, Says Cory Morgan

Commentary

The Ontario court ruling against Dr. Jordan Peterson’s challenge against the College of Psychologists of Ontario sets a troubling precedent and all Canadians should be concerned. Cancel culture has extended into professional associations and people will be losing careers over comments on social media that could be arbitrarily considered controversial.

This ruling threatens free speech, free expression, and most troubling of all free thought.

The persecution of people for “thoughtcrimes” has been a hallmark of authoritarian states for over a century. In George Orwell’s increasingly prescient novel “1984,” the Thought Police monitored the statements of citizens and would have them arrested if they showed indications of thinking outside the status quo established by the state. Those arrested would be forced through a treatment of reprogramming to drive out their independent thoughts. They could be released if they responded well to treatment, or eventually executed if they reoffended.

The persecution of people for thought crimes in Canada is not as overt as in “1984” nor does it threaten execution. There are no formal thought police. Instead, activists have appointed themselves as the arbiters and monitors of correct thinking. They scour social media and will swarm when anybody with public stature deviates from what they consider to be incorrect thinking and expression. They are relentless and merciless.

The mobs of the self-righteous target the sponsors of media members, and the employers of those they determine to be committing thought crimes. They have been devastatingly effective and many careers have been lost for the pettiest of supposed wrongdoings. Once people are left unemployed and ostracized, the mob seeks out and devours a new victim. Even well-established progressive personalities aren’t immune, as the CBC’s Wendy Mesley discovered.

The mob has discovered professional associations are sensitive and easy to bully into cancelling one of their members. They will organize and mass email complaints to the organization, threatening protests and public shaming. Eager to avoid becoming a target themselves, associations will punish or expel members who draw the attention of the mob. This is what happened to Dr. Jordan Peterson.

Dr. Peterson has been bucking the trend of social compliance with the new transgender-inspired speech standards for a while now. In refusing to use the absurd pronouns “zee” and “zir” while employed at the University of Toronto, Peterson attracted the ire and fury of the mob.

When the knives came out for him, however, Peterson did something many academics haven’t had the courage to do. Not only did he not recant his views on gender pronouns, he doubled down and has been consistently critical of identity politics and political correctness since. Through his stances, Peterson became a public icon and bestselling author. The efforts to cancel Peterson ended up aiding his career, career and this drove his opponents even more wild.

While the mob couldn’t financially break Dr. Peterson, they found they could target his accreditation as a psychologist through the College of Psychologists of Ontario. When pressured, the college determined Peterson had spoken inappropriately on social media and must undergo a coaching program on professionalism in public statements. The order from the college has undertones of reprogramming efforts, and Peterson refused to comply.

Dr. Peterson is trained to treat patients. Is he any less able to offer aid to patients due to his expressed views on social media? That’s all the college should ever consider before considering sanctions. Peterson may lose his licence, and that will chill the expression of free thought from professionals of all kinds across Canada.

Dr. Peterson challenged the order in the courts and has now lost.

Peterson’s statements on social media weren’t unprofessional, they just deviated from the orthodoxy of political correctness established by the woke. Had he been abusing people online, stalking them, or being obscene, it could be considered acting unprofessionally. But he didn’t do any of those things. His crime was in expressing his opinion.

One need not agree with the opinions expressed by Dr. Peterson to understand the importance of respecting his right to express them. Perhaps some may consider his views insensitive or even wrong. Call him out, debate him, or ignore him. That’s fair play. To try and ruin his career, however, is vindictive and dangerous.

It is appalling that the Ontario court affirmed the order to force Dr. Peterson into a re-education program.

The mob isn’t satiated and never will be. It is relentless and remorseless.

If we don’t stand up for Dr. Peterson now, any one of us could be targeted next.