The Witch Trials of JK Rowling

[CrossPurposes]

An in-depth intervietw with JK Rowling by Megan Phelps-Roper coming next week: twitter.com/meganphelps/status/1625465141046247425?s=20

This is a misunderstanding doing the TRA rounds. Robert Galbraith HEATH was the eugenicist.

It's not a misunderstanding. It's deliberate. They can't find any dirt on JKR so they invent and spread lies about her. Never underestimate how vile these people are or the lengths they will go to.

I am loving this podcast. I have always admired Jo so, so much and followed basically everything she has done. I'm actually quite sad that I don't feel comfortable to publically express that admiration in the current climate.

I think she is a fundamentally decent person, highly intelligent and excellent observational skills. The reason people disagree with what she's saying is that most people do not see the misogyny inherent in our society, they do not see the patterns of male violence and they do not understand how highly violent and volatile men act and the lengths they will go to (or perhaps, they do, but think it is a tiny, miniscule minority of men and do not realise the scale of it), which is why they dismiss the need for true single sex communities/services, see gatekeeping over sex change documentation as "unfair" (when really, surely it would protect trans people too) and don't understand/see the need for accurate reporting about crime figures (and other things such as medical failure etc) broken down by sex.

Haven’t listened to it yet, it’s on my list for tomorrow while I work from home!

The BBC are covering it in a surprisingly balanced article. It’s currently the #1 trending item on BBC News website:

JK Rowling dismisses backlash over trans comments: 'I don't care about my legacy' www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64729304

It is irritating to see JKR's position characterised as being I don't care about my legacy when her position is more how I lead my life is more important than my legacy.

And saying and doing the right things are more important than what anyone else may think.

I have just listened to it. Really fascinating to hear her background and also the DV issues she had. I think so many people feel such a sense of ownership over her work

As someone else said to me, a woman who doesn't care about her reputation (which is really what they mean by 'legacy')? That's a scary woman. And what about one who doesn't rely on anybody for her income AND doesn't care about her 'legacy'? Well, that would make her one of the women to be most-feared on the planet, because who can control her?

First two chapters were brilliant. Not surprised the TRAs are going mental. She is soooooo clearly a decent, good, kind person. And the show basically puts the TRAs on the side of Christian fundamentalists.

So good. Hope everyone listens.

It also shows why she felt Beiras place needed to be set up

That CNN article is a hit piece. It needs to be clearly labelled "opinion". Disgusting to present that as news reporting.

I'm not sure the BBC article is balanced. They approach it from the angle that she had done something wrong and doesn't care. The fact is, she is innocent of the charges and has been subject to attacks from a deranged mob.

It's so strange that anyone thinks there should be an article telling people what to think about a podcast they could just listen to for themselves. I know it's not the only example of this phenomenon but I find it utterly bizarre. Just listen to it and see what you make of it.

I thought it was very interesting. One thing it highlighted for me was just how different the US and the UK are, culturally. We consume so much US media that it often feels as if we're sort of the same, with some superficial differences in the words we use and the foods we eat and so on. But there is a lot that I don't understand at all about US culture and politics, especially the status that religion has - I mean I can understand it on some level but I can still be deeply surprised by how Americans interpret things in a way that would just never have occurred to me. It reinforced for me that both sides of the Atlantic should be really careful about reading the politics of the other side too much through the lens of our own.

@Apollo441 perhaps I should modify my statement to be “balanced, for the BBC” 😜

I felt the fact that they say “Her position has been interpreted by some as transphobic” is a step forward in my view. Previously they would never have included the words “by some”.

Little wins and all that!

I've downloaded the first two instalments to listen to on my commute.

I don't know if I'm a twit but I can't see how often the podcasts are being released? I've listen to the first two and I'm impatient to listen to the next!
And YY to the poster who mentioned the parallels between evangelists condemning her and trans activists condemning her. Two cheeks of the same arse.

I see that the Police can take death threats seriously and investigate them, if they feel the urge:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64720973

Threats sent to an activist and a TV presenter are being investigated by anti-terrorism detectives. The letters claimed to come from the "London cell" of National Action, a neo-Nazi group banned by the home secretary in 2016.

India Willoughby, who is transgender, and British-Nigerian activist Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu were both targeted.

I wonder why they haven't bothered much with all of the awful threats JK Rowling has received?

Glad they're investigating. There needs to be a zero tolerance approach to death threats. It seems to have become far too casual a thing to do, especially on social media.
And yes, police need to investigate whether they agree with the person who is being threatened or not. They need to take it extremely seriously.
Even if person doesn't intend to carry out the threat, its still threatening and intimidating behaviour. I really do think we need to see more prosecutions to stop people doing this.
There are also, sadly, people who claim to have been threatened when they've simply been disagreed with. I'd hope that if the police started taking all threats seriously, those would diminish too.

TheGreatATuin

Glad they're investigating. There needs to be a zero tolerance approach to death threats.

Yes, I agree that it shouldn't be tolerated, even if it's directed at someone like Abu Hamza. It's unacceptable and it needs to be investigated with an even hand, with no untouchable class. If they clamped down on it, then the publicity would surely help to reduce it?

There are also, sadly, people who claim to have been threatened when they've simply been disagreed with.

Yes, look at the KJK thread, for example, along with other examples of mainly women being taken to court over differences of opinion.

Can’t wait to listen to the podcast and thanks for the Claire Cohen/The Times interview link CrossPurposes. It’s a great media story having two such interesting figures in conversation like this. I think the podcasts will get a lot of attention.

By contrast I thought the BBC article linked to above was useless. Several paragraphs before any kind of balance at all emerged. I had thought that the BBC has finally got past this kind of childish one-sided ‘journalism’..? It’s ironic when describing a podcast discussion which is literally all about risks to freedom of speech and information.

That CNN piece was a disgrace - and the Daily Wire headline about it pretty spot on.

The Guardian's take on the podcasts: www.theguardian.com/books/2023/feb/22/jk-rowling-reveals-abuse-in-past-relationship

Reading this thread in the lounge. Husband is in the kitchen and I can hear him humming the Harry Potter theme tune. That is spooky!!!

Jo's legacy seems pretty secure:
The Top 10 most borrowed children’s titles included six of Rowling’s seven Harry Potter books; only Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince sat outside the Top 10, at No 11. The first four Harry Potter books, in series order, held the top four positions on the children’s chart.

www.theguardian.com/books/2023/feb/22/julia-donaldson-james-patterson-uk-libraries-most-borrowed-author-gruffalo

It’s great to hear her talking. I wonder when chapter 3 comes out

Very insightful.

And yes 'reputation' is a significant one. Women's behaviour is constantly controlled by fear of getting a 'bad name'.