“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” — George Orwell, 1984
Technical content coming soon!
I’m working on some in-depth technical content, in the form of a video and detailed write-up. The most immediate topic is how to set up and use a device called a Pirate Stick that makes it very easy to post content to the Interplanetary File System (IPFS). More content will be here soon, so watch this space!
Jordan Peterson as a case study of what’s coming
It’s instructive to examine what’s happening to Jordan Peterson, a psychologist in Canada, who dares to exercise independent critical thinking and speak his mind. I’m not really a follower of his, as my philosophy is quite different from his, but I’ve found some of his material to be mind-expanding and thought-provoking.
Jordan Peterson is a man who applies logic and reason to psychology in a way that nobody is used to. His philosophical reasoning leads to places that the modern worlds of psychology, relationships, and culture simply cannot tolerate. This is because he uses logic and reasoning in a way that actually reinforces classical philosophy and traditional values. He’s a deep philosopher, at least by my standards. The most surprising thing about Peterson, among scholars, is that he winds up in a place where the common man already finds himself instinctively. This makes him a hero to the very same people that modern regimes find deplorable.
So, he’s a complete affront to the woke powers-that-shouldn’t-be in his profession. The same who have decided that that he is intolerant and requires re-education. According to the New York Post, the College of Psychologists of Ontario (CPO) has threatened his license if he doesn’t comply with their demands (this links directly to what Peterson shared on X, the platform still known as Twitter).
They demand that he works with one of their selected doctors to “ameliorate” his “professionalism in public statements” in a coaching program that they’ve prescribed. This would be at Peterson’s cost (up to $225/hr) and must be completed within six months. The demands are presented in the first-person as a document that Peterson would have to tuck his tail between his legs, sign, and comply with. Signing such a letter and complying with their demands would be completely emasculating. The CPO had better understand that Peterson will not be playing their game. They had to know that before they even wrote this condescending tripe!
Why this matters to all content creators
The vast majority of content creators would correctly state that they aren’t psychologists practicing in Canada. However, similar concerns apply to all of us. Jordan Peterson is a canary in the coal mine on this topic. He’s providing a preview of what’s coming. I believe we will soon see a lot of censorship where creators will be offered a pardon for their behavior if they follow prescribed re-education and prove that it sticks via compliant, obsequious behaviors.
A fine example is a new policy covered in a Frontline News article “YouTube offers ‘re-education’ for rule breakers.” It’s a bit of artistic license to call YouTube’s offer “re-education,” as the author Yudi Sherman certainly added the “re-” prefix to the term. However, from the description of what YouTube is actually doing, the term fits perfectly. From YouTube’s actual statement:
Starting today, creators will have the option of taking an educational training course when they receive a Community Guidelines warning. These resources will provide new ways for creators to understand how they can avoid uploading content that violates our policies in the future. Completion of the course will lift the warning from a creator’s channel — so long as they don’t violate the same policy for 90 days.
In a thoroughly disgusting and Orwellian scripted interview, Jennifer Flannery O’Connor states:
…most creators are good and want to play by the rules…if they expressed to us that they really want to learn and comply in good faith we should also give them an extra chance.
So, like the offer that Peterson was given, if dissident creators are willing to tuck their tails between their legs and go along with some re-education, they can continue posting on YouTube as though nothing ever happened. The warning would be removed.
Watch this trend. I expect that more platforms will be taking a re-education approach so that creators can self-censor and continue to use these centralized platforms after they’ve proven that they are “good” and “want to learn and comply in good faith” with the establishment’s 3x5 card of allowable opinion.
This further emphasizes what I brought up in my introductory article. We are heading into a time where censorship will be amped to a level that we’ve never seen before. I won’t say that nobody should ever post to YouTube or other centralized, pro-censorship platforms, but I will say that we need to be looking at alternatives in a very serious fashion.
Thanks for reading!
Mark-A-Billy