It’s Sunday afternoon, and a meeting room in a hushed suburban Calgary library slowly fills with men eager to discuss the controversial musings of University of Toronto psychologist and professor Jordan Peterson.

One woman joins, eventually two, as the group grows to 10, filling about half the chairs set out for the October meetup of the Jordan Peterson Calgary Lobster Tank.

The group is named after Peterson’s theory that hierarchies are not a social construct, as they are found in nature — lobsters being one example. Close to 80 Peterson-themed groups have similar events listed on meetup.com in cities across North America and Europe.

Sometimes the fan club picks a specific topic from his writings or YouTube videos — his channel has 1.6 million subscribers — but this time it’s a free-form discussion on all things Peterson that frequently veers into tangents.

The meetup comes before Peterson’s book tour to promote 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos that comes to Calgary’s Southern Jubilee Auditorium on Dec. 4 and Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Dec. 5. Tickets, which range in price from $70 to more than $200, are nearly sold out in Calgary and Vancouver. A few Lobster Tank attendees plan to see Peterson in person, but most won’t be buying tickets.

The strong ticket sales speak to Peterson’s enduring popularity, but his supporters say they aren’t just large in number — they’re also diverse. They argue the stereotype of a lonely, basement-dwelling, transphobic, straight white male neo-Nazi ignores the universality of Peterson’s teachings and the way his ideas are helping people from all walks of life.

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At the Calgary meetup, the devotees delve into chaos theory and Peterson’s assessment that “life is suffering,” which segues into a debate about whether happiness is real and whether anyone goes through life without experiencing happiness.

Lobster Tankers have different reasons for being here, but most describe themselves as introverts and say they struggle with social interaction. Here they meet like-minded people, talk about big ideas and encourage each other to make improvements in their lives — starting with Peterson’s “clean your room” adage popularized in a May 2017 YouTube video, which encourages viewers to sort out the small things before worrying about bigger problems.

Adelle Ramcharan, one of the two women in the room, references everyone from Carl Jung to pickup artist Neil Strauss and says Peterson helped her take individual responsibility and break out of the “victim archetype” imposed by society.

“That was something that I had kind of been subject to growing up, being a woman or being a visible minority, coming from a poor family on welfare. There were a number of people who tried to project this victim onto me,” Ramcharan said.

“I rejected it. And I became my own person, I became successful and it appealed to me because of that.”

Ramcharan was organizing a women-only meetup for Peterson fans and pleaded with the men in the room to invite their sisters, moms and aunts.

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Peterson himself recently asked his 953,000 Twitter followers why 91 per cent of the people who watch his videos are male. The answers ranged from “zero self-awareness or capacity for introspection” to one user calling him a “God-awful caricature of an incel committee leader.” (The term “incel” refers to someone who resents their status as “involuntarily celibate.”)

In the library, one man postulates about a “middle ground” where feminism can be good but says “false accusations” have hurt the credibility of the #MeToo movement.

The professor has been attacked for his comments about women, including a suggestion that those who want to be taken seriously at the office are hypocritical if they wear makeup to work. Peterson first attracted international attention in 2016 when he attacked Bill C-16, which added the protection of gender identity and expression to the Canadian Human Rights Code. He also famously said he would refuse to use transgender students’ pronouns in certain situations.

Eric Beaudoin, one of the organizers and the first to arrive at the library, speaks with refreshing self awareness about Peterson and his male followers, himself included.

“Maybe men in our society have an easier time reaching 30 or 35 or 40 and not having taken any responsibility,” he told the meetup. “I think it’s more likely that a man will just coast and still live with their parents when they’re 35. And I think Jordan Peterson speaks to these men. He’s saying, ‘OK, clean up your room, get out there and do something else.’”

StarMetro reporters spoke to Peterson fans in Calgary and Vancouver, all of whom are buying tickets to the talks, to find out why they are enamoured with his teachings.

Christian Kindrat, student — Calgary

Kindrat first came across Peterson on YouTube in a video analyzing Peterson’s contentious January 2018 interview with Britain’s Channel 4 News host Cathy Newman. Kindrat was impressed by Peterson’s strategies to avoid traps in an argument, such as unwillingly admitting to presuppositions.

Kindrat then found a two-minute clip in which Peterson gave tips on how to stop procrastinating, which he was personally struggling with.

The 18-year-old college student started binge-watching bite-sized Peterson videos, then moved on to hour-and-a-half-long lectures, where he found more tips that applied to his life.

“I think that’s one of the biggest appeals; it’s stuff that just makes sense and people can use,” Kindrat says. “And it works.”

A key tenet of Peterson’s message that resonates with Kindrat is that it’s more valuable to compare yourself to who you were yesterday than to compare yourself to others. One of his favourite tidbits of advice is to pick small goals and don’t get discouraged if you fail to achieve them.

“You shoot in the general direction and you’re beating the hell out of zero. And the next time you try it, you’re going to get better and better,” Kindrat explains.

Andrea Lewis, stay-at-home mom — Calgary

“Jordan Peterson helped me believe in evolution,” says Lewis.

The 32-year-old was drawn to Peterson’s lectures on mythology and the Bible, rather than his self-help messaging.

Lewis, who majored in Christian studies, is a stay-at-home mom of three boys. About a year ago, she became “obsessed” and gave up watching TV in favour of his talks.

Hearing Peterson connect biblical tales to global mythologies helped reconcile her faith with facts.

“It helped me to see that it’s not mutually exclusive, having faith and also believing in science. I don’t have to consider myself a heretic; I don’t have to abandon my faith to believe,” she says. “It really has changed my world view.”

Lewis, who considers herself politically left-of-centre, is well aware that she doesn’t fit the mould of a stereotypical Peterson fan.

“There is a bit of a caricature of the basement-dwelling incel, (the) mid-life males,” she says. “But there’s a lot of us in different walks of life.”

Daniel Salt, insurance agent — Calgary

Salt says Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life is one of many tools he uses to stay happy, beginning with the first rule: stand straight with your shoulders back.

“I live a very happy, fulfilling life, and listening to what Jordan Peterson has to say just makes it even more enriched,” he says. “Improvement for the sake of improvement, I guess.”

The 27-year-old, who works in insurance, first heard Peterson on the podcast of comedian and mixed-martial-arts commentator Joe Rogan. He was immediately hooked.

When he saw Peterson’s Edmonton lecture in July, he was impressed by the psychologist’s lobster argument. Peterson says that hierarchies are not a social construct created by the Western patriarchy but are found in nature, where there are clear winners and losers when it comes to dominance and aggression.

Peterson’s message that everyone is responsible for their individual happiness hit Salt the hardest.

“He kind of gives you tools and reasons to make your own life better given what you have,” he says.

Spencer Pallone, real estate agent — Vancouver

Pallone was a staunch atheist until he stumbled upon the works of Peterson.

The 23-year-old real-estate agent always considered himself ambitious and entrepreneurial, but after achieving success at a young age, Pallone became disillusioned and battled crippling depression.

That’s when he discovered Peterson’s now-famous YouTube clip where he debates British journalist Cathy Newman. Then he began consuming all 15 videos in Peterson’s Biblical series.

“I was fascinated by his ability to articulate his thoughts and stay composed,” he says. “I had dismissed the Bible as something archaic, and it wasn’t until I listened to his whole Biblical series that I understood the psychological significance.”

His views shifted to see the Bible as a statement on morality, what makes a person good.

“What’s important in life is finding meaning,” he says. “The biggest thing he promotes is personal responsibility.”

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Though Pallone was seeing a therapist at the time, he says it was not doing “nearly as much” as listening to the lectures, which taught him that if you can reduce the amount of suffering in your own life, then you can “slowly extend” your reach and hopefully help others.

When it comes to Peterson championing free speech, Pallone says he subscribes to a more classic definition, which encourages “truthful” speech.

He began integrating the idea of truthful speech into all areas of his life. Pallone says this responsibility first “threw him for a whirlwind” as far as selling houses was concerned.

Though his transformation has been “painful and difficult,” he’s OK with that. Peterson’s notions of making the “right” sacrifices in order to improve the quality of life resonated deeply.

“You have to give up something you might be clinging on to,” he explains. “I’m starting to realize I’ve clung on to the idea that I’m a big hotshot realtor … but it’s not provided me any real meaning in my life.”

Since immersing himself in Peterson’s lectures, Pallone now volunteers teaching children’s soccer and says he “loves it.”

He is also the administrator of a Jordan Peterson Facebook group, which he created as a space for fans facing negative stigma.

“It’s hard to open up and be vulnerable with this,” he says. “If you’re immediately repulsed and think Jordan Peterson is some Nazi, transphobic right-wing person, put that aside for a moment and come at it with a clean slate.”

Rebecca King, UBC student and member of the Free Speech Club — Vancouver

While discussing Peterson over dinner with a friend, a stranger interrupted King to say her point of view was “refreshing.”

The 22-year-old, who is double majoring in political science and psychology, was an early member of the UBC Free Speech Club. They faced criticism for bringing “controversial” figures to campus, such as Peterson and Ben Shapiro.

“A lot of people are afraid to say their opinion,” she explains. “I’ve had to grapple with being a neurotic person, and he introduced me to personality psychology. The advice he gives is certainly valuable.”

Much like Peterson, who criticizes higher education for playing identity politics, King says she would “love” to write a paper without having to worry about the ideology of her professor and whether they would agree or not.

She craves more nuance in the academic atmosphere.

“It’s frustrating hearing the same things being promulgated all the time. When you try to challenge, it can be defeated and I’m not quite sure why,” she says.

King’s faced criticism herself, especially when she questions the notion that Peterson supporters are straight, white males.

“People will say, ‘Oh, well you’re a white Becky,” she says, referring to a song made famous by Beyoncé. Those critics become just as “ideologically possessed” when they throw out such insults, King says.

When it comes to Peterson’s views on gender, King vehemently disagrees with critics who say he is a misogynist.

Peterson’s ideas even helped solidify her career path. Though King was particularly interested in law, after “truthfully” questioning her competence, she opted for psychology instead.

“Even though there’s a difference between genders, we are still all valuable,” she explains. “There’s nothing wrong with saying that men and women are suited to different things. In fact, it’s probably helpful.”

Mark Hughes, comedian — Vancouver

Hughes is always attracted to controversial figures, so when Peterson popped up on his social-media feed, his curiosity was piqued.

While he may not consider Peterson a “prophet” like many superfans, Hughes, 38, says he’s a “brilliant clinical psychologist.”

“His critics actually made him famous,” he says. “If they had just shut up, we wouldn’t even know who Jordan Peterson is.”

The standup comedian publicly speaks about his experience with homelessness and addiction. (He’s been in recovery since 2006.) At that point in his life, Hughes says, Peterson would have seemed like a “blessing.”

What Peterson argues, Hughes says, is simple: Clean up your life and don’t blame others for your misfortune. For Hughes, these lessons on responsibility align with his experiences.

“I was sexually abused. It directly impacted the trajectory of my life and made me spend huge amounts of time on the streets and in prison,” he explains. “Ten years after the assault, it’s not happening anymore. The effects are still with me. But at what point do I stop and intervene on my own behalf?”

Peterson likely appeals to those who haven’t learned this foundation in therapy, he says.

Hughes says “average white dudes” who are often not formally educated are being told they’re racist and that the chaos of the world is their fault.

“Jordan Peterson speaks to the average white male — not the KKK, not neo-Nazis — just average guys.”

Angelo Isidorou, director of UBC Free Speech Club — Vancouver

Isidorou firmly believes that history will remember Peterson.

The 22-year-old director of UBC’s Free Speech Club has brought Peterson to Vancouver five times and rejects the argument the group is validating controversial ideas by giving “free speech” proponents a platform.

“It’s interesting to see difficult ideas debated out in public,” Isidorou says. “My worry is that when these groups oppose and reject people, they get pushed underground.”

That’s exactly where radicals lurk, he adds, arguing that incels and proponents of the alt-right are born in echo chambers online and on social media, not in open debate.

Isidorou grew up in Greece, which he describes as “chaotic and divided.” When he came back to Canada, he noticed that people didn’t venerate “what we have in the West” as much as he did.

“I’ve seen what happens when we balkanize into tribes,” he explains. “I’m a psychology major and I look at it from a place of what we are doing to each other. My worry is that we are speaking different languages.”

Peterson rejects the pursuit of happiness and instead embraces the pursuit of meaning and responsibility. For Isidorou, this deeply resonates. He says the younger generation has been raised on the pursuit of happiness and it’s proven “futile.”

Isidorou says the crowd of supporters has changed every time Peterson visits. Though each show sold out, the demand spiked and the demographics shifted, he says, as women formed more of the audience.

“The No. 1 thing I hear most is, ‘What Peterson says I already kind of knew, but it was hidden,’” he says. “I just didn’t know how to articulate it.”

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