Igniting and doubling down
After a month of tweets, back and forths and intense scrutiny over her views on transgender issues, J.K. Rowling has ignited the debate once more by thanking Harry Potter fan site founder Emerson Spartz, of MuggleNet, for supporting her.
Well she didn’t “ignite the debate.” She thanked someone. No one was required to shout the house down in response. None of this stupid hounding of Rowling is necessary or inevitable. It’s people choosing to make a huge fuss over the trivial subject of people’s personal feelings about their “identities.” It’s not the most intelligent or useful choice I’ve ever seen.
“After hours of stomach churning & frantic pacing, I decided that, as founder of MuggleNet, I have to say something. I can’t believe I have to say this, but @jk_rowling is NOT transphobic,” posted Spartz.
“Thank you, Emerson,” posted Rowling a few hours ago, “for being who I always thought you were.” At the time of writing, the tweet had already garnered close to 1,000 comments.
It’s Twitter, and it’s Rowling. It could be a million comments, it still wouldn’t mean much of anything.
Rowling later published a 3,600 word essay discussing her thoughts about trans issues on her personal website, in which the Harry Potter creator doubled down on her views and revealed that she’d suffered violence and domestic abuse.
That is, she went on thinking what she thought and explained why with facts and arguments. We’re allowed to do that.
It’s just a countdown now until the first trans terrorist attack. We’ve had incel shooters, stabbers, and drivers. Abortion clinic bombers, doctor stalkers. White nationalist shooters. The demonization of people who believe MAWT (men aren’t women tho), and the exaggerated victimhood of TIMs has a logical end.
“Doubled down” used to mean a person intensified their claims when challenged. Now, all it means is they continued to have the same views as before and did not issue a grovelling apology.
The Pottersphere is proving itself woefully deficient in Longbottom courage: it takes courage to stand up to your friends, as much as it does to stand up to your foes. Almost nobody in Potterworld learned that lesson.