At a time of personal confusion and pain in my life, Jordan Peterson and the alt right gave me direction and purpose. I eventually realized that purpose was spreading a cruel, antisocial worldview — but not before I inflicted that cruelty on those around me.
I was there 15 years ago as well. There were no Shapiros or Petersons because online video was still in its infancy, but a conservative upbringing and online spaces definitely pushed me down the path that the author writes about.
I changed when I went to university as well. It wasn’t liberal arts courses that got me out, it was simply being around a wide variety of different peoples and ideas. Universities don’t teach you to be “woke,” it forces you into contact with people outside your bubble.
Yup. I found 4chan like 13 years ago, right around when the “pools closed” thing happened. I was unhappy, dissatisfied with society, alienated from other people, and thought I was better than everyone else. Thats a dangerous combination, and I started off by trying to just be ‘edgy’ and shock people, but with increasing desensitization i shudder to think what might have happened if I hadn’t started smoking weed and talking to more people and eventually found psychedelics. I don’t cesdit drugs alone with getting me out but it definitely helped me relate to others and build a sense of empathy which allowed me to see through the (in retrospect) bullshit.