"The SpongeBob character is another figure in a dominance hierarchy based upon competence. He's the master of the grill, the king of the fry cook who is quite possibly the best in the ocean at what he does," said Peterson. "But taken out of his realm of dominance, he's just as weak and inadequate as the rest of us. Although he has mastered one form of competence, he is severely lacking in other dimensions. For example, in one episode it's revealed that he's a bloody awful lifeguard and in another episode he's represented as a very weak and deceptive body-builder. And through life, we find what role best suits us based on our competence level on fulfilling the obligations of that role."

"SpongeBob is a terrible lifeguard and an excellent fry cook, much as we can assume that although Larry is great at being a lifeguard, he's probably out of his element when put into the role of a short order cook or in the very least isn't an expert like SpongeBob," said Dr. Peterson. "They're in their allotted roles because that's what best suits them and it's out of competence, not tyranny, that puts them there."

When questioned about whether or not his statements are emblematic of racist and sexist attitudes that support the idea of white male dominance in the West, Peterson replied by stating, "Again, with the race and gender-baiting. I'm not talking about race and gender, I'm talking about a dominance hierarchy based upon levels of competence. If that's widely considered racist and sexist then we, as a civilization, are in a heap of trouble and have a whole lot of work to do, buck-o. One can also argue that you're the one being racist and sexist, coming with the presumption that a dominance hierarchy based on competence will primarily benefit white males."

Peterson explained that tyranny also exists within SpongeBob SquarePants. "One could see the ultimate form of tyranny in the show exists within the realm of envy, as Plankton looks across the street at the booming business of the Krusty Krab and dedicates his life to sabotaging them without ever looking inward and seeing what ways he can clean up his bloody act and actually get his business moving. And ironically, his mission to destroy his opponent only leads to his own downfall and continued degradation. Basically, he's oppressing himself more than anyone else could ever imagine doing to him and I'm seeing a lot of that in today's youth."