Harry Potter's JK Rowling Problem 

did you cancel VW because they NAZI company created by Hitler himself? and Nestle for being nazis, disney because Walt was antisemetic and hated jews and actually banned them from his theme parks? or henry ford that also hated jews alot. and add that walt actively supported hitler until his very death, he denied holocaust etc. what about cpr? that was invented by the waffen ss...should doctors stop usng that?

Dont mind him, this isn't the first inflammatory post I've seen from them. Although to be clear, yes I have stopped supporting those industries. Nestle not for being Nazis (haven't heard that) but for intentionally killing a bunch of babies. I admit to having a hot pocket once a year though. So I guess I'm not as pure as I would like ;)

@@rosemali3022 You can just thumbs-down the comment. That's what I typically do with trolls/incendiary comments.

@@rosemali3022 I've been reporting them every time I see them here

That’s my plan: I’m not buying anymore licensed merch and I’ll watch the TV show when/if my local library acquires the DVD’s.

I'm both trans and autistic, so I agree with you! As a person with Asperger's Disorder, I am legally a mentally competent adult, according to my medical diagnosis. So, I can freely decide to become a woman.

I am a fan of a couple bad book podcast and one of them, can't remember which, covered another of those mystery thrillers written under an alias. This one was very positive about the idea that you should want to be physically disabled with heroes saying it and the narrative treating them as right. To be clear, it came close, though not necessarily there, of fetishizing these things and being blind to the full picture. What I'm trying to say is the most recent transphobic thriller is not the first time Rowling has expressed her more harmful views in that series. A series and alias she has said allowed her to Express herself in ways she didnt feel she could under her own name.

@@darlalathan6143 hello I'm also autistic, and I thought you'd like to know that Asperger was a nazi doctor and the History of the Aspergers diagnosis is basically, he chose some kids to experiment on, they called them Asperger's kinder. They were chosen amongst a bunch of autistic kids. The rest was killed. For a bunch of reasons this History is still very damaging to autistics at large. There's still very much a class distinction between Aspergers kids and "other autistics" or "those autistics". Asperger's is often used as a shield against the ableism that hits all of us. "I have Aspergers. I'm not like those people who can't even [insert whatever is deemed important to seem worthy of NT respect] I don't mean anything angry by this. You seem like a person who thinks about these things, so I wanted to share this. You might wanna read into the Aspergers History. It's really fascinating and horrible fascistic at the same time.

TW: ableism, Nazi mention @@doggytheanarchist7876 I heard this, too. That it was a way to turn autistic people into tools, almost: "What can they do for us? How are they useful?" It's just evil and cruel what Hans Asperger did to those kids/young adults. Of course, if an autistic person says they have Asperger's, I'm not holding it against them, cuz man, there is a lot in that term to unpack, and it's not anyone in the autistic community's fault for that term. P.S. yeah, JKR should never have thrown you guys under the bus. Y'all deserve so much better.

@@doggytheanarchist7876 @Briana Pereira I am diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome, not Autistic Spectrum Disorder. That is because the ICD-11 (where Aspergers as a diagnosis doesn't exist any longer and is now part of ASD) is still being translated in our language and legal framework . While I do understand the negative history of differentiating between Asperger Syndrome and Autism many people are actually diagnosed with Asperger-Syndrome not ASD and we need to be able to talk about our diagnosis without people accusing us of using harmful language and correcting us. While I personally would like to use the new term ASD and not Aspergers that is not my legal diagnosis and I actually need to use the correct diagnosis (Asperger-Syndrome) in many settings. I like that you were so respectful and I don't want to come off as rude or ignorant here, I just want to make sure people know that for many of us Asperger-Syndrome is the official diagnosis we have and we don't have the choice to just use a different term in our legal framework.

Same, I never liked the book's but have loved book's by messed up people.

Same

Really??

Doesn't matter. She's worth like a billion dollars. Do you think she's actually worried, or loses sleep over this?

@@mayloo2137 Nah. I don't expect to make a big difference with my single drop, but if enough people avoid giving her more money, we can at least make a point

I've got the feeling Eddie Redmayne probably feels the same way especially since he's played a trans woman in the Danish girl.

@@EmoBearRights He called Rowling out, so... He is a true Hufflepuff. 💛🖤

@Noory Korky He then backpedaled and said people were “overreacting” so…

@@maisiesummers42 yeah I plan on fixing my post.

I've struggled with this a lot. I don't think the death of the author works in this situation because JK Rowling has such a prominent presence in the world. She as a person is so wrapped up in the universe that I'm not sure if she can be separated out. I'm less worried with people engaging with her works and more about people excusing her actions. I personally am going to be very concious of how I spend my money relating to her in the future. I already have the books and movies so I don't feel conflict about enjoying those. I will however be trying very hard to limit the amount of Harry Potter merch I'll be buying (which is getting easier because everything I see in stores is very tacky).

Death to the author? WTF...

@@xenagos3336 It means seperating the work from the personal beliefs of the creator and enjoying it independently.

@@xenagos3336 It's death *of* the author. Not to... It's a common term that originates in a 1967 literary essay arguing that authors and their work are entirely separate entities. In situations like this it helps people to continue enjoying a body of work without associating it with any feelings they might have about the author. It is similar to the idea that literary works stand on there own merits and any meaning derived by the reader is unrelated to the author's intent (there is obviously overlap between author intent and reader interpretation, but they are still separate). In this case many LGBT+ people found solace in the world of Harry Potter as a means of mental escape from troubles they faced in society, and the importance these works had in their lives cannot be diminished by the author's behaviour.

Awww happy endings are so sweet!!! :3

You people are pathetic to be so obsessed with such trivial nonsense

@@VintageMemory It's mostly how Rowling's opinions influence how the majority of the world sees Transgenders. At one point opinions become hate-speak against a small group that has very little rights to protect them from said discrimination. Has Rowling the right to say what she wants to say? Sure. I'm not going to stop her. However, as a consequence of her freedom of speech, I have the right to decide if I want to give her more money. And I cannot, in good conscience, give my money to someone whose views put a group of people at risk. Do I agree with the Twitter mob attacking her? No. But I myself can decide how I spend my money. Especially if she has been hammering on these specific views for a while without really talking about something else I do agree with. (she is even endorsing transphobic merch now). Does the LGBTQ+ sometimes see discrimination where I see none? Sure. Do some scream discrimination at everything? Sure. But if a vast majority of transgenders say that what Rowlings says is harmful, I believe them.

@@VintageMemory same here lowkey envy those born straight rn as they dont have the curse of being part of the lgbt community

@@VintageMemory Who said this is just about "opinions"? If someone is discriminating against other people, whether for sexual orientation, gender, religion, whatever, then that is discrimination and not "a matter of opinions." Besides, freedom of speech is *NOT* freedom from consequence. Since you're in the LGBTQIA+ community, too, you should understand how dangerous and impactful a person's words could be if all they say is misinformation, lies, and straw man arguments.

And I love hearing Stephen Fry’s voice when I go to sleep so I like listening to the HP books too...

It's all bs to me. HP belongs to JKR, not the fans.

@@mayloo2137 The fans don't care. The stories belong to them now and I agree.

@@TeddieSage1987 the question is which fans are you referring to? The fans who agree with her or don't care, or the ones who don't agree with her?

My position on that is...I don't have to feel bad about somebody who duped me as a kid. And it's okay to be comforted by things that made you feel okay. Like I haven't burned my books or anything and I'm still can rewatch the movies as comfort food. But present me has gotta be real about all the junk..kid me didn't like bullies and bigots either and wouldn't back one either.

Great sentiment.

Not sure if its larger than the US but I support Thriftbooks.com for all my secondhand book needs.

This is true. In fact, I remember thinking that if I ever wanted to continue the Cormoran Strike books via the audiobooks, I can just go my local library, get the audiobook set, import the audio from the discs onto my computer and then return the audiobook set once I'm done. Not a penny spent and done legally.

death of the author but it can actually happen because he’s actually dead lol

Although and I am open to correction here. Roddenberry changed his views in his lifetime and would have had a more progressive trek in 90s had he been alive and it wasnt all down to Berman

@@101spacemonkey Yep. He admitted he had pretty common homophobic views in the past, but changed his mind (I'm sure George Takei's coming out had something to do with that). He stated in interviews he wanted to include gay characters in later seasons of TNG but died shortly after. Berman took over and shot down tons of progressive ideas in the writer's room... There was apparently audience backlash even over the DS9 'lesbian' kiss... Crazy how fans of a morally progressive philosophical show just don't like the gays.

@@bleepbloop101010101 oh i get all that but George Takei came out in 2005 officially. So it isnt linked per se. I do think it was known. However i believe he was very much influenced by fans and some who lobbied and reached out. The point is that he changed. JK has not

Ninja status! I'm more of a pirate myself...

@@LlanoRiverBlue When I was in high-school and needed to stay out of the house I'd go see three movies in a row on one ticket. The same approach applies here.

@@quinnsinclair7028 that is the funniest thing ever, me and my siblings all want different movies and then ended up in one movie watching it together. That was a good night😂🥳

Also look at how she treats squibs, which I would argue is equivalent of disabled people in the Harry Potter series. They are seen as an embarrassment, and encouraged to live away from the rest of the wizarding world, except for Argus Filch, but he's not portrayed in a sympathetic light either. As a wheelchair user this always bothered me. I don't want to be cured either, nor do I think it's "kinder for me to live with my own kind.

@@nergregga agreed

Same here, as a person with disabilities myself, when I found J.K. Rowling saying that wizards and witches would use magic to “cure” disabilities, that’s the moment I was finished with her work.

@@nergregga Uh. Why is this even am argument. That's just reflecting the real world. On how people treat others

And about curing disabilities. Yes magic can cure things, that's the point of it. But it can't cure everything. Do remember there's a character that has a peg leg and a artificial eye

Sorry do you mean "not feeling uncomfortable" or "not feeling comfortable"? Not trying to be an ass, I'm legit trying to understand.

@@islandboy4445 Oh I feel uncomfortable when I see Harry Potter shit and I try not to was what I was trying to say

@@st.beatles7283 ah okay. I had a feeling but I think autocorrect probably made the message sound odd.

@@islandboy4445 Yeah I struggle a lot to articulate what I’m trying to say

@@st.beatles7283 oh, well I wasn't trying to make you feel bad about it or anything. In fact, I'm in a bit of a pickle at work with a coworker at the moment because I have no idea how to approach the situation and say what needs to be said. Anyway, happens to everyone 😊

Watch zoey's extraordinary playlist. Best Trans character on TV for a start and Season 2 Episode 6 will blow your racist mind. I am not sure if they are firing the casting director however the way they make you realise the white-ness of the cast is just brilliant. Not sure if they did this on purpose however because the episode is about representation you notice how light almost all of the main cast of colour are.

xenophobia

Same! I'm a Mom of 4 girls, and my stance is: you want to help women, then you help ALL women, and that absolutely includes trans!! My girls already know that we are not spending another cent on Harry Potter anything, at least until JK changes her position on rights for trans women. In a capitalist society, the best way to make your voice heard is where you choose to spend your money, and JK isn't getting any more of mine. She knows better, so she should do better.

@@jmgajda8071 Kevin Smith was talking about this and basically Disney and JK are untouchable because there too much money involved. You are right and I try to do it with shares if I can. I think the problem is we live in a mainstream eight minute world so unless you take the time to listen to someone like Jessie who actually knows what she is taking about and will put forward a reasoned argument you have no chance of knowing the truth.

*xenophobia. And how? Name three examples that isn't just you projecting your own stereotypes on to fictitious magical creatures

I’m in a space where I’m actively trying to understand my gender (I’m not Cis is where I’m at so far), and I have an invisible Chronic illness. I don’t mind letting go. It’s like it’s wrapping up a period of my life. I’ll read some fanfic every once and a while and call it day.

@@purplehood8418 May your journey of self discovery be well and fruitful! Best of luck! :)

This was me after reading that semi-viral blog post written by a Chinese-American girl about how much she hates the name Cho Chang on Tumblr however many years back. Probably that was at least 10 years ago now, wow. (Also maybe I didn’t remember some details exact, but yk)

@@kaitlyn__L To add onto that, I'd heard that Lupin was supposed to be a metaphor for having AIDS, but it didn't click until someone pointed out that Lupin was the only good werewolf and that the other big-name werewolf in the series, Fenrir Greyback, actively targeted kids to "infect them," and then I just cringed at that.

The presence of problematic situations in a book conceived and written 30 years ago does not diminish its literary value. As if Lotr, Narnia or the books of Roald Dahl (to name very few examples) are worth less because they present racism, anti-Semitism and sexism etc ...

Im subbed to the Harry Potter subreddit and its a like the entire sub has fingers in their ears and are collectively going "lalalalalala" to JK's bullshit. Its so disheartening. Im not giving her another cent. And that's my choice. But I wish more people would do the same.

Really? I’ve found that the vast majority of fans I’ve seen have resoundingly denounced her and her views.

@@TheEchosofOuroboros maybe it's because they're not a bunch of neurotic hypocrites and can enjoy creative literature they like and ignore views of people they don't agree with.

@@arielsteinsaltz1956 Yeah, but I've been told denouncing Rowling and her views isn't enough. If you're engaging with her work at all, you're showing support for her. Even if you're not giving her money.

I doubt she ever would renounce it. It would anger the TERFs who give her the sympathy and praise she craves from them. It would be like Trump renouncing white supremacy.

@@janicielle true

A lot of potter fans can separate the cursed child from potter verse we can ignore jk as well

To me yeah you can't separate her from the franchise short of her pulling a george lucas and selling WB, it's impossible. That series has up til now been so much her...I would say you can separate fandom from her, but yeah to me I can't logistically pull it off.

In the end, there is always fanfic. ;-D

The fans can reclaim it for themselves in fan works. If you want to hold on to the franchise, but don’t like Rowling’s influence, it’s probably okay to interact with it in ways that don’t benefit Rowling, up to and including sea faring

I agree with you completely. It's hard to stop consuming HP because of Rowling- and on some level it shouldn't be on us to boycott her content. Because (and not to say that it's pointless) but how often is cancel culture successful anyway? She'll keep profiting from it as long as she can, but at least we can revel in her staining her own reputation.

Uncle George always had collaborators. ESB was a kasdan/brackett script and directed by kershner. And uncle george was in his 70's when he sold to disney. JKR didn't have writing credits in the first films but she was instrumental in the casting of them, and hiring directors. Wasn't there some kind of conflict between her and spielberg that was part of what kept him from directing the first one? Spielberg is only on a list of the 5 greatest living directors and easily the best director to work with children and she's giving him notes? The main reason why she didn't have her business all up in the original films was because she was finishing the books. Rowling is still comparatively young. It's possible she'll be sticking her nose into mediums she doesn't fully grasp well into her 80's. Our best hope is that she drops her bigotry and learns that books and movies are two different mediums. Tolkien understood that books are a separate medium. He sold the rights only because he needed the money then looked away because he knew the two mediums are not alike.

Don't eat Birthday Cake out of the garbage, it's been in the garbage

@@claytonberg721 Only thing in your example...didn't Tolkien's heirs stick their noses in anything related to the IP that they could? I don't think it would stop JKR's heirs from doing that, if they wanted.

I'm so sorry this woman stopped you from openly being yourself... I hope it doesn't cause you any more grief.

@@cawareyoudoin7379 I'm fine now. I don't let her get to me anymore. It just sucked being a young trans kid and having your idol publicly deny your identity.

@@nottabought7410 Happy to hear that. Stay strong.

I'll second coming from a place of privilege as well.

As a nonbinary bisexual person, I have a similar approach.

Regarding Orson Scott Card, he's said some pretty awful stuff... the big difference I can see is JK is way more public about it. She has much more influential than him, she's aware of the reach she has, and she's doing everything in her power it seems to spread misinformation and bigotry. She's doing more harm than most people are capable of. It's also easier as a consumer to ignore the problematic things we don't see regularly.

@@bleepbloop101010101 That's a good point.

@@tomcarson985 I wasn't going to respond, but this kind of response bothers me. I don't have much agency to change things, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't try to do what I feel is right when I can. Even the Buddha said that you should be vegetarian if you can be healthy. That means, not to your detriment. I limit my support to things that are harmful as much as I can and look for paths to become better where I can. I can, and am often nihilist, but that mindset doesn't help.

@@tomcarson985 Phones have become a necessity to function and thrive in the current world. A person can fight to improve shitty situations. I'm not going to stop drinking water because some horrendous people used it to drown witches, or torture people, or shoot it out of a cannon at indigenous people. It's water. I don't do those things with it...and I would literally die if I didn't drink water. Phones are mandatory to hold a job, protect friends and loved ones, stay connected with the rest of the world. I'll happily spring for a shitty Nokia instead of spending 1k bucks just to have a touch screen and 5g. Climate change is a problem, but living in America necessitates the need to drive a car. I'll drive a hybrid and not roll coal in a jacked up pickup. Your "argument" seems more like a regressive insult, intended to "gotcha" someone, instead of actually being a genuine opinion

Or one can be like my grandmother. She, a fiercely Jewish woman who loved classical and opera music, *INSISTED* that at the conclusion to her funeral service, her casket be removed to Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries. It was epic. 🖖

@@mhyzon1 --- also, something that is not as problematic as it would have been were it not for the fact that all of Wagner's works are in the Public Domain. I am a proud Jew myself - and when I did a video about Rowling's transphobia, I used Wagner in the soundtrack as well. I did that _partly_ in order to point _out_ the fact that (unlike with the Harry Potter books and related media) the Public Domain status of Wagner's works allows me to incorporate them into my videos without contributing to anything cringey.

The situation of trans people in the UK brings tears to my eyes...I know a trans guy who literally fled to the EU (France) while he still could...not that we have it great here on the continent, but at least it's not as bad as it is in the UK...Love and solidarity to you and all trans people over there!

Harry Potter shouldn’t , Jk Rowling should completely!

On paper, the law protects trans people in the UK. Shame that by and large, our society in the UK doesn't. I'm so 'proud' of my nation. Truly, a world-leader in trans oppression.

@@lemonade_011 Engaging with Harry Potter emboldens JK Rowling and makes her stronger. So yes, Harry Potter should. We shouldn't defend it just for the sake of non-essential nostalgia.

I feel the same way. Not only I started to feel less and less engaged in JK Rowling's figure with time (even before she really started problematic stances on trans people), but I also lost interest in new products related to the wizarding world. There is so much potential that has not been properly used in everything after the books and movies related to them.

@@simonaaimar8813 On a fandom level I wonder if this could be because of audience entry difficulty. The franchise is now labeled WIZARDING WORLD. And yet what is a lot of the stuff we’ve gotten as of late? Prequel games still set at Hogwarts, prequel stories still involving major characters related to Harry, a sequel game still involving Harry in some capacity, and a sequel play/script involving Harry and his family. It’s like how Star Wars is still facing the problem of not completely moving beyond the Skywalkers because they’re just too ingrained into the brand.

@@myriadmediamusings I agree: even the fantastic beasts movies, which should have shown us part of the word outside the UK, don't succeed so much in the objective of exploring the wizarding world. As you've said, in the end the plot is still led by characters that were a part of (or at least mentioned in) the main saga. However, if I were a producer for a new Harry Potter related product, I would not be confident in the public interest for a project that does not directly connect to the events and characters of the books. I wonder why Warner has not tried to put out new projects a few years ago, I feel that now it is a bit too late to create something that does not rely on nostalgia.

@@myriadmediamusings Which is a shame because, like in Star Wars, here is a universe that could be explored in deeper ways until it doesn't just become this world by JK . The games of Star Wars that I enjoy the most are the one that doesn't have any of the characters of the movies involved.

@@simonaaimar8813 I would personally support a series cowritten by the super Carlin brothers on the founders or the original crew. (Moony, wormtail,padfoot and prongs).

As a cis person, my ability to separate art from the artist ended some time ago. Well, as soon as my understanding of her stopped being tweets and became that book she published. So in with you. Being cis doesn't stop you from knowing what's right and whats wrong. I believe in compassion, not excuses.

Here is an analogy for you. Picture someone going to a doctor and asked to have their perfectly healthy arm amputated because they believe they are supposed to be a one armed person. The doctor asked to do the procedure would most likely think the person is crazy and have them checked in to a psych ward. That is what some people think of trans people that go through surgery to change what is between their legs.

It’s a false equivalence and not all trans people get surgeries. From a trans psychology major.

But isn’t it a bit strange for humans to have special rules to determine someone’s gender when the rest of the animal kingdom has their gender determined by their biology?

@@brandonbaggaley2317 Isn't it strange that humans have special rules for language and money and politics when the rest of the animal Kingdom doesn't have nearly as much sophisticated versions of these things too?? Guess what, bucko. You ran across the reason why gender is a social construct but that still in fact makes it real.

@@brandonbaggaley2317 humans have special rules for literally everything?

At the very least, I doubt she can get a transphobic narrative into the Fantastic Beasts films, since those are collaborative efforts of an entire studio. She'd probably have to write a new book to put that bigotry out in the open in her works.

She already straight-washed Dumbledore after going out of her way to say he was gay completely outside the context of her established works. I see no reason why she wouldn’t do something shite like make Nagini trans or something. I mean go for broke, youve already got one of two asian women in the series who has had her free will stripped and become a minion of the bad guy. For someone so ‘open-minded’ she sure is a problematic hot mess.

She's already played with disguised anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ messaging in her detective novels. She's put it in the prequals I imagine if she could, and if she ever writes more novels she probably will. Unless her opinion changes and she becomes the compassionate person she seems to admire and want to be.

@@gateauxq4604 Wait, who is the other asian character who gets that same treatment? I have my issues with Chnag, but she's never not been her own person, right?

@@RockstarWizardess Your mistake is thinking that a deep dive into a "different" character is a hindrance rather than inspiration. You can't tell a good story if you dont understand your characters. And it's going to be a pretty lackluster story if all of your characters are based off of you.

It's been a long time since I read that book. Do you have some examples of those parts? I do remember that Mary's parents had Indian servants and that the whole family was rather horrible to them but that the family was not shown in a positive light for that, so there must be more that I don't remember.

The worst part is when Mary first arrives in England. Martha the servant girl tells her she thought Mary was "a black" and Mary throws a fit and literally says the natives "aren't even human." This is horrendous no matter how you slice it, but you could argue that this is one of the many ways the book shows how truly awful Mary is at this point. However, even Martha who is framed as a truly good person blames Mary's unpleasantness on "not growing up around civilized folk." India doesn't actually make up a large part of the story, but this particular section is painful to read for anyone (I can't even imagine how it would feel for a child of color). After this point the story turns its focus to the garden and the joy of nature with just a spattering of racism (and classism) to remind you it was written in 1911. I'm undecided on wether having the prejudices of the time on display in such a graphic way is good for a children's book because in encourages conversation or if a book containing such blatant racism should even be considered a children's classic.

@@mikaylaeager7942 As an Asian person of color I never felt any issues regarding that part of the story. Possibly because I'm westernized, possibly because I was just used to and conditioned to colonialism.. maybe because the story felt explicit in denouncing her for her pride and being ornery.. maybe because I felt sympathy for her drinking wine from a table of all of the dead... or something else. Not sure. I'm trying to remember if I had realized I was a person of color by the point in my life I read this book. Before that I just thought I had something inherent in me that people/teachers hated. A flaw in my soul, no matter how much I tried to please. I'm not sure, but if you enjoy the story and are aware of the negative messages I see no reason why you should abandon it. It's a lovely book.

@@mikaylaeager7942 thanks, I went and looked up that part, and yikes. 😬 I'll give Martha that she at least doesn't seem to have any malice and probably doesn't realize there's anything hurtful about thinking her people are more "respectable". She is dirt poor and uneducated, and probably wouldn't think that way if she was exposed to more of the world beyond her rural backwater. It could certainly be worse when compared to other older books like Oliver Twist with it's blatant anti-semitism, but it could also be much better and we shouldn't gloss over it. I was pretty little when I read this book for the first time, and like with Little House on the Prairie, I was old enough to know that statements like that weren't okay. Personal opinion is that it's okay for kids, but parents should definitely point out that such attitudes were accepted and common at the time and how wrong they are/how much they're still around. Totally understand anyone who wouldn't be comfortable with that approach though.

@Madisen Helwig Yeah. The thing that sets Secret Garden (and little house) apart from works like Oliver is that the POC are said to be bad (by white characters), but not necessarily shown to be bad. Sure the Indian servants don't seem to care about or even like Mary, but why should they care about a colonizers child who slaps them in the face. They don't have the freedom to speak plainly to her as the English servants do because she would tell on them and probably get them fired or worse. Of course, this isn't something that's actually addressed in the book, so it requires a lengthy conversation with your child, but with this perspective in mind, I don't feel like it's a entirely inaccurate portrayal of the time period (although still not a flattering or inclusive one). If I have children I think I'll read them these stories, but I'd be sure to make them aware of the history before reading them and try to make them understand the story from an Indian perspective. Otherwise I think there is a danger of blaming the Indian servants for how Mary turned out as Martha does. I'd also make sure that if they read Secret Garden they also read Haroun and the Sea of Stories and if the read Little House they also read The Birchbark House. I don't think I'd read them Oliver Twist. Maybe the musical... I don't think the anti-semitism is as blatant there. TBD

What a wonderful comment and perspective.

That's very astutely put , sir

just pirate the game tbh

I like this solution

@@ZenJestr sometimes piracy is more ethical than buying things legitimately

Maybe it'll be on humble bundle?

@@azrael_hypo is it though? Unless she has a heavy hand in its development in terms of sorry and direction then a lot of people are gonna suffer for using an ip that’s author is problematic

Just get in good with someone who works there and have them sneak you in lol. That's my plan anyway.

but she was correct. if you menstruate you a female, there is NO WAY AROUND THAT! if you menstruate you are female...1+1=2 ..or you also gonna change that too now?

@@kristianxoto There is a difference between sex and gender. If you are actually confused I am willing to chat.

@@rosemali3022 yes i would like to know because i thought sex and gender was the same. and there are only 2 sexes

@@kristianxoto Well to start, there aren't actually only two sexes. Look it up. XX and XY chromosomes are the most common, but they aren't the only ones. Their are many "intersex" people out there, many who don't even know it. This does include "hermaphrodites" (people with both sex organs). But also people with different genetic codes. In fact, their are more intersex people than their are left handed people in the world. But that is all sex and genetics. Gender is different. You know that blue is "boy" and pink is "girl" right? Well, a few centuries ago that was the opposite. This will be hard to explain if you dont know how your consciousness controls your beliefs. And how beliefs are also pliable. What are you thinking right now?

@@rosemali3022 what i am thinking? that I really dont care if a man wants blue or pink, or wants wear a dress etc. :) what i dont like is he wants to be a woman and have breasts, etc. i raise animals all my life and there are females and males. and i also breed scorps and there are pathogenic but they are technically female but thats WAY different than mammals. but I dont care if a man wants wear a dress its up to him, if he is happy then I am happy :) but I dont like that people want to change that they are a man to a woman and vice versa. you can either impregnate or get impregnated thats what determines what you are. yes, some have lost the ability but thats not included in this point :)

jfyi, "tone deaf" is an ableist phrasing. Please don't use disability as a metaphor, especially not a negative one.

@@purrcatharsis youre right, im sorry. i should have been aware of it. thanks for the heads up!

@@purrcatharsis What should be said in place of "tone deaf"?

@@casir.7407 I dont think they are right actually. I've heard this one before, just never from a hearing impaired person. Just be cautious and decide some things for yourself. For example, lots of well meaning people tried to convince me that "handi-capable" was the right phrase, whereas actual handicapped people have told me they absolutely HATE that phrasing. I've had white people tell me that "POC" is no longer correct and BIPOC is right, and I as a (not blacker indigenous) POC find that inaccurate and invalidating. "Tone deaf" is referring to musical talent. I can only currently see it as offensive to someone who is not musical. Maybe my mind will change in the future. I dont really care too much either way, and certainly it's best to respect other peoples boundaries. Just... remember to think things through for yourself. It's not always best to follow every rule anybody ever says, though being mindful is rarely a problem.

Also, that rapey marriage shit with Queenie destroyed her character.

I hate it too. It came out at a time I was developing major disability and I saw it for the ableist exclusionary propaganda it was. I've never liked it and never will.

Pardon my Ignorance, but I've never noticed the Ableism you describe! Can you enlighten me please?

@@crusherballz I'm not going to presume I can speak for Dorothy's experience, and there are numerous articles written on this by people living with disabilities. If you would like to enlighten yourself, they are really, really, easy to find.

Oh damn. Now I want to do a feminist reading of the story... but also I dont want to read it lol

Thriftbooks.com is where I go for my books.

@@CJCroen1393 I doubt she'll hang out on ao3 praising me for reading explicit works there - I do see your point though, but from a point of how much joy it gives me Vs. how much my passive engagement gives Rowling I don't feel it justified to drop hp for fear it'll strengthen her... I think if the community stands against her views that'll do more than if the community disappeared? Idk, just don't see how there would be such a big impact from pure engagement?

Ah, there you are! Because of you, I’ve spent the last two days bingeing The Owl House on Disney+. How dare you recommend such an amazing show when there’s only one season and it needs like 6?! Also, it needs like 3 or 4 dozen more random jabs at Harry Potter. That scene at the end of the magical sports episode was amazing! 🤣

I also heard that Earthsea came first and was done much better. So I want to check that book (series?) out, too :)

The thing is, if you feel that supporting the franchise is unjustifiable, then also not wanting other people to do so is only natural. One person boycotting something has no actual impact, a boycotting movement might.

​Yeah, I get you. I'm partway about this too. On one hand, Rowling is a harsh TERF. On the other hand, people should be smart enough to have good opinions for themselves. I find that very difficult. As a public figure, you are put into a role model role, but people themselves are also responsible for what they believe and on what grounds. Canceling someone on different views like anti-vax can become very dangerous if we go too far and it becomes full-blown censoring of different opinions. However, I have still decided to not support Rowling anymore. What it basically came down to was that it made me uncomfortable. Not everyone is going to feel that way and as long as people understand her views are wrong, that's totally okay too. I do think her influence is dangerous and damaging to the Trans community. This is why I don't think the death of the author works completely. But is a very narrow road between bigoted and discriminatory views (TERF) and general unpopular opinions and ignorance (Anti-Vax or Flu shots).

@@twinkles190 the thing with the slippery slope argument is that you can easily put blocks in to prevent anything from sliding very far. nobody (of whom i'm aware, at least) is talking about censoring Rowling; just not putting her in a position to take her seriously. she can say what she wants, but she doesn't have a right to be listened to, and deciding as a society that we won't listen to racist, sexist, transphobic or whatever talking points is how we move on from them as a society. they can't be debated because they're not based in logic, so we have to take away their undeserved legitimacy. that isn't to say that one can't talk about gender or transphobia, nor any other thing; however, the conversations we have about them have to be sincere and in good faith, and only with the goal of furthering our understanding

@@twinkles190 My personal take is that if you don't feel like somebody deserves cancelling, you might as well keep buying their stuff, because one customer more or less isn't going to actually *matter.* (Unless of course you don't actually *enjoy* their content anymore. In which case, there are other fandoms to join.)

​@@azrael_hypo I think we actually agree. So I going to write what I mean more clearly. Be ready for way too long a text: I agree about Rowling. All the things she is saying only spread hate. She does have the freedom to say it and to bear the consequences for it, which is honestly canceling and maybe a lawsuit. What Rowling spouts is discriminatory and transphobic, which is a violation of the law, and shouldn't fall under freedom of speech. Especially because what she is doing has a lot of consequences and it affects the people around her. That isn't censorship, that's protecting basic human rights. However, just to take a recent example. The actress for Shuri in the MCU expressed skepticism for the Covid-19 Vaccine. Then, just because a large portion disagreed with her (admittedly poorly done the research) they clamored Disney to fire her. They basically tried to bully her out of a job for having an opinion. Luckily, they didn't fire her, but it was so extreme she has now left social media. Things like these can go too far. At first, we cancel truly discriminatory "opinions", then we cancel the opinions the vast majority disagrees with, and then slowly we cancel opinions for being in a space with other strongly held different opinions. In the end, you can't express your opinions anymore without fear for your job. How are ignorant people ever going to learn anything if they are attacked as soon as they make a mistake? How does that ensure peaceful conversation and discussion? I agree we should create a more peaceful and nurturing environment, but this has to include people whose views disgust us because even those people are capable of change. (Rowling may be passed that point, but while I'm all for canceling her, I'm not for insulting her on Twitter). Right now, an old tweet from 5 years ago can get you fired, regardless of whether or not your views changed. Did you treat something lightly in your ignorance? Boom... fired. Never mind that while you can be ignorant in one part of life, in other parts of life you may possess a lot of wisdom. We lock a lot of doors if we stop listening and start insulting. TL;TR: I mind canceling Rowling, I'm doing it myself after all, but I do disagree with other things being canceled to the point that it becomes censoring. I feel Rowling is firmly in fine to cancel camp, others are a little iffier. That's what I mean when I say canceling can potentially come close to censorship. I'm not saying it will happen or anything, it's a really heavy doomsday scenario. I feel dumb for writing it, but I do think we should pay attention to it. We should indeed put canceling in closed blocks to make sure :) And this is all without mentioning how what you do reflects on your employers etc. I hope this cleared it up a little!

I personally prefer the UK version narrated by Stephan Fry.

@@hannahbrennan2131 haven't listened to the UK yet. I should cause I know a lot of people like him

How old is your mom? That's a pretty progressive mindset.

@@rosemali3022 Not really, the "expel the sinner" mindset has been around for a looong time. (Although one could easily argue that the "expel the sinner" is the current progressive mindset.)

Lovecraft isn't exactly...life affirming for anyone. If you're curling up with HP's stuff like some people have with JKR's books, I want to keep you away from sharp things. Is Agatha Christie "popular" anymore? I feel like she's fallen out of favor from when I was a kid (30+ years ago)...while they might remake her movies, they're nowhere near as plentiful or popular as they used to be. No excusing them for things, but will time heal/change JKR's popularity and cultural relevance?

Well you're right on that. Happen thr same with James Gunn

And almost anyone intellectual with a platform (Darwin included?) from pre WWII is eugenicist.

I just re-watched his last video about this, and he has my full support

There is always one option: WB buys it from her completely. But then we’re left with a two evils situation here: Transphobe VS Large Corporation.

And how horrid a corporation would have to be to be able to buy it.

Harry Potter is literally the only successful thing she has ever done. And after failing to get a novel career not based on the Wizarding World off the ground she has clearly realized as much. She's going to hold onto Harry Potter till she chokes the franchise to death.

I mean... George Lucas sold Star Wars and almost everything else he created. So... there's hope? Maybe?

She's a control freak she never will. She refused a RPG franchise because it meant people can do anything with her characters.

Insert "Star Trek", "Star Wars", "Doctor Who", or any other major literary/cinematic franchise you can think of into the sentence below, and you'll see where a lot of fan strife comes from these days. "

@@Corbomite_Meatballs ​ There's a big difference between the ones you listed and Harry Potter. Your list is "genre defining" work. Harry Potter is genre destroying. I can name a dozen works similar to Star Trek, Hunger Games, LotR, etc. because they're all just good genre fiction that inspired others or fit an already existing category. In spite of the fact that almost nothing in Harry Potter is original (wands, magical school, house system, the creatures, and so on are all just things she took from elsewhere) Harry Potter is IT for magical school fiction in the west. You literally cannot get new magical school stuff published professionally. It's just "too similar to HP" which is not healthy. One of the biggest things the fandom needs to do is acknowledge that JK didn't come up with most of the stuff they love (which is fine. Troupes are a thing for a reason, but do not call her brilliant for using things that have existed for literal centuries) Because of this inability to diversify the genre, the Harry Potter fandom is unhealthy compared to most franchises. You can have a sci-fi con and see lots of works represented. You can't have a "magical school" con. You can only have an HP con. Which is insane. The books finished years ago. How are people not tired of them? What do you even do at these cons when all you've got for a creator is JK? Like, that's the big scary part. It's not a team of creators. It's a creator. JK god and people worship her. Most fandoms die down once a work is over. HP just keeps going. To give a counter example Star Trek is ongoing and has years worth of content. It has a whole slew of writers and directors involved. You can easily talk about new things every year or wait a while to revisit things. You can't do that when you have 7 books of content and most of the related content is either adaptations of those books or JK's twitter feed. I have met fans for basically every nerdy show/book out there and none of them have the levels of unhealthy obsession I see in HP fans. Yes, every fandom has its crazies, but the commonality of the HP obsession is scary. People define themselves by these novels and that's unhealthy in the extreme. Like, I am often afraid to mention that I dislike the books when I learn someone is a fan because of the extreme negativity I receive just for saying "yeah, I don't think the last ones were very good" If HP were just another Star Trek (something people liked, but usually one of many sci-fi shows they loved), I wouldn't care, but it's not. It's an insular community ruled by a woman who thinks she can do no wrong. It needs to go away or at least die down to a normal fandom. No creator should have the kind of power JK does. She's an author of entertainment fiction. That should be the only realm where her opinion matters more than the average joe. #ReadAnotherBook

@@bookworm209 The Magicians, Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Vampire Academy, House of Night - is there some reason none of these count as a magic school series? I understand being frustrated with the overwhelming popularity of the Potterverse when it's not your thing, but it's a bit hyperbolic to accuse the series of destroying a genre imo.

@@bookworm209 Interesting! I haven't thought about it quite like that before, and I used to be a big fan. Although personally, I think the last two books are the ones that dropped in quality. Half blood prince was just lame, and the last one spent half of the pages camping. But Goblet was still good imo.

I remember my interest dropping after book 4 though I persevered, I remember being annoyed at how the last book ended especially the Happily ever after epilogue also was annoyed by her breaking her own rules for how the magical world worked. My theory was always that she got lost in building the mythology of the setting and lost interest in the actual plot of her series. Looking back as an adult I’ve noticed other more problematic aspects to the books (helped by Rowling continually tweeting about the series which kept it in the public consciousness). I stopped watching the films after the last book came out I was so underwhelmed by the last book also helped by my finding the 5th film to be rather poor. I do enjoy the Audiobooks and re-listen to them from time to time, but that might be more to do with Stephen Fry’s performance and it helps deal with my insomnia. My position is essentially that I won’t buy any JKR product until she no longer profits from it, but I don’t begrudge anyone who still does. I do find it regrettable that she has such a prominent platform to voice her opinions from and that media institutions (BBC I’m glaring at you) keep uncritically disseminating it.

I'm curious about the misogyny. Rampant is a pretty large word. I've sensed some, but not as much as you. Please tell?

I think it would be even better if you are her having a white British father and an indigenous Australian mother. That would fit with your comment on colonialism even better. My name is the same on facebook, and as a biracial indigenous Australian I am happy to be a sensitivity consultant if you need one. I would love to do it, free of charge with all recognition going to you.

@@angelawossname Thank you, Angela, I would gladly accept that offer.🥰

@@Lia-uf1ir I'm easy to find on facebook, I'm the only person there with my name as my surname is quite rare. Just message me when you are done.

@@angelawossname I did message you. Maybe something went wrong? I‘ll try again 🙂

@@angelawossname I just sent you a friend request. I also messaged you on Messenger

Ugh this is painfully true. I wouldn't be paying any attention to anything JKR is doing if it weren't for the twitter mob. And she is certainly not changing her views because she's getting cyber bullied. It's probably just helping her double down.

Wait, why are you upset about Depp being removed? That sounds like a good thing to me. Even if we accept the abuse allegations are untrue, he just isnt a good actor for the part. He plays himself every time.

@@rosemali3022 it’s the double standard. I don’t usually weigh in on these sort of feuds, but there is a lot of evidence Heard is the abuser in this case. Either way, I was already not watching, Depp’s removal only cemented the decision.

Newt Scamander is named for JKR's close friend and mentor Newt Gingrich

I feel so badly for the trans community and the institutional bigotry within the NHS.

Why do then other Transgender people think JK did nothing wrong?

@@jonchess8844 I can't begin to claim that I understand that position. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. Even if I think those opinions are misguided or lacking in facts and reason.

@@jonchess8844 Because they can't/don't want to see the very real harm someone they admire is doing. Cognitive dissonance is the mind killer.

The UK has nothing to apologise for, she does

Eeeeh wouldn't exactly call My Immortal "unproblematic" XD