Victoria resident Eddi Wilson has initiated a petition to stop prominent Canadian psychologist and author Dr. Jordan Peterson’s appearance at the Save on Foods Arena (SOFA) on May 19. .“Peterson and his followers will often argue that protesting or calling for the cancellation of his events is censorship or infringement on freedom of expression,” said Wilson in a petition to the City of Victoria and Mayor Marianne Alto..“However, freedom of expression in Canada is not absolute, especially when it comes to hate speech that incites violence against a particular defined racial, ethnic, gender, sexual, religious, or other identifiable group.”.The petition has received 1,590 signatures as of Tuesday. It has a goal of 2,500 signatures. .Wilson said Peterson jeopardizes the safety and well-being of marginalized communities, especially women and transgender and gender non-conforming people. He added violence against women and sexual minorities “starts with words, so giving this man a platform to speak is directly impacting safety of marginalized communities.”.The petition said Peterson rose to infamy for opposing Bill C-16. It complained about him preaching about enforced monogamy, encouraging the superiority of men over women and insinuating they should be treated as sexual objects rather than equals. .Peterson’s biography on the SOFA website is a resume of his achievements as an intellectual who has written about how people can live their lives right. He used to be about self-improvement, self-reliance, and responsibility. .Over the last few years, the petition said he has gone further into right-wing talking points, and Wilson’s concern is he is using his intelligence and self-help advice to hook people into pushing divisive ideas and theories. It said fans defend him as a genuine psychologist, ignoring clinicians can have biases, of which he has many. .The petition went on to say many of Peterson’s comments qualify as hate speech when you look at the term. It defines hate speech as abusive or threatening speech or writing which expresses prejudice on the basis of ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or similar grounds. .It said he chooses his words carefully to not be caught promoting violent actions. Given the graphic threats Wilson has received for opposing him, he is unsure if his fans and followers care..Peterson has argued women are the cause of the incel movement because they are sexually active, transgender people are mentally ill, and global warming is a hoax. While no one is their best self on Twitter, Wilson said looking at his feed “shows he is an angry, divisive, hateful person.”.“So, if we are going to allow someone who engages in hate speech a platform in Victoria under the guise of free speech, I hope people are at least aware of who they are choosing to give their money and positive attention to before attending his talk,” he said. .Peterson said Wilson’s accusations of hate speech are his argument. .“Does he cite a single instance?” he said..“I'll leave that to you all to determine.” .Peterson said tickets for his Victoria show are going fast. .He joked about the CBC approving of Wilson, as he appeared as a drag queen on one of its shows. .Multiple community organizations requested on January 16 Peterson’s show at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa be stopped. .READ MORE: Community groups call for Ottawa venue to cancel Peterson show.“The toxic, and often violent, rhetoric touted by Peterson — whose quasi-academic ideas are misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic, and racist — led to an increased environment of hate, especially toward the trans community, that has been very present in Ottawa,” said the organizations. .The letter was signed by 33 community groups, including Wisdom2Action, the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity, and the Centretown Community Health Centre.
