Richard Coles embarrassing himself

I don’t think it’s entirely class or entirely age, which is why I said ‘ somewhat’ divided by generation.
It was the younger staff at Bloomsbury, wasn’t it, who staged that ‘ protest’ and said they wouldn’t work on her books any more?

He didn’t call her a baddie. He said they think she is one.
Yes, he used that word, but it is part of his usual posting style to be mild and somewhat old-fashioned in his turn of phrase.

My main question about Coles though is why does he never appear to be at home? Endless perambulations around the country and a pro as it seems

The thing is, he could have made a nice post about whatever the event was without the “tee hee, I am down with the kids, who like me and not JKR”, so it’s a pity that he chose to do so.

No, absolutely not. People who are older are more than capable of taking photos with people who are younger without calling other older and completely unrelated random people 'baddies'. These older people are just trying to be 'down with the kids' and it really is cringeworthy.

I don't think opinions regarding JKR are divided by age. I find there's a class divide and a feedback loop within that class where different middle-class generations reinforce that opinion to each other. Ie younger people are taught by older authority figures that JKR is against them and older people decide to dislike her because younger ones do so it makes them feel young again and they have a tendency to expect the world to treat their children as more important than they are.

She is a massive opinion-divider and it's at least somewhat divided by generation, so seeing as his post was about the similarities/differences between him and these younger people I'd say it makes perfect sense that he mentioned her.

There was literally no reason to mention JKR at all.

@Tunnocksmallow
in 40 years we will look back, horrified at how we treated other humans just for being different and be ashamed at the suffering we caused

It will be a cold day in hell before that happens.

Exactly how we look back now at how people treated gay men during the AIDS crisis

There’s absolutely no comparing the two to begin with let alone anything else.

Hear Hear

@LadyBracknellsHandbagg* his is a man who pretended to have AIDS in the 90’s and whose brother is a creep. He has no moral high ground whatsoever.
Last time I looked I get to decide what I ‘waste energy on’.*

His brother being a creep is no reflection at all on the Rev Cole’s.

I don't see what he has said here that is so bad. He seems to be just observing some generational traits.

also apols to him, he didn't tag JKR.

The problem with the internet is that it is too tribal now. Any perceived slight and BAM! pile on.
i don't like it.

Almost everyone I know (bar my own family) thinks that JKR is a baddie (in a bad way), probably because I’m 25 and work in the heritage industry. These are not terrible people, they’ve mostly just taken what they’ve heard for granted and not done their research. I have argued (politely) with people in the past, but if I called them all out I would end up very isolated. Maybe it’s easier for those who know more likeminded people. I think RC was calling them out, actually (for being hypocrites). I don’t like that he’s had to delete his Twitter over this.

I couldn't work out why, given how anodyne his account was (flowers! seabirds!), but it looks as if he got piled on because everyone thought he was calling jkr a baddie:

https://x.com/AjaTheEmpress/status/1957019590761775566

Ludicrous.

i think his plan to be seen by loads of people who then thought how wonderfully right-on he is by tagging JKR on his post has backfiree. He's now deleted his X account.

Surely the issue is that he was sat with proud homophobes and misogynists and refusing to call them out.

No good person sits with proud homophobes and misogynists unless they absolutely have to, or unless they use their time with them to call them out. I don;t believe he had to sit there, and I don't believe he couldn't have called them out

He agrees with you.

Nothing to with Richard Coles, but Dave Ball and Mark Almond when they were planning to retire and had a farewell gig seemed to have a respect for each other.

yep, i was there. It was awful.

he's a bit of a self absorbed nob who, while he was still a priest, lied to his bishop about not having sex with his "husband" who he, against the rules in place at the time "married" secretly in a church, IIRC

and is no longer a Ref but writes (of course, big names can always get published) books.

he can nob off.

Urgh! I didn’t know that!i never liked him much before, but gone right off him now.
What a horrible thing to do.

I’d rather they do that and listen to each other than be dismissive.
Rather smug of him to post it though, I feel.

He agrees with you.