Category Archives: Jordan Peterson

A San Antonio judge running for reelection is under fire for YouTube video his opponent calls "undignified."

Carlos Quezada, 289th District Court Judge, was featured in a parody video posted to YouTube on January 30 showing him presiding over fake bench trial over a woman who stole Cleto Rodriguez's (yes that Cleto) "lucky" underwear, or chones, and used them as a rag for cleaning, reports the Express-News.

Quezada, running on the Democraticballot,told Express-News that he didn't think anyone would take the video seriously because he was having fun. His opponent in the Democratic primary, Rose Zebell-Sosa, believes Quezada is in violation of judicial conduct rules.

The video is awkward, to say the least, but it also leaves us with a lot of questions. Some of them answered. Someof them not.

The video was posted by a channel called The Carpenter's Apprentice, which reportedly belongs to a man named Roy Aguillon, according to the Express-News article.

Exactly. The Express-News says Aguillon is a political activist for the Southside who ran unsuccessfully for San Antonio City Council in 2015.

According to a welcome video on his channel, Aguillon credits writer and right-wing figure Jordan Peterson for helping him get his life back together. Peterson has publicly made transphobic remarks and railed against feminists. Peterson believes feminism is destroying America. And men.

The video is a little cringe, but apparently Quezada made it to campaign for reelection to his district judge seat. Near the end of the video he asks the fake plaintiff and defendant for their vote.

We're not sure. He is a local celebrity and Cleto does appears in several of Aguillon's videos, including a recent video segment he introduces as "Cleto's Community" where he interviews Pamela Espurvoa Allen, founder of Eagle's Flight Advocacy and Outreach.

His opponent Zebell-Sosa appears to imply that it can. She told the Express-News that she finds it "disturbing, undignified and disappointing." His opponent says the video also promotes stereotypes.

Again, Zebell-Sosa seems to think it could. Judges are held to rules and standards of conduct set out by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.

That remains to be seen. Jacqueline Habersham, executive director of the SCJC, told the Express-News whether Quezada was in violation of any of the rules to warrant an investigation.

Quite often. In fact, there is a whole public archive of suspensions, resignations, and sanctions.

It's five minutes long. The "joke" is presented in the first minute and 30 seconds. After a while, the "holey chones" discourse becomes awkward. Maybe there will be a re-cut?

Depends on who you speak to. There have been more serious judicial violations and investigations against Texas judges in the past. There was a district judge in Polk County who was accused of showing prejudice against a defendant, and a Burnet County judge who took to Facebook to say the man charged with the murder of SAPD Detective Benjamin Marconi should be lynched.

God, I sure hope not.

The primaries and midterms are upon us so only time will tell. Some of his supporters and people on the fence could legitimately be offended by the video, which Zebell-Sosa says mocks court proceedings. Or they could not care at all.

Election Day for the primaries is on March 1.

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San Antonio judge taking heat over controversial 'chones' video. We have some questions. - mySA

Kalyna Miletic, Entrepreneur and Leadership Development Coach has launched a podcast. Lead Today Show on Anchor Podcasts

New York Feb 11, 2022 Lead Today is a podcast about self-leadership; with a focus on work, relationships, spirituality and health. Its main audience is women who are navigating their careers and life in the modern world. Kalynas tone is authentic, engaging, and thoughtful.

Kalyna and her guests share how women are leading by managing their flourishing businesses, romantic lives and personal wellness priorities in a busy and ever changing environment. The format of the show utilizes both solo episodes and guest interviews.

Launching Lead Today has provided me with the phenomenal opportunity to connect with like-minded leaders and offers a platform where we can change and broaden how leadership is defined, said Kalyna.

The most recent episode featured Almost 30 Podcasters Krista Williams and Lindsey Simcik. Other notable guests include Tammy Peterson, Jordan Petersons wife, and Melissa Leong from The Social on CTV.

This show aims to unravel what feminine leadership is, how society can benefit from balancing its approach to leadership and uncovering how people may lead better lives via being present with their daily actions. Kalyna speaks on a wide variety of topics in an effort to shed light on the fact that being a leader is a decision people make in every action they take or the thoughts they have.

Tammy Peterson Shares Her Wisdom on the Lead Today Show July 5th 2021

Jordan Petersons wife joins Kalyna on the show to discuss God and the rosary, marriage, exploring resentment and grace. Tammy brings wisdom and thoughtfulness to this engaging interview.

Career Development Series: How to Know What Values and Beliefs Guide Career Development October 26th, 2021

Kalyna shared a five part series where she conveys the different areas of career growth to develop as a professional. Shown below is one of the episodes surrounding values and beliefs about work:

Almost 30 Podcast Creators Lindsey Simcik and Krista Williams on the Lead Today Show January 31st 2022

Lindsey and Krista bring a youthful entrepreneurial spirit to the latest episode of the show discussing their journey to building their own successful podcast of over 35 million downloads and what it took for them to get there. They offer up stories and insights surrounding intuition and health, setting personal boundaries and making time in nature a priority.

A Feminine Approach to Leadership

The team working on Lead Today has put their focus on bringing all sides of the equation to the leadership discussion. They offer discourse around the feminine sides of leadership that are grounded in relational skills, collaboration, and strong interpersonal communication. Episodes consider how women can batch their work according to their menstrual cycles, the role of rituals and religion in the modern world and how to negotiate a better salary. Kalynas professional background in leadership and career coaching lends itself to thoughtful discourse utilizing powerful questions to fuel interesting discussions with guests and in solo episodes alike.

In Conclusion

The Lead Today Show is bringing a powerful female voice to the space of leadership development. This show promotes open discussion, critical thinking and cultivating new personal awareness. For anyone who wants to hear a fresh perspective on bringing leadership to all aspects of life, the Lead Today Show offers an interesting option to listen to on all major podcast distribution channels such as Anchor Podcasts, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.

About Kalyna Miletic

Kalyna Miletic is the founder of Kickstart Your Work, Chiefly and Lead. Ware. Her life philosophy is centered on the principle of taking imperfect action to learn and grow in real time, and with this she empowers others to be impactful leaders through their actions daily.

Having coached over 5,000 client hours with clients in 23 different countries around the world, Kalyna helps clients create a meaningful legacy that is simple and achievable. She works with professionals in all industries to become leaders in their fields. She was named one of Business Insiders Most Innovative Career Coaches of 2020. In her free time she enjoys travel having visited over 30 countries to date. Her new book is to be released late 2022.

Listeners of the podcast can contact Kalyna Miletics team via email at [emailprotected] to provide feedback and ideas for the podcast, or to become a guest on the show.

Lead Today has an audience in 24 countries. To listen to the podcast, visitLead Today Show.

Media ContactCompany Name: Lead Today ShowContact Person: Kalyna MileticEmail: Send EmailCountry: United StatesWebsite: https://www.kalynamiletic.com

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The Lead Today Show hosted by Kalyna Miletic launched on Anchor Podcasts is changing the way leadership is defined with guests such as Tammy Peterson...

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Our most-read story was on the Port Tech Center Arena looking to staff up before it begins hosting concerts, gaming competitions and other events. Coming in second place was a piece about workers at a local Starbucks vying to make it the chain's first Texas store to unionize.

Chalk that up to the Great Resignation? Hard to say, but it certainly looks like readers are paying close attention to employment matters.

Read on for our other most-read stories of the week a mixed bag that includesSan Antonio City Council shenanigans, a controversial self-help author andan outdoor screening of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

10. Right-wing favorite Jordan Peterson coming to San Antonio's Tobin Center on Thursday

9. Current Events: San Antonio lets the powerful cut to the front of the line for COVID relief funds

8. COVID-denier Ted Nugent's Detroit Muscle tour skipping San Antonio for Fredericksburg

7. Antisemitic flyer campaign targets homes in San Antonio's Alamo Heights neighborhood

6. San Antonio Botanical Garden's Foodie Cinema pairs Willy Wonka with chocolate-themed menu

5. San Antonio's Trinity University reclassified as National University, UTSA as R1 research school

4. San Antonio officer suspended after department says he made inappropriate remarks to coworker

3. San Antonio couple accused in beating death of 12-year-old left in their care

2. San Antonio Starbucks vying to be the first in Texas to unionize

1. San Antonio's Tech Port Center Arena is hiring as it prepares to open next month

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Tech Port Center Arena, Starbucks Union: The top 10 headlines in San Antonio this week - San Antonio Current

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. The No. 7-ranked Indiana Hoosiers will host its annual "Head to the Hall" game on Saturday at 3 p.m. versus the Michigan State Spartans in a rescheduled matchup.

Indiana (17-3, 9-1 Big Ten) was originally supposed to play Michigan State (13-10, 7-5 Big Ten) on Jan. 19, but the game was postponed due to COVID-19 protocol within Indiana's program as part of the Hoosiers' 15-day break.

Since then, the Spartans have won four of their six games including their most recent 63-57 win over No. 4 Michigan, the Hoosiers' only Big Ten loss this season.

Michigan State is led by senior guard Nia Clouden who's averaging 21.3 points per game. Freshman forward Matilda Ekh adds 12.2 points contributing to the Spartans' average 73 points per game just barely higher than Indiana's 72.6 points.

The Hoosiers were led by starting forward Mackenzie Holmes until shewas sidelined with a knee injury before the Nebraska game in mid-January.

"Since Mack's been out, there's been many games where it just seems like the offense has been hard to find, and we had to keep grinding away and at times manufacture the pieces in different spots," Indiana head coach Teri Moren said.

That all changed on Wednesday when the Hoosiers shut down Illinois 93-61 on the road. Graduate student guard Ali Patberg led the way with 26 points to move her up as Indiana's ninth all-time leading scorer with 1,613 career points. She also ranks third in program assists with 486.

"We expect Ali to be a force for us offensively," Moren said. "The last two games haven't looked like that for her, but I thought she came out tonight (Wednesday) and was assertive really looking to take shots."

In the mean time while Holmes heals, sophomore Kiandra Browne is replacing her as starting forward.

Moren said Browne is doing exactly what the team hoped she would do and loves when she snags the offensive rebound by tipping it out to her teammates. She totaled six points and six rebounds in the win over the Fighting Illini.

As far as Holmes goes, Moren said expect her to be back sooner than later.

"I think she's getting closer," Moren said. "She is on the floor not from a team perspective, but she is doing some individual stuff right now. I think everybody's excited about where she is right now in terms of her rehab and her recovery of getting back on the floor soon."

Until then, Indiana has more players that are eager to fill in. Freshman guard Kailtin Peterson came in off the bench in the Illinois win to relieve starters and put down a career-high 11 points on three three-pointers.

"I just try to stay ready and play hard whenever I'm in for my teammates and coaches," Peterson said. "We all work hard, and it's paying off, and we work together. We're close with each other."

The Hoosiers shot 57.6 percent from the floor in a game Moren called one of the team's best offensive performances.

"I felt like we were shooting the ball well," Moren said. "I felt like things were going our way, and I think it just gives everybody including our staff, including the bench a lot of energy and a lot of confidence that things are going our way."

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"Head to the Hall" for an Indiana Women's Basketball Rescheduled Matchup Versus Michigan State - CalBearsMaven

Jordan Peterson is a Canadian clinical psychologist, cultural critic, and professor of psychology at the University of Toronto. His main areas of study are the psychology of religious and ideological belief, and the assessment and improvement of personality and performance.

From 1993 to 1997, Peterson lived in Arlington, Massachusetts, while teaching and conducting research at Harvard University as an assistant and an associate professor in the psychology department. During his time at Harvard, he studied aggression arising from drug and alcohol abuse, and supervised a number of unconventional thesis proposals. Afterwards, he returned to Canada and took up a post as a professor at the University of Toronto.

In 1999, Routledge published Peterson's Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief. The book, which took Peterson 13 years to complete, describes a comprehensive theory for how we construct meaning, represented by the mythical process of the exploratory hero, and provides an interpretation of religious and mythical models of reality presented in a way that is compatible with modern scientific understanding of how the brain works. It synthesizes ideas drawn from narratives in mythology, religion, literature and philosophy, as well as research from neuropsychology, in "the classic, old-fashioned tradition of social science."

Peterson's primary goal was to examine why individuals, not simply groups, engage in social conflict, and to model the path individuals take that results in atrocities like the Gulag, the Auschwitz concentration camp and the Rwandan genocide. Peterson considers himself a pragmatist, and uses science and neuropsychology to examine and learn from the belief systems of the past and vice versa, but his theory is primarily phenomenological. In the book, he explores the origins of evil, and also posits that an analysis of the world's religious ideas might allow us to describe our essential morality and eventually develop a universal system of morality.

Harvey Shepard, writing in the Religion column of the Montreal Gazette, stated: "To me, the book reflects its author's profound moral sense and vast erudition in areas ranging from clinical psychology to scripture and a good deal of personal soul searching. ... Peterson's vision is both fully informed by current scientific and pragmatic methods, and in important ways deeply conservative and traditional."

In 2004, a 13-part TV series based on his book Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief aired on TVOntario. He has also appeared on that network on shows such as Big Ideas, and as a frequent guest and essayist on The Agenda with Steve Paikin since 2008.

In 2013, Peterson began recording his lectures ("Personality and Its Transformations", "Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief") and uploading them to YouTube. His YouTube channel has gathered more than 600,000 subscribers and his videos have received more than 35 million views as of January 2018. He has also appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience, The Gavin McInnes Show, Steven Crowder's Louder with Crowder, Dave Rubin's The Rubin Report, Stefan Molyneux's Freedomain Radio, h3h3Productions's H3 Podcast, Sam Harris's Waking Up podcast, Gad Saad's The Saad Truth series and other online shows. In December 2016, Peterson started his own podcast, The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast, which has 37 episodes as of January 10, 2018, including academic guests such as Camille Paglia, Martin Daly, and James W. Pennebaker, while on his channel he has also interviewed Stephen Hicks, Richard J. Haier, and Jonathan Haidt among others. In January 2017, he hired a production team to film his psychology lectures at the University of Toronto.

Peterson with his colleagues Robert O. Pihl, Daniel Higgins, and Michaela Schippers produced a writing therapy program with series of online writing exercises, titled the Self Authoring Suite. It includes the Past Authoring Program, a guided autobiography; two Present Authoring Programs, which allow the participant to analyze their personality faults and virtues in terms of the Big Five personality model; and the Future Authoring Program, which guides participants through the process of planning their desired futures. The latter program was used with McGill University undergraduates on academic probation to improve their grades, as well since 2011 at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. The Self Authoring Programs were developed partially from research by James W. Pennebaker at the University of Texas at Austin and Gary Latham at the Rotman School of Management of the University of Toronto. Pennebaker demonstrated that writing about traumatic or uncertain events and situations improved mental and physical health, while Latham demonstrated that personal planning exercises help make people more productive. According to Peterson, more than 10,000 students have used the program as of January 2017, with drop-out rates decreasing by 25% and GPAs rising by 20%.

In May 2017 he started new project, titled "The psychological significance of the Biblical stories", a series of live theatre lectures in which he analyzes archetypal narratives in Genesis as patterns of behaviour vital for both personal, social and cultural stability.

His upcoming book "12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos" will be released on January 23rd, 2018. It was released in the UK on January 16th. Dr. Peterson is currently on tour throughout North America, Europe and Australia.

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12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos: Peterson, Jordan ...

Internet users have been left baffled by a photo of clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson with musician Skrillex that the controversial Canadian author shared on Twitter on Friday.

Peterson shared the photo to his more than two million Twitter followers with the simple message "Guess who" and the image led to an outpouring of reactions from social media users.

Skrillex, whose real name is Sonny John Moore, is a DJ and musician who had significant success in the 2010s and won three Grammy Awards in 2011. He went on to win a further five Grammys.

Peterson later tweeted at Skrillex to say: "Good to see you yesterday."

Some Twitter users expressed shock and anger at Skrillex for appearing with Peterson, who has made a number of controversial statements in the past, and others suggested that the DJ had now been "canceled."

"You just got Skrillex canceled," wrote Twitter user Matt Humphrey in reply to Peterson's photo.

Drew Westmoreland seemed to agree, writing: "Well Skrillex is cancelled now" followed by a laughing cry emoji.

User @danthedirt appeared to joke that he would have to get rid of his collection of Skrillex music, tweeting: "Time to burn all my Skrillex albums" along with a photo of a public bonfire.

"Man... Why out @Skrillex like this @jordanbpeterson? Will only bring him trouble," tweeted Daniel Eskander.

Some users appeared to be confused about why Peterson and Skrillex would be pictured together.

"Soooooo... Skrillex in a photo with Jordan Peterson... I need to understand the context of that. Are they buds, or was it just a 'photo op'?" tweeted user @urzapolariz said.

"Never would I have ever thought I'd see these two in the same pic," wrote Billy Bouchard.

Twitter user @kurosomnium joked about the apparent surprise of seeing Peterson with Skrillex.

"'I wonder why Skrillex is trending, maybe people are having a nostalgia moment right now.' *sees tweet* 'Oh. Oh no,'" they tweeted.

Jared Holt, a resident fellow at the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab, joked about the possibility of a collaboration between the two and made reference to Peterson's voice, which has sometimes been compared to Kermit the Frog'sthat comparison has become a long-running joke among Peterson's critics.

"When do we get to watch Jordan Peterson sob and break down describing the biblical turmoil represented in the drop of 2010-era Skrillex," Holt tweeted.

"Kermit the Frog voice: 'Drops used to be drops and that was it. Now the kids talk about hyperpop. But only in the wub wub can a boy find sa,'" he joked.

Peterson has long been a controversial figure. Speaking to Joe Rogan on his podcast last week, the clinical psychologist claimed there was "no such thing as climate" and he has recently been an outspoken supporter of Canadian truckers protesting against a vaccine mandate in Ottawa.

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Skrillex and Jordan Peterson Photo Leaves the Internet Baffled - Newsweek

A judicial review has been filed in Federal Court challenging the government for its travel restrictions prohibiting travel for unvaccinated people.

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) filed the legal application Thursday on behalf of Maxime Bernier, leader of the Peoples Party of Canada.

In a statement, JCCF said Bernier is being prevented from fully participating in his political role by Orders issued by Transport Canada, under instructions of the Prime Minister, said the statement.

With implementation of these orders, Mr. Bernier is restricted in participating in democratic discussions and the electoral process.

The statement asserts Bernier leader of the fifth largest political party in Canada is required to travel to participate in various political, intellectual and charitable activities across Canada and flew more than 79,000 km for work purposes in 2021. JCCF suggested travel of this volume is only reasonably feasible by air.

Referencing the federal governments October 30 limitation stating anyone travelling by air, train or ship must show proof of vaccination, JCCF said approximately six million unvaccinated Canadians 15% of the population have now been banned from travel.

Canadians cannot travel to help sick loved ones, to get to work, to attend university, to visit family and friends, to take international vacations, and to live ordinary lives like other citizens, said the statement.

The JCCF said in its opinion, the travel restrictions violate Canadians constitutionally protected rights and are discriminatory.

Besides theCharterproviding mobility rights that allow Canadians to freely enter and leave the country, and travel unhindered between provinces, theCharteralso guarantees citizens equal access to political institutions, public debate and the electoral process, said the statement.

The COVID-19 zealots are attempting to gag dissenting voices like mine by any means possible. One such tactic is to prevent people from meeting and organizing politically, said Bernier.

The courts must put an end to this segregation.

The mainstream media give me almost no air time. I have to go and meet people all across Canada to keep my party growing and get the word out.

If I have to travel the equivalent of fourteen times the distance from Victoria to St.Johns in a year, Im certainly not going to do it by car or bike.

Samuel Bachand, primary counsel for the JCCF in Qubec, said although Canada is considered to be one of the most democratic countries in the world, it is the only country in the developed world that has banned vaccine-free travellers from air travel.

Democracy is not the property of the vaccinated, nor is it some kind of reward for well-behaved children, said Bachand, adding, All Canadians, of all political affiliations, must be free to travel.

Melanie Risdon is a reporter with the Western Standardmrisdon@westernstandardonline.com

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Butts threatens legal action against Peterson in Twitter battle - Western Standard

Every parent wants toprotecttheir child from prejudice. Yet some activists and writers claim that state lawmakers proposals to reject educators use of critical race theory in K-12 schools is acampaignthat thrives on caricature.

We saw an example of this in a Twitter exchange between the best-selling author Jordan Peterson and the Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow Chris Rufo this week.

Peterson argued that banning critical race theory in schools is a bad idea because ideas are defeated by better ideas. Peterson also added that critical race theory cant be defined or policed.

Rufo, who has documented the ways in which educators application of critical race theory leads to racial discrimination, appropriately responded by saying state proposals that defend teachers and students from these activities must becareful to restrict racialist abuse.Schools have a coercive power over children, Rufo argued.

Also, critical race theory can be defined (its architects left a canon defining its main ideas) and lawmakers are responsible for addressing violations of existing law. The Heritage Foundationsmodel policycontains such careful provisions and prohibits compelled speechwith compelled speech being a natural consequence of school officials applications of critical race theory in classrooms (or anywhere else).

As I explain in my book Splintered: Critical Race Theory and the Progressive War on Truth, critical race theorypromotes racial discriminationand Marxism. One critical race theorist calledKarl Marxs ideasdazzling and riveting to contemporary theorists. Critical race theory has an activist dimension and questions the very foundations of constitutional law, according to two of the theorys founders, Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic.

There is a wave of popular opinion rejecting the theorys biased applications. State lawmakers are considering proposals that defend teachers and students from being forced to believe ideas that clash with their personal values and Americas founding ideals, including ideas thatviolatethe Civil Rights Act of 1964. Here are some examples of proposals that are rejecting racial discrimination, not banning critical race theory:

Criticshave claimed such proposals prevent schools from making people feel discomfort, as though teachers will need to avoid discussing the harsh truths about slavery and racism in Americas past. But the proposals are specific regarding school activities and instructional practices and do not ban black history, as one Florida lawmaker who opposes the state proposal claimed.

Floridas proposal, for example, says that a public employee cannot force a teacher or student to believe that an individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish based on their skin color. The proposal is not an invitation to censor school material but a firm statement opposing racism.

Some school officials know that racially discriminatory behavior will not stand in court. Earlier this week in Massachusetts, Wellesley public school leaders justsettled a lawsuit with Parents Defending Education, an advocacy organization exposing radical content in schools, who argued that the districts racial affinity groups were illegal. These affinity activities separate students by race for different school activities.

State proposals to reject critical race theory should protect teachers and students from prejudice by prohibiting compelled speech, reinforcing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and even stating that nothing in such proposals shall limit classroom discussions (Georgias proposal, for one, contains such a provision).

Before denouncing state proposals for using the words discomfort, guilt, and anguish in relation to K-12 schools, critics should look closer at what lawmakers are attempting to do: protect children from racism.

This piece originally appeared in The Daily Signal

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State Lawmakers Are Combating Racism the Right Way. Here's What You Need to Know. - Heritage.org

Canada Unity 2022, the group of anti-vaccine protestors who have snarled traffic in Ottawa and earned accolades in the right-wing media, wants to talk to you about Bitcoin.

A handful of the groups organizers held a press conference on Facebook Live Wednesday that quickly devolved into a presentation on the popular form of cryptocurrency, confusing many of their supporters who were watching online.

Are we at a press conference for Freedom Convoy 2022 or having some guy shove Bitcoin down our throats? one commenter griped. Very disappointed! I came to see updates about progress made by our Truckers.

The convoy protests began in late January, after a loose affiliation of truckers banded together to drive from western Canada to the nations capital of Ottawa to voice opposition to COVID-19 vaccine mandates for truckers crossing the border into the US. The movement has been embraced by Republican politicians in the US, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The Canadian government has hit back, denouncing foreign interference from the US.

But very little of that was discussed at todays press conference. The event kicked off with three of the protest movements organizers, including Tamara Lich, a former fitness instructor and singer in an Alberta band called Blind Monday, who played a prominent role in organizing a GoFundMe campaign that raised about 10 million Canadian dollars ($7.8 million) for the anti-vaxx protest.

After spending several minutes disparaging fake news and praising supporters like Jordan Peterson, a philosopher whose work is admired by the right, the group turned to Bitcoin.

BJ Dichter, who introduced himself as vice president and spokesperson for the Freedom Convoy, said the group has been in touch with some of the most prominent Bitcoiners on YouTube to learn how to use cryptocurrency to raise money for their cause. (GoFundMe shut down the groups fundraising campaign last week, citing violence and other unlawful activity during the demonstrations.)

Dichter turned the press conference over to a man named Nick who he described as the groups Bitcoin team lead for the Freedom Convoy. Nick, sporting a thick beard and a black sweatshirt with the Bitcoin logo in the upper-right corner, started by setting expectations. I wouldnt call myself an expert, he said. But I am a liaison to the experts in the Bitcoin world. Nick said the aim was to fight for the groups freedom to raise money without being shackled by the censorship put in place by our legacy financial system.

After several minutes of a lecture on the advantages of a decentralized fundraising platform, supporters watching the livestream seemed flummoxed.

This is not what I thought it would be, thanks guys but Im thinking you will be losing some money support with this... anyway, have a good day, wrote one commenter. Others implored the group to ditch the Bitcoin talk and get back to the issue at hand: truckers fighting against vaccine mandates.

I get the safety of donating to Bitcoin but why are we promoting digital currency?! another wrote.

In some respects, the convergence of the anti-vaxx protests and Bitcoin was probably inevitable. Last month, the protests drew support from one of the biggest proponents of Bitcoin in the world, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who tweeted Canadian truckers rule. Former President Donald Trump has voiced support, and right-wing figures from Tucker Carlson to Ben Shapiro to Michael Flynn have seized on the trucker protests.

The group sees Bitcoin as a possible solution to its fundraising woes. And they may have some support, too. A group of Canadian Bitcoin supporters who go by the moniker HonkHonkHodl have created a crypto crowdfunding campaign on the platform Tallycoin as an alternative funding portal for the Freedom Convoy.

According to Tallycoin, the group has raised 1.5 billion in satoshis, with the goal of reaching 2.1 billion.

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The anti-vaxx Canadian truckers want to talk to you about Bitcoin - The Verge

Quick, how many cubes can you rotate in your brain? If youre struggling to even form the image of a cube in your mind, let alone rotate it, then Im sorry to say that youre not a shape rotator. You are, in fact, probably a wordcel. If you have no idea what wordcel and shape rotators are, I will explain it to you, and Im sorry your curiosity has brought you to this article.

At its base, the dichotomy is simple. Wordcels are people who are good with words. Shape rotators are people who are good with math and abstract thought. Use of the terms has skyrocketed online in the past few months, and especially in the last few days.

The term shape rotator has been floating around online for a few years now. The term wordcel has been around less than a year. Youre hearing about them now thanks to a venture capitalist and a Washington Post reporter.

On Feb. 2, Netscape co-founder turned venture capitalist Marc Andreessen tweeted what was, to most, incomprehensible gibberish.

Washington Post technology and culture columnist Taylor Lorenz screencapped Andreessens tweet and shared it with her followers. This set off a chain reaction that elevated the terms wordcel and shape rotator into the mainstream, elevating an extremely online dichotomy into a confusing and terrible new front in our horrifying culture wars.

Much of Americas culture war can be cynically flattened and viewed through the lens of these two words; woke wordcels live in the land of philosophy and books and liberal colleges, clinging to ideals espoused in their precious books, tweeting about Wordle, while shape rotators are out here coding, building businesses, doing engineering, etc. etc.

Pretty soon, Jordan Peterson was getting in on the action.

The terms connote more than their simple definitions. The suffix -cel comes from incel, and is meant to imply that the person described is a stifled loser. (A gymcel, for example, is an incel who takes solace in constantly working out.) But wordcel has no relation to sex, like other -cel. According to its supposed creator, however, it is meant as a slur or insult against people who are good with words.

In a long essay about the origins of the terms, the prolific Twitter shitposter roon claimed to have invented the term wordcel on in October of 2021 while engaging in a discourse battle online.

To the best of my knowledge, I coined the word in the heat of battle with another prodigious schizoposter (Mr. @Logo_Daedalus, whom I feel no animosity towards), and he became a kind of ur-example archetypal figure in the wordcel sphere, roon said in their essay. A deep yet largely unintelligible expert in the humanities, history and philosophy, his verbal abstractions have led him quite far from the base reality we share. While some of these types will become presidents, poets, priests, the vast majority will live and die producing little value, chasing down rhetorical dead-ends, with their scholarship forgotten. This is the central tragedy of the wordcel.

The shape rotator, too, is a common archetype of the online world. This is a person who can do their taxes in a breezy afternoon but struggles to make eye contact during dinner. They may be very good at details and bad at seeing the bigger picture, roon wrote. The demarcation isnt just between STEM and humanitiesyou will absolutely find wordcels in the STEM domainrather, its about modes of thinking. Its about realism, thing-orientation over people-orientation, and investigative grounding in the tangible world.

The etymology of shape rotator has to do with cognitive tests that feature 3D objects and ask the test taker to rotate them. These kinds of tests were popularized in the 1970s and some researchers believed the results could help predict intelligence and certain cognitive abilities. Basically, if you could quickly rotate shapes, you were probably smart and good at math according to some shape rotators in the 1970s.

And thus a new thing for people to fight about online was born. According to roon, shape rotators like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg have recently gained historical power and are changing the world. The wordcels are pissed about it and struggling to maintain their own relevancy as the world changes around them.

Thats the other important part of understanding wordcels and shape rotators. Look back at the Andreessen tweet that kicked off this fresh round of interest. Look at how roon described the formation of wordcel as a slur created in the heat of battle. This isnt just about categorizing people, its about war.

People love to sort everything into categories and then fight over the imagined differences. That is a driving factor in the use of shape rotator and wordcel. The Andreessen tweet imagined a conflict between the two factions and said the outcome was predetermined, calling the wordcels use of language asymmetric hybrid warfare.

This is an old beef, really. This is about science versus the humanities. Its about whether or not kids should focus on STEM or reading Shakespeare. Its an argument thats been playing out in academia for decades. The only difference is that its been upgraded with fancy new terms meant to appeal to the terminally online. Nerds invented a new way to measure their dicks online.

So who is winning the war, the wordcels or the shape rotators? First, culture wars arent meant to be won but to be fought continuously. But let me ask you this: Why are they shape rotators and not, say, mathcels or STEMcels? The shape rotators, going against type, have won a victory just by naming their opponents wordcels.

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OK, WTF Are Wordcels and Shape Rotators? - VICE