Well, it looks like Orwell was right, just off by a few years. Though Elon Musk has brought some degree of free speech back to Twitter, the insane, anti-freedom censorship is continuing across the Western world in lands previously thought to be free.
One such place is Canada. Formerly the land of maple syrup and nice people saying sorry, it’s become known since the trucker protest and the Canadian government’s crackdown on that protest as the land that is ruled by an effeminate (potential son of Castro) that is the land where freedom goes to die.
And so professor, psychologist, and podcaster Jordan B. Peterson has apparently been singled out for the Canadian government for reprisals after criticizing Prime Minister Trudeau and retweeting a dissident Canadian politician, Pierre Poilievre. Announcing that on Twitter, Peterson said:
BREAKING: the Ontario College of Psychologists @CPOntario has demanded that I submit myself to mandatory social-media communication retraining with their experts for, among other crimes, retweeting
@PierrePoilievre and criticizing @JustinTrudeau and his political allies.
I have been accused of harming people (although none of the complainants involved in the current action were clients of mone, past or present, or en were even acquainted with any of my clients.
I am to take a course of such training (with reports documenting my “progress” or face an in-person tribunal and suspension of my right to operate as a licensed clinical psychologist.
About a dozen people from all over the world submitted complaints about my public statements on Twitter and Rogan over a four year period (out of the 15 million who follow me on social media) claiming that I had “harmed” people (not them) with my views.
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Peterson did not, however, indicate in that thread if he would go to the reeducation camp to keep his license to practice as a psychologist or move on fully from that into the political commentary and podcasting stage of his life.
He then followed up on that thread with another string of tweets, saying:
In its wisdom @CPOntario decided to pursue these complaints even though they could have dismissed them@as vexatious
I have been accused of harming people (although none of the complainants involved in the current action were clients of mine, past or present, or were even acquainted with any of my clients).
And even though many of them falsely claimed that they were or had been clients of mine and were allowed by @CPOntario to have their complaints investigated despite this falsehood
We are now in a situation in Canada under @JustinTrudeau where practicing professionals can have their livelihoods and public reputations threatened in a very serious manner for agreeing with the Official Opposition and criticizing major government figures.
If I comply the terms of my re-education and my punishment will be announced publicly. I have already had the second most serious category of punishment levied against me and have been deemed at high risk to “re-offend.”
Canadians: your physicians, lawyers, psychologists and other professionals are now so intimidated by their commissar overlords that they fear to tell you the truth. This means that your care and legal counsel has been rendered dangerously unreliable.
Ask Queen’s U law@professor @PardyBruce if he concurs on the legal front.
To reiterate: I face public disgrace, mandatory political re-education, disciplinary hearing and potential loss of my clinical licensing for agreeing with @PierrePoilievre and criticizing our standing PM @JustinTrudeau
I am willing (if @CPOntario concurs, which they won’t) to make absolutely every word of all this fully public so that everyone can decide for themselves what is actually happening
And to let the chips fall where they will in consequence
Many people on Twitter chimed in following Peterson’s announcement. Elon Musk, for example, commented with two exclamation points. Peterson, responding to Elon’s comment, said “It’s worse than you think in Canada @elonmusk. Regulated professionals are now terrified into silence by their respective colleges. This means they are no longer able to say what they believe to be true. And who needs that from their lawyers, physicians — or psychologists?” Maybe Elon will buy Canada and turn it around too.
Wall Street Silver joked that the retraining classes at the Canadian reeducation camp Peterson is being sent to will probably be wildly entertaining for those not being forced to go, saying:
“You should attend their “retraining” and record the entire thing. That sounds wildly entertaining to see how it goes. 🔥”
Support for Peterson from the online right, however, was probably muted given his recent attack against anonymous accounts, against whom he hurled many accusations and invectives.
Peterson did also reply to some comments other than Elon’s and provide a few more details regarding what is going on.
Discussing how SJWs have weaponized accountability systems, he said “It’s way more widespread than you might think. The SJW types have weaponized the domain of professional misconduct complaints and the Colleges themselves have become bastions of woke sensibiliity. Particularly in oh-so-nice Canada.”
When asked what the “other things” he has supposedly done are, he said “Criticizing climate change models. Objecting to surgery on gender dysphoric minors. Warning Canadians it was wrong for social service workers and police to threaten to apprehend the children of the Trucker Convoy protestors. I’ll provide all the details legally allowed to me.”