It was a perfect evening in Queensland’s capital. It was cool, I was off work… the only thing that made me want to be indoors after gazing at this sunset was the fact that I was about to see Jordan Peterson talk live. He was on stage at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre and I made sure I got myself a ticket.
Now I knew he was in Brisbane doing shows, but after not getting a ticket the first time round I assumed my chance had been and gone. However the night before this current show I was working a late shift. My supervisor told me she was sorting a group arrival for tomorrow and flashed a piece of paper at me with a few names on it. ‘Peterson’ was one of those names and immediately I checked our reservations screen and Dr. Peterson’s tour dates and put two and two together. He wasn’t just in the city tomorrow but he was staying with us! I put a welcome card in his room with my name on it, finished work and bought myself a ticket. Thankfully I had a day off (although it would have been amazing to see him in person when he checked in) and after being out with a friend all morning and afternoon, headed on inside to the show.
I am blessed in regards to my work. I work in hotels, always have. And since being in Australia I have worked in two 5-star properties, both in which involved working with VIP’s and tour groups. I would never disclose who is staying prior and during a stay, nor would I disclose where I work. I like to keep my work and blog separate. Hotel work is relatively low-pay but amazing for opportunities. You never know who is going to walk through the door and offer you a backstage pass to a gig or tickets to the next football game.
Not that this occurred this time around, I paid my money for the ticket and so pleased I went. Jordan Peterson is currently touring for his book 12 Rules for Life: an Antidote to Chaos. A book doing very well. It is a self-help book with, as you can probably guess, 12 rules to help live a better life. Now I will admit, I haven’t read the book. However I have seen many lectures and conversations involving Jordan so I have probably soaked up much of the book through these. I will read it, I just haven’t gotten around to it.
Jordan is liked by many, disliked by some. He has said many things that people feel are controversial, however I believe people can find pretty mundane things controversial. His audience is mainly male, which I assume has contributed to the illusion that he must be somewhat misogynistic. This isn’t the case from anything I have seen, and from his devoted wife going on tour with him and listening to his daughter on the Joe Rogan Experience, he seems like a great husband and father. Various opinions have formed due to his talks on the gender pay gap, gender identity and other touchy yet important subjects. Amusingly whilst on stage he joked and addressed his audience of ‘young, angry white men’, the girls on either side of me laughed with me. Maybe it was a glorious coincidence that I had a girl seated on either side of me, the row behind -or at least the few seats directly behind me- were indeed all males. I had a chat to them and a nice chat with the girl to my left before the lights turned off and Peterson walked on stage. Contrary to the photo, he stood up for the whole 1 hour and 40 minutes as he talked through the twelve steps and sat down only for the Q&A session that required his laptop.
Yesterday he tweeted this article he wrote on his current international tour, a nice little insight.
Now I am a fan of his not because I agree with everything he says, I don’t. For example he is pretty religious and I am not, and when in conversation with atheist Matt Dilahunty I didn’t really side with him on a lot of subjects. But I do agree with a lot of what he has to say and as he is a tolerant person, so I respect him. As I get older I am deciding to give more time to people that have respect for others, even if I disagree. If a conversation can be had and both people are able to both speak and listen in equal measure, that is when we see progress. And we desperately need this.
What do you think of Jordan, have you heard of him before and if so, are you a fan? Let me know and I will see you in the comments!
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Sam
