Professor Jordan Peterson argued this weekend that Brett Kavanaugh should step down from the Supreme Court for a “less divisive” nominee to take his place, despite Peterson’s past advice to “never apologize to a mob.”
In a tweet, Peterson chimed in on a tweet by Eric Weinstein that criticized Brett Kavanaugh’s upcoming appointment to the Supreme Court of the United States. “If confirmed, Kavanaugh should step down,” Peterson tweeted.
The tweet came in response to a thread by former Evergreen State College Professor Bret Weinstein, who called Kavanaugh an “entitled punk.”
“My position on the #Kavanaugh confirmation: Both outcomes are completely unacceptable,” Weinstein wrote. “Kavanaugh was clearly, at the very least, an entitled punk through college. Nothing suggests a radical shift in mindset,” he added. “He appears to be the kind of adult that entitled punks grow into.”
“Putting someone on the court who is likely to view the world through those narrow eyes is a betrayal of the most elemental American values,” he continued. “All the worse that the nomination came from another entitled punk. It’s a divisive finger-in-the-eye-for-life to patriots of all stripes.”
Several hours after Peterson called for Kavanaugh to step down, he attempted to explain his rationale. “I’m not certain that is the right move. It’s very complex. But he would have his name cleared, and a figure who might be less divisive might be put forward,” he tweeted.
Some pointed to an older tweet from Peterson, in which he argued that caving to mob mentality is dangerous, as evidence of his hypocrisy. “Never, never, never apologize to a mob. Particularly if you have done nothing wrong. You’re a poet. Tell them to go to hell and keep writing, for God’s sake,” he tweeted in early August.
In a blog post published over the weekend, mens’ rights advocate Karen Straughan fired back at Peterson:
“This entire process has been turned into a joke,” she wrote. “And if the Democrats are able to get what they want out of it, whether because Kavanaugh nobly but futilely falls on his own sword, or because the Democrat mob opts to impeach—the equivalent of pulling a fire alarm to shut down a speaker they don’t like — it will open a door we do NOT want opened.”