At a time of personal confusion and pain in my life, Jordan Peterson and the alt right gave me direction and purpose. I eventually realized that purpose was spreading a cruel, antisocial worldview — but not before I inflicted that cruelty on those around me.
There was a great article the other day talking about young men being lost and adrift, and a great takeaway is that JP and his ilk are a symptom, not the cause of men feeling guideless. While sane people haven’t really discussed what good, healthy masculinity looks like, the alt right shlubs have been luring in people with no purpose by offering them toxic, reactionary masculinity.
The article went on to point out that the left needs to do better here. We need to provide a firm, healthy definition of masculinity. It isn’t about absolute traits or the male ideal. And it doesn’t have to be exclusionary from femininity. It can be both a masculine trait and a feminine trait to want to protect. To provide.