Professor Votes With His Feet

[mahagonny]

Peterson had a prescription drug problem which he spoke candidly about, yes with some self-dramatizing. But he didn't make recreational use of street drugs part of his public celebrity persona/product as too many rock stars of the 60's and 70's did, willfully influencing many younger people who idolized them into risky 'experimenting' through intense peer pressure and celebrity. Their mainstreaming of street drugs into American culture paved the way for the even more decadent hip hop 'purple drank' etc. genre. Though I'm sure there are some very talented, thoughtful 'alternative' (right term? I'm too old to know for sure) hip hop poets/performers by now. Some have turned out to be talented and can act well in movies. But on the whole it's a scene that has done a lot of harm, certainly the most vile of it has, as did the rock 'n' roll druggie culture. So Neil Young being held up as a public health advocate hits my funny bone.

Neil Young serves a good purpose in getting science coverage where the scientists are not the hook.

You're entitled to your opinion of course. I suspect he hates the Joe Rogan show for a handful of reasons, like most far left politically people will, and would love to shut him down. So Young is not really a free speech advocate either, to me. Although I think his taking his product off of Spotify is a public service (having listened to it).

[jimbogumbo]

Neil Young was not and is not a drug user. he publicly spoke against David Crosby, and will have nothing to do with him.

I'm sorry, but you treat all rock stars as a monolith, the same way neither you nor I want Rs and Ds to be treated.

[mahagonny]

Frank Zappa, of course, not only did not use street drugs or alcohol, but preached against them fervently with closely reasoned argument and fired sidemen if they came to work or rehearsal high. He was probably worried about getting busted and considered himself a target and a person who attracted resentment from 'the man' (it was mutual). Early in his career he was the target of a sting operation in which a local redneck asked him to make a pornographic movie with one or two girlfriends and sell it to them. I suspect too the reason Zappa was so outspoken was not only that he didn't like street drugs himself (he worked round the clock on his music, not something one could do high given the complexity) but to throw police off the trail. His music was difficult, he trained his sidemen for hours, and if they were busted, he would have been unable to meet his concert commitments.
(ETA: Late in his life, before he died of a heroin overdose, Mike Bloomfield was on the receiving end of an intervention. The story goes, Carlos Santana and several other friends showed up at Mike's apartment with a shaming exercise. Things like 'when I was a kid you taught me everything I knew about playing guitar; now you can't even hold one.' To which Bloomfield replied 'I'm into stoned leisure, man.')
Neil Young, from what I've read, gave up drugs late in life, commenting 'the straighter I am, the less I know myself' or some such. He has a sense of humor. He recommended eating peppercorns to remedy marijuana induced paranoia ('Doc, it hurts when I do this.' 'Then don't do that!') I still say it's Rogan's views on other things that are the reason. The vax thing is more of a ruse. It's so easy to push people's buttons.
Celebrities ceremoniously giving up drugs is another chance for them to make news, self dramatize, capitalize on the public's fetishizing. A friend of mine, right after we published our first book, were joking about the prospect of announcing we were going into rehab to boost sales. Or banned somewhere. Unfortunately it only works when you're already famous.
Feuds between band members are also a good way to get media attention. Wikipedia has millions of words of ruminating about what would normally be called trivia by rock music fans with spare time.
Ron 'Pigpen' McKernan of the Grateful Dead didn't care for street drugs at all, preferring alcohol.
No doubt you've heard the phrase 'sex drugs and rock and roll.' There's usually a reason for a cliché. Although some certainly resist peer pressure if they have the grounding/confidence. The trouble with young people is they often don't.

tl;dr     So no, I have no applause for Young's grandstanding/attempt to cancel.

[Hibush]

An update on Peterson's feet.

From CHE: "he's going to be chancellor of Ralston College, a fledgling institution in Savannah, Ga., that aims to be a "revival and reinvention of the traditional university."

Or so he said to Joe Rogan, so YMMV.

I'm not sure "fledgling" is the right metaphor. Ralston was founded, if you can call it that, twelve years ago by a buddy of Jordan's but has not admitted any students to date.

It doesn't speak to administrative efficiency to be adding a chancellor to the already high admin/student ratio.

[mahagonny]

Is this school still under construction? Peterson can draw can't he?

[Puget]

It doesn't speak to administrative efficiency to be adding a chancellor to the already high admin/student ratio.

Isn't the ratio undefined, as it would require dividing by zero?
In all seriousness though, how is this not at this point just a fraud perpetrated against whoever invested in this "college"?

[mahagonny]

LOL, the CHE author uses quotations around the phrase 'woke madness.' As if it is isn't already clear that there is such a thing and that it's a problem.

[Hibush]

"Chancellor" Jordan Peterson votes with his feet once more.

Canadian pop psychologist Jordan Peterson's feelings were hurt so much by people making fun of him for body-shaming a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model that he announced he is backing away from Twitter.

[Parasaurolophus]

"Authoritarian tolerance."

Lmao.