Conservative media personality making stop in Sioux Falls

Jordan Peterson bringing controversial views to South Dakota as part of 51-city tour across U.S.

A conservative media personality criticized as hateful to the transgender community is coming to South Dakota.

Jordan B. Peterson, an internet-famous cultural commentator who also holds the titles of psychologist and author, will speak in Sioux Falls this winter as part of his “We Who Wrestle With God Tour.” The Feb. 20 event at the T. Denny Sanford Premier Center is part of a 51-city jaunt across the country.

Peterson is a best-selling author, psychologist, Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto, and co-founder of Peterson Academy. The Jordan B Peterson podcast frequently tops the charts in the Education category.

He’s highly regarded in conservative education and political circles, teaching at Harvard and the University of Toronto, while publishing more than a hundred scientific papers with his students and co-authors. Peterson is a critic of "post-modernism and neo-Marxism.”

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But he’s been accused of using hate speech online and in his lectures, and he’s faced criticism for opposing the rise of political correctness in government and academia, including the Canadian government’s adoption of gender identity protections.

And earlier this year, the renowned Canadian conservative media personality was admonished by the Ontario College of Psychologists, which threatened to revoke Peterson’s license as a medical practitioner due to “hateful conduct” on social media unless he takes a course on “professional communication.”

Peterson unsuccessfully challenged the order in Ontario court, where a three-judge panel in August upheld the decision of the College of Psychologists.

Tickets to Peterson’s tour stop in Sioux Falls go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. CST.

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