This is just sad. What could have made JKR use her wealth in such an unkind way?
What an ugly human being
rowling also wants to retcon the og cast members of the films, because they dont like to be associated with her transphobia.
#piratepotter don’t let a dime go to Rowling or those trying to benefit from her.
Y’er a pirate, Harry
Or just read other books, watch other movies, and so on. Like, Harry Potter is genuinely not even that good
What?? The only books that exist are:
- Harry Potter
- 1984
- AO3 fanfics
Read the A03 Harry Potter fanfics where Harry is a trans egg
The really good a/o I’ve been following hasn’t been updated in almost two months 😭
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy *
~* All five of them. Six if you count Mostly Harmless.~
I’d recommend Dresden Files series if you want something with a wizard in it.
I’ll add it to my reading list. Thanks!
While you’re at it, if you haven’t done so check out any of the Discworld books by Terry Pratchet. Very good reads.
Ooh… +1 for this…
Read them some time back and would definitely read again.
Six if you count Mostly Harmless.
I think you mean six if you count 'And Another Thing … ’
‘Mostly Harmless’ was the 5th book.
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
- The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
- Life, the Universe and Everything
- So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
- Young Zaphod Plays it Safe
- Mostly Harmless
This is according to The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide from 1996. I will certainly be checking out And Another Thing.
~So I guess there are seven books to the trilogy.~
Edit: Ooooh, that explains it. And Another Thing wasn’t written by Adams. No wonder I never heard of it.
Young Zaphod Plays it Safe is just a short story.
‘And Another Thing…’ was fun, and I feel it belongs on the shelf right next to the others. I hope you give it a shot, and also enjoy it.
There’s also atlas shrugged.
It’s like the sorting hat for terrible people.
Oh good one but that’s a trick question, because nobody has actually read it in full.
Wait! You aren’t supposed to finish Atlas Shrugged?
🤷♂️
Tap for spoiler
🌍
🤷♂️
Yeah it’s wild looking at the books with adult eyes at the house elves and goblins and so on.
If anyone wants a suggestion may I suggest Yojou Senki/The Saga of Tanya the Evil, it’s really good once you get past the fact that the English version devolves into technical documents at times. But the author apparently plays Hoi3, which honestly explains a lot about the books in general.
As someone who doesn’t have the nostalgia goggles for HP, it’s always insane to me how many adults still love that shit. They’re YA novels… Like read a grown-up book, and maybe you’ll realize how mediocre they were.
It’s like Disney Adults…
Not even a grown-up book! Read a different magical fantasy book aimed at children or teenagers. And see how good those are, too. Many of them were written before Harry Potter.
I do think HP is good at the pacing and mystery aspect of it. The magical world isn’t really that alluring, unless you are a 12 year old kid in 2001 who never read another book until now.
The pacing goes down the toilet in the last three books.
i used to read mtg books.
Got kids? Percy Jackson (and the other Rick Riordan written) series are great. Older kids? Get them reading chuck wendig or Margaret Killjoy.
Introduce yourself to Kafka and Marquez and Butler and Morrison and so many other great great writers who make JK Rowling look like the utter hack she is.
Honestly, just pick up any other book and give it a go, if that doesn’t work drop it and pick up another one. Nothing depresses me more than those people - adults - who finish reading the last Harry Potter book and then pick up the first one and start over again. I’ve heard nothing but good things about Rick Riordan as far as getting kids into reading, that all happened a little after my time though (and I was already big into reading as a kid)
Margaret Killjoy
Definitely seconding this recommendation. I’ve really liked Margarets Killjoy’s more adult sci-fi/fantasy output, for a long time. The Free Orcs of Cascadia is a personal favorite.
But she recently wrote a YA fantasy novel called The Sapling Cage which is really wonderful.
THE GIRL FROM BEHIND THE BASTARDS?!
(Actually legit the only place I’ve ever heard of her. I will have to look into her writing!)
I just finished The Staircase In The Woods by Chuck Wendig. Holy shit, what an epic book. I am going to read more Chuck because I loved it so much.
Agreed.
deleted by creator
YES!
The books are also good, but very different. The show creators made an excellent adaptation of the world and its energy and feeling, but changed characters and plot to something more suitable for a show. Both are great though.
gently pushes Katalepsis by Hazel Young your way
I had someone recommend Rivers of London as an alternative magic learning protag series, and I’m enjoying it, but it’s more noir detective than Harry Potter. Which works in its favor IMO.
The world would be fine without Harry Potter, and better without JK Rowling.
Don’t even pirate it. She doesn’t deserve your mindshare.
There are many better authors out there who are also better humans.
What a miserable person. More money than God and all she can do is sit around hating people she’s never met.
It’s one thing to still support someone despite them having some problematic opinions on the side. I do it, you probably do it, it annoys the shit out of me to know that this thing that I like is made by someone who shares opinion with which I strongly disagree with, sometimes that are even against me, personally, as a trans person.
But not understanding something, being ignorant and being kind of an asshole about it, is very different than what this hateful bitch is doing. She has dedicated her entire life to make people like me fucking miserable. And it’s working!
I’m having a very hard time reconciling the fact that lots of people love Harry Potter and some people in my entourage are the same and they will support and pay for stuff made by this horrendous person regardless because this universe means that much to them. My sister is like that. I’m having a very hard time with that. I don’t want to be that person… but fuck this hurts.
The worst part is that most people don’t know about it. Most people don’t know how much of a hateful, awful person J.K. Rowling is. And I have to admit, those people in my life, I’m genuinely afraid of telling them. Because I know that there is a chance that I’ll tell them everything, and that in the end, they won’t change a thing. Because my rights as a human being matters less to them. And I don’t want to find that out…
I hate everything about this.
It is important to separate art and artist.
People get a lot of comfort out of religious text knowing next to nothing about the author(s).
This also means you can hate on JK Rowling without making any connection to HP.
It is important to separate art and artist.
I completely disagree, both on a subjective selfish aesthetic level, and on a moral level.
On the aesthetic side, you’re doing yourself a huge disservice by making this separation. You’re missing out on this whole other dimension a piece of art has to offer you; namely the context that the author operates in. Star Wars gains this whole other rich level of interpretation if you consider the fact that George Lucas lived through the invasion of Vietnam and other forms of US imperialism and completely opposes it, for example. You’re missing out by ignoring the author.
On the moral side, the argument is more obvious, I think. By ignoring the author you’re denying yourself the opportunity to spend your money and support folks in a way that aligns with your own morals. In my case, I consider trans people people, and think they deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. Since I know J K Rowling completely disagrees, I know that if I spend money on her, I will be putting money in the pocket of someone, and platforming them, who actively works against my morals. And I’m thankful for being able to know that spending money on her goes counter to my own morality.
Obviously if the authors views are reflected in the work then there isn’t a separation. HP is badly written with many failings, but it is enjoyable and not anti-trans itself. The art does not reflect the beliefs of the author.
On the moral side, no money needs to be given directly or indirectly to Rowling.
The art does not reflect the beliefs of the author.
It really does though. The moral universe of Harry Potter says a lot about J K Rowling as a person, and there are many parallels with her own life. Morality in the Harry Potter universe is not inherent to an action, but to an actor. Is bullying bad? Depends on who does it. If a bad guy does it (for example the Dursleys), then it’s bad. If a good guy does it (Hagrid), then it’s good! There’s a parallel with the abolition of slavery about half way through the series, and it’s only one character doing it, and they’re the butt of the joke. And of course there’s Cho Chang and Blackie Shackleslave or whatever she called the one black character. The work speaks volumes about her, and vice versa. And you’re depriving yourself of this deeper level of analysis. You’re missing out.
There’s a YouTuber called Shaun who’s done a thorough analysis of her work and its parallels with her dealings with nazis and fellow transphobes. It’s worth a watch.
You can separate the art from the artist for sure but when people are buying HP branded stuff, they are directly contributing to this.
Totally agree. Although in today’s digital world there is no need to spend any money on HP.
I’ll admit this is easier for me because I was never a huge HP fan. But I don’t even pirate it because I don’t want to increase its cultural impact. I don’t even want to seed the torrent, and leeches suck. I want Harry Potter to disappear because even after Rowling dies, the profits will go towards a transphobic foundation.
In some cases piracy increases total revenue by getting more people interested in the product.
The product itself isn’t bad. But you do have a point.
Let’s compare Orsen Scott Card and Rowling. I’m never going to be pressured into taking kids to an Enders Game theme park, but piracy will make Univeral theme parks (and therefore Rowling) lots more money. Disney made more money from selling Churros than streaming.
No. I’m so tired of this. You can like the IP but you can’t spend a single dime on it without funding transphobia. That’s what we are talking about here.
Edit: The IP also should just die. Its popularity fuels hateful policies and attitudes against my existence.
Edit: This comment on it says it succinctly: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/26719393/14648789
And this is why I pirated Hogwarts legacy…
For me the whole IP has been so tainted by her behavior that I can’t even enjoy it if I didn’t pay. I get a gross feeling from it, like I’ve stepped directly into some filthy place and must be careful not to let anything touch me.
If you are going down that road then there are much big targets to aim at. Are you also applying the same anger (and logic) to organised religion?
The same arguments apply and they are multiple times more powerful than Rowling.
Yup, fuck organized religion
Yeah okay, you are not being genuine. That much is clear now. This is a post about J. K. Rowling using profits from her IP to fund transphobia. People run in to defend the franchise, we try to explain how giving her money means more policies against us is bad, and then you object to that?
Ofc we are talking about HP in the HP post. Why would I talk about religion here? She gave a significant meaningful amount of money to fund hate against me, and she continues to be influential and use her and her IPs popularity to make peoples lives harder.
Why do you think I don’t speak up against any church or organization funding hate and bigotry? You are not being genuine.
giving her money means more policies against us is bad, and then you object to that?
No, you went further and are hating on people liking HP. You are attacking the art not the artist. I am defending art in general. I am not defending Rowling at all or encouraging funding for her. Everyone should pirate anything HP related.
Why would I talk about religion here?
Because you are confusing the art and the artist. That precedent should not be allowed no matter the topic. (By equating religion to art I can make my point quicker. Note I’m not choosing any religion in particular)
Why do you think I don’t speak up against any church or organization funding hate and bigotry?
Do you also try to stop people from believing in that religion? From reading those religious books? No. The art is separate.
You are not being genuine.
I’m highlighting how art and artist are separate. No-one should feel guilty about enjoying a fictional book.
No, you went further and are hating on people liking HP.
Where did that happen?
The IP also should just die.
I think that you shouldn’t tell people to stop enjoying what they love but to stop buying and funding her campaign.
It is hard to convince people to give up on their interests but it is reasonable to tell them where the money goes.
I myself I am mostly pirating this stuff and so I could even help someone pirate it and do it for them. I think they would understand and agree to it. I would add that If they buy something from hp we are not friends anymore but if you ask me to pirate it then we could watch it together.
I wouldn’t think bad about people who are hp fans as they aren’t Rowling fans so to say usually, just help them pirate things.
That seems like a healthy way to think about it.
First, let me start with saying I am sorry. Currently, the world seems very preoccupied with cocks and vagina’s and who should have what. (Kinda weird, but yeah).
I love Harry Potter. It was the first series of books that really resonated with me. It is really sad to see that someone, who came from nothing and gained it all. Could live the dream, have all the money and affection, is such a massive cunt.
Yet somehow, it doesn’t make me stop loving Harry Potter. When reading the books again, it reminds me of my childhood. Me reading at 2:00 in the morning underneath the blankets with a pocket light in me mouth to not let anyone know I am not sleeping. Daydreaming about such a world where magic exist.
The solution, I am afraid, is something I cannot provide. Money buys news, news poisons the minds. I stand for humanity, and all humans. No matter which configuration. And if someone wants to have a nice pair of tits and cunt instead of a dick, go on and have your merry life.
…
I don’t know if this is helpful or not. What is your solution?
I don’t know, there’s a lot of racism and anti-Semitism in those books as well. I mean the money obsessed long nose goblins? Cho Chang?
They’re good stories, but they do reflect the work of a fundamentally biggoted author.
In general the entire series is mean-spirited. You can see the roots of Rowling’s hate in how she describes any of the series antagonists.
I’m not trans, but I feel your pain. It sucks, a lot. Why do people have to be so hateful?
Low IQ and a lack of hobbies
Nothing will meaningfully improve until the rich fear for their lives
Imagine getting all that wealth just to use it to hurt people
You are describing most of the billionaires.
There is a difference between abusing people to generate money and spending money to hurt people
Most of the Billionaires do both.
My intuition says you’re right, but I’ve learned to question it from time to time. I don’t know any billionaires myself, nor have I read much about them, so I don’t really have any facts either way. Got any sources I should look into?
The 1st thing always come to my mind is Nestlè. But there are many others, doing worse. Like Chevron, Elon Musk and others.
What a miserable person. I can’t imagine having her wealth and using it to try to hurt people.
I can think of quite a few people that I would go out of my way to destroy.
Starting with a few politicians.
But you’d possibly be making life better for people in general, depending on which politicians you chose to destroy (and in what way you destroyed them.)
I think this is the line her convoluted logic follows
Avada kedavra!
Oh well, it was worth a try…
Someone needs to
Crucio!
J.K. Rowling is using her wealth attained from the Harry Potter series to create an organization dedicated to removing transgender people’s rights "in the workplace, in public life, and in protected female spaces.”
I need some help with this topic.
I never got into Harry Potter; I watched some of the older films, but I’ve never read the books. I was born in ‘83, so it never hit me like the folks in my younger brother’s and little cousins’ generation, and only knew of Rowling’s statements about trans people over the years tangentially and largely dismissed it as background noise. I assumed that she considers herself a TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist), as opposed to a TIRF (trans-inclusive radical feminist).
On the assumption that I’m correct about her position, what is the true essence of the disagreement between TERFs and TIRFs?
Is the presence of the Y chromosome in male-to-female trans people inherently adds a fundamental “maleness” that “true feminists” must inherently oppose due to the overt and implied threats to women that “maleness” represents?
Is it simply a feminist version of a “No True Scotsman” fallacy or an “Appeal to Nature” fallacy?
Maybe both?
TIRFs are not opposed to maleness. TERFism is a conservative psy-op that started when Mary Daly (who wrote magical divine goddess mother bullshit) and Janice Raymond (who accidentally kicked off trans studies by outing and harassing a trans woman named Sandy Stone - The Transexual Empire leading to Stone’s The Empire Strikes Back)
TIRFism recognizes that there is an axis of oppression that lies at the roots of imposed sex roles. The vast majority of women over history have been unarguably subject to men. Many women live in systems which are focused on controlling their sexuality, and are often barred and restricted from certain activities - due to both explicit and encultured messages.
The ideal TIRF society eliminates gender as a restriction. If anyone had actually read Andrea Dworkin, instead of taking Rush Limbaugh’s pastiche of her work at face value, they would find the TIRF society is one where gender is essentially just self expression. If we got rid of “man” or “woman” - maybe girls in Afghanistan would be able to go to school, or maybe sex wouldn’t be understood as a defilement of women (which I think is deeply connected to the problem of rape - rape is less an act of sexual desire and more a desire for subjugation that is tied to sexual power through this messaging that we desire to eliminate.)
The project of the TIRF is ultimately that the only way to truly end sexism would be to understand all humans as fundamentally ambiguous, to not hold anyone to any kind of sex role.
This is the fundamental irony behind the TERF movement. Rather than reject the gender and sex binary, they reify and enforce it. Daly was a wacky Catholic theologian who turned God into a mom, and decided that women were just special magical spiritual beings. This devotion to some kind of divine womanhood is common among the lesbian separatist types (it’s really disturbing seeing that space have the same deranged arguments of the 70’s…)
The problem is that TERFs are just not feminists. If Rowling cared about women, she wouldn’t be finding these women who realize that they can get their 15 minutes by intentionally throwing a boxing or fencing match. TERFs gleefully team up with the same groups that attack women’s reproductive health care - which I view as the most critical feminist issue at the moment (along the world wide surges in fascistic ideologies - which do tend to be expressions of a threatened male gender role, attempting to reassert those boundaries. The goddamn President is a serial rapist.)
That’s probably confusing and elaborate, there’s a lot of theory behind what I’m saying. I’m happy to answer or clarify, I think a critical part of countering this shit is to stop letting Rowling and the alt right redefine the term feminist.
The opposite of a TERF is a Non Exclusive Radical Feminist, because it’s NERF or nothing
TERFs can also be called Feminism-Appropriating Radical Transphobes, or FART
I saw this getting up votes in a conservative comm. Makes me sick.
In this comm it feels like actual news, being notified of things that happen in the world. Upvoting it feels like "more people should know that this is happening"kinda thing.
But in a comm dedicated to the GQP? There it feels like an upvote is a sign of approval or agreement.
but we are still not ok with bashing the fans/consumer that gave her the money despite the stories being flatter than brothers grim wiping their ass? i really think harry potter fans are the problem.
Boycotts work! Don’t watch her show on HBO and cancel your subscription after The Last of Us season finale of course. If her brand becomes toxic nobody will fund projects around it and she will fade into obscurity.
I didn’t subscribe to HBO when Game of Thrones was airing, I’m not about to start now.
To many people care more about their immediate shiny than any lasting harm their actions do in the world.
Just look at how quickly the Nintendo Switch 2 sold out preorders, despite explicitly telling customers they won’t even own the device, and thus nintendo can fucking brick the thing whenever they want.
Don’t watch anything of hers on anything, like she’ll still be getting royalties for films.
Aside from hurting Trans people, these things hurt women both those afab or not, and given the numbers of each group they end up hurting way, way, way more cisgender women. So every opportunity, every interview with Rowling, every comment on a tweet to her should be “What happened that made you hate women this much?”.
I mean it’s sad that she can’t love the trans, but if that was just a prrsonal dislike, ok everyone has barely rational likes and dislikes, can’t be helped. But to make that public, and then to go to these lengths, to sacrifice the safety of all women on the altar of that hate and fear, that is truly sick and sickening.
So the question is “JO, WHY DO YOU HATE WOMEN???”
Because because of her hate mongering, women are getting in trouble and often beat up for going to the bathroom, get humiliated by having to “prove” they’re “real” women to pushy agressive bigots. I fully expect one day to lose my job and end up in jail for beating up some such asshole who thinks they should humiliate my wife or daughters that way.
The greatest achievement of gender critical ideology is getting women to voluntarily give men jurisdiction to police their bodies and presentation. To the Rowlings and Parkers, any number of cisgender women hurt by their ideology is worth it in their quest of erasing trans people out of public life.
