1/ Readers, viewers, and fans of @jordanbpeterson - rejoice.
He's been quietly releasing excerpts from his upcoming book "Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life" on @mythinkspot.
Here are the takeaways from the book's latest excerpt: "Hell, One Step at a Time."
A thread:
He's been quietly releasing excerpts from his upcoming book "Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life" on @mythinkspot.
Here are the takeaways from the book's latest excerpt: "Hell, One Step at a Time."
A thread:
2/ @jordanbpeterson tells the story of Police Battalion 101 of WW2 and the men who constituted it.
It's a tale of:
Horrific mass murder,
Moral corruption of otherwise "normal" people,
And the conformity that made it all possible.
It's a tale of:
Horrific mass murder,
Moral corruption of otherwise "normal" people,
And the conformity that made it all possible.
3/ Two remarkable facts about the men of Police Battalion 101:
a) They were not life-long criminals. They were blue-collar workers with regular lives before WW2.
b) Their average age was 40. They became adults much before Nazi propaganda swept across Germany.
And yet:
a) They were not life-long criminals. They were blue-collar workers with regular lives before WW2.
b) Their average age was 40. They became adults much before Nazi propaganda swept across Germany.
And yet:
4/ These men shot thousands of pregnant women, infants, frail elders, and cripples at point-blank range.
How?
How?
5/ The men of Police Battalion 101 were officially told they'd be on "guard duty."
When they showed up they realized they were going to be used as "agents of massacre."
They nevertheless lived up to the task.
But they must've had no choice, right?
Wrong.
When they showed up they realized they were going to be used as "agents of massacre."
They nevertheless lived up to the task.
But they must've had no choice, right?
Wrong.
6/ Commander Trapp, who led the group, told everyone before the killings commenced: "Men who did not feel up to the task...could step out."
Those who did step out were NOT executed for betraying the Nazi cause. They were "reassigned" after some verbal abuse.
Those who did step out were NOT executed for betraying the Nazi cause. They were "reassigned" after some verbal abuse.
7/ Yet only 12 people (out of 500!!) chose to step out.
The others threw up, lost all their appetite, drank ungodly amounts of alcohol, and suffered from unbearable moral pangs. But they kept the slaughter going.
The others threw up, lost all their appetite, drank ungodly amounts of alcohol, and suffered from unbearable moral pangs. But they kept the slaughter going.
8/ To recap: ordinary men with no previous military background chose to kill thousands of people even though they could've chosen to step aside.
The supply of killers at one point exceeded the demand. Many of the "volunteers" were turned away.
The supply of killers at one point exceeded the demand. Many of the "volunteers" were turned away.
9/ @jordanbpeterson writes: "Even those who are not temperamentally or, shall we say, philosophically or theologically inclined to delight in mayhem can certainly train themselves to participate in it."
10/ How these ordinary men attempted to adjust to their actions is gut-wrenching:
1. They wasted time searching empty houses.
2. They knowingly missed their shots, hoping to put some gap between the killings.
3. They hid in gardens.
1. They wasted time searching empty houses.
2. They knowingly missed their shots, hoping to put some gap between the killings.
3. They hid in gardens.
11/ But far too few of them stopped.
They could not step outside the moral consensus of their time even when it went against their innate morality.
Their biology and conscience rebelled violently against their actions. They kept shooting.
They could not step outside the moral consensus of their time even when it went against their innate morality.
Their biology and conscience rebelled violently against their actions. They kept shooting.
12/ This comparatively minor episode from World War 2 is a lesson in the "the terrible dangers of mere order."
@jordanbpeterson's last book was an "antidote to chaos." But we need an antidote to pathological order as well.
That's what his next book will offer.
@jordanbpeterson's last book was an "antidote to chaos." But we need an antidote to pathological order as well.
That's what his next book will offer.
13/ @jordanbpeterson writes: "If you decide to stand up and refuse an order...you must be in a position to trust yourself."
I think this is why Dr. Peterson refused to use the compelled pronouns in 2017.
What I mean:
I think this is why Dr. Peterson refused to use the compelled pronouns in 2017.
What I mean:
14/ Compelled speech = compelled thoughts.
Compelled thoughts = you're defenseless against your time's moral consensus.
Compelled thoughts = you're defenseless against your time's moral consensus.
15/ Non-conformists who subject dogmas to independent reasoning and their personal conscience help "society...maintain its footing" in the long-run.
The full excerpt: bit.ly/3i4DoLv
The full excerpt: bit.ly/3i4DoLv
Tomorrow I will share key takeaways from @DrJordanPeterson's most cited academic paper.
Follow @bravenewthreads to read it!
Thank you for your time.
Follow @bravenewthreads to read it!
Thank you for your time.
