Jump to content

Jean-François Gariépy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Hijadealgo (talk | contribs) at 15:23, 2 September 2019. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Jean-François Gariépy (born 1984) is a Franco-Canadian neuroscientist and a far-right political commentator. He specialises in evolutionary biology and brain sciences. Gariépy hosts the YouTube channel The Public Space where he calls for the creation of a white ethnostate in the US and Canada. The Anti-Defamation League lists The Public Space among "White Supremacist Channels"[1]. Gariepy calls himself a white nationalist[2] and has been described as a "standard bearer of the alt-right"[3].

Personal Life

Jean-François Gariépy grew up in Saint-Sophie, Québec and has been married three times. Gariépy and his third wife separated in July 2015. In December 2015, his wife gave birth to his first son. In the ensuing custody case, his wife accused Gariépy of "emotional abuse" and of "threatening to abduct their child to his native Canada." Gariépy´s wife was given custody, to which Gariépy has appealed. The appellate court judge ordered Gariépy to undergo a psychological evaluation which resulted in Gariépy being "very bright, intellectually", while also showing a "lack of insight and impulse control".

During the custody case, Gariépy started a relationship with a 19-year old Hispanic from Texas. As the parents objected to her daughter´s relationship with Gariépy, a case was filed in which the Hispanic was found to suffer from autism. Guardianship was consequently transferred to the parents who severed the relationship. In an interview, Gariépy told the Daily Beast that the current family court system is designed to "harass men, to harass white, heterosexual males. Right now I’m currently being treated as a criminal by courts that don’t have the power to put me in jail, but they have the power to ruin my life [...]" [4]

Scientist

Jean-François Gariépy studied biology at the Université de Montreal. In 2008, the Society for Neuroscience awarded Gariépy the Next Generation Award.[5] In 2012, he finished a doctoral thesis in French about the neural networks involved in the respiratory rhythm in lampreys.[6] From September 2011 until September 2015, Gariépy studied social interactions in monkeys at the Institute for Brain Sciences at Duke University.[7] Over his scientific career, Gariépy published 21 research items that were cited 457 times.[8]

Gariépy told the Daily Beast he left Duke University for Canada because "he´d grown disillusioned with the scientific community."[9] Gariépy explained his departure from academia on Facebook: "Academia is a weird thing; it is populated with very intelligent, motivated and brilliant people, who are operating in a system that is simply defective to the point of impeding on the very ability of these individuals to engage in a true search for knowledge. In this sense, I am leaving research academia for the same reason that I joined it 12 years ago: in search for a better way to satisfy my hunger for a scientific understanding of the world."[10] Daily Beast author Kelly Weill, however, suggests Gariépy left Duke University as his legal status in the US came under question during divorce proceedings from his third wife.[11]

In 2014, Gariépy received $25,000 from the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to start the nonprofit organization NEURO.tv which was dedicated to education on science and philosophy via YouTube.[12] Asked whether he felt any regrets for having taken money from a sex offender, Gariépy said: "I'd cash a check sent straight from the devil if it could allow me to advance science or science education [...] I did know about the earlier conviction of Epstein when I accepted the money. I didn't know of the most recent allegations though, which are worse than I thought. In any case, I do not regret taking the money. Evil people are not just evil."[13]

In 2019, Gariépy published The revolutionary phenotype which is influenced by The selfish gene (1976) and The extended phenotype (1982) by Richard Dawkins. In it, Gariépy builds on the RNA-world hypothesis to introduce his own theory of how life emerged four billion years ago and how genetic code has developed since then. Gariépy argues that the combination of artificial intelligence and gene editing might lead to the emergence of a new life form that could potentially be controlled by machines. In October 2014, Gariépy requested another round of funding from Epstein for the The revolutionary phenotype to which Epstein did not respond.[14]

Political commentator

Jean-François Gariépy made his first public appearance on episode 157 of the podcast Drunken Peasants in 2015.[15]. In 2017, Gariépy joined the YouTube channel Warski Live as co-host.[16] At Warski Live, Gariépy introduced topics like "race realism" by discussing ethnic differences with guests like Richard Spencer, Millenial Woes, Andrew Anglin and Sargon of Akkad.[17][18] At Warski Live, Gariépy gained notoriety among the alt-right as a moderator of the so called "YouTube Bloodsports" where two or more mainly right-wing guests engage in often highly abusive discussions on politics.[19]

After a falling out with his co-host, Andy Warski, in April 2018, Gariépy founded his own YouTube channel "The Public Space". The channel currently has about 48.000 subscribers. It has been described as a place frequented by users with antisemitic and white nationalist leanings. Gariépy regularly discusses what he calls the "Jewish question". The Public Space features white nationalists and alt-righters like Richard Spencer, David Duke, Mike Peinovich and Greg Johnson.[20]

Selected Works

  • Organisation et modulation du réseau neuronal de la respiration chez la lamproie (PDF). Montreal: Université de Montreal. 2012.
  • The revolutionary phenotype. The amazing story of how life begins and how it ends. Élora Édition. 2018. ISBN 978-0-359-57079-9.

References

  1. ^ "Despite YouTube Policy Update, Anti-Semitic, White Supremacist Channels Remain". Anti Defamation League. 15 August 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  2. ^ Koh, Yoree (2 November 2018). "Hate Speech on Live 'Super Chats' Tests YouTube". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  3. ^ Béland, Gabriel (25 May 2019). "YouTube payant pour l'extrême droite". La Presse (Canadian newspaper). Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  4. ^ Weill, Kelly (15 March 2018). "Alt-Right YouTuber Accused of Luring Autistic Teen in Pregnancy Plot". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  5. ^ "Next Generation Award". Society for Neuroscience. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  6. ^ Gariepy, Jean-Francois (2012). Organisation et modulation du réseau neuronal de la respiration chez la lamproie (in French). Montreal: Université de Montreal. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  7. ^ "Jean-François Gariépy". Duke University. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  8. ^ "Jean-Francois Gariépy". ResearchGate. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  9. ^ Weill, Kelly (15 March 2018). "Alt-Right YouTuber Accused of Luring Autistic Teen in Pregnancy Plot". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  10. ^ Flaherty, Colleen (11 September 2015). "The Rise of "Quit Lit". Soon-to-be former academics are taking their grievances public". Slate (magazine). Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  11. ^ Weill, Kelly (15 March 2018). "Alt-Right YouTuber Accused of Luring Autistic Teen in Pregnancy Plot". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  12. ^ "Front Page". Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  13. ^ "Dirty Money". GenomeWeb. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  14. ^ Aldhous, Peter (26 August 2019). "Jeffrey Epstein's Links To Scientists Are Even More Extensive Than We Thought". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  15. ^ Weill, Kelly (15 March 2018). "Alt-Right YouTuber Accused of Luring Autistic Teen in Pregnancy Plot". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  16. ^ Haskins, Caroline (12 February 2019). "How YouTube Drives Shane Dawson and Other Creators to Conspiracy Theories". Vice News. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  17. ^ Béland, Gabriel (25 May 2019). "YouTube payant pour l'extrême droite". La Presse (Canadian newspaper). Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  18. ^ Silverman, Robert (20 August 2018). "The Far Right Is Conning IMDb: They're Exploiting 'a Weakness in the System'". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  19. ^ Holt, Jared (12 December 2018). "White Nationalist YouTuber Says Jeffrey Epstein Once Gave Him $25,000". Right Wing Watch. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  20. ^ Holt, Jared (12 December 2018). "White Nationalist YouTuber Says Jeffrey Epstein Once Gave Him $25,000". Right Wing Watch. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Jean-François_Gariépy&oldid=913679839"