I think it’s a bit more complicated than that. From what I have seen and heard, the guy comes across as a boring, even keeled professor by referencing Greek mythology, 18th century Enlightenment philosophers, etc. So, when he goes on TV “debates”, he catches the other side off guard since he is able to cover his lunacy through pseudo-intellectual smoke and mirrors.
Really, he is just good at stirring up his own absurd controversies that make him look like he is the reasonable one.
Here’s an example (I don’t actually recommend that you watch this since it is a misleading clip, but it is an example of what I am saying):
And the whole premise is false. The idea behind this video is that there was a law in Canada that could put you in legal trouble for not calling people by their preferred gender pronoun. This whole notion is false. Bill C-16 did nothing of the sort. It simply added “gender identity or expression” as something that government agencies cannot discriminate against.
Peterson had mentioned a theoretical possibility that one could be jailed for using the wrong pronoun. Very few people have called him out on this.
