Seattle Museum Culture & Hall of Fame removes Rowling for “transphobia”

[NitroNine]

Specifically, so the MoPOP’s Director of Exhibitions is quoted as saying in this Daily Mail article, Rowling - & all references to her - has been removed from the Hall
of Fame & the dedicated “Harry Potter” exhibition because she is a cold, heartless, joy-sucking entity. Which seems like a rather stupid thing to say if you wish to continue to be allowed to have a “Harry Potter” exhibition - & presumably sell associated merch in the museum shop - frankly.

The Museum of course responded to request for comment (by “The Telegraph”) in an utterly predictable fashion:
MoPOP is proud to support our employees and unequivocally stands with nonbinary and transgender communities. In an increasingly divided world, pop culture can unite, inspire, and spark important conversations. Education and creative expression are the heart of our mission and in our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, we strive to elevate those that are left out of the mainstream pop culture conversation, by amplifying voices and stories that are not always seen on museum walls.

• They’re literally advocating for silencing women & vital conversations about our rights. Obviously those aren’t important conversations.
• Silly me, museums are awash with exhibits about single mothers who escaped domestic abuse & wrote & published their first novel - which became the start of a cultural phenomenon - while living on benefits.

They of course make sure to complain the books have the utter audacity to be of their time, too 🙄

What is even more bizarre about this is the Museum hosts a Science Fiction + Fantasy Hall of Fame as well celebrating stuff like Horror and popular music full of "problematic" elements

https://www.mopop.org/sffhof-archive

It includes a huge number of artists and writers many of whom were spectacularly racist, homophobic/sexist and "transphobic" however you define that. Obviously I am not calling for the cancelling of past writers for awful views, but it is weird to have a hate on for Rowling in a museum that celebrates the creator of Tarzan.

The Museum just added Frank Herbert's Dune as a seminal work this year . Totally agree amazing book, great science fiction writer, BUT Herbert had some awful political ideas and some personal bigotries.

Of course one might think this double standard is only about dead creators, yet Terry Gilliam is included in the Hall of Fame yet Gilliam, also alive, totally agrees with JKR on trans stuff. Must be something about Gilliam which means he is free to have different ideas while JKR does not.

Nauticant

It is shameful that pitchfork wielder #1 is so unsure of themselves they can't even face naming those who are being denounced.

I suspect that PFW #1 has learned that lying about people in a published format is legally actionable.

It hasn't stopped them from declining to mention that MF won her appeal, resoundingly and that the claim of "sacked for transphobia" is completely meaningless and wrong.

It's exactly the same as them being unable to provide a concrete critique of JKR's supposed transphobia. It can't be done, because it is untrue.

What is even more bizarre about this is the Museum hosts a Science Fiction + Fantasy Hall of Fame as well celebrating stuff like Horror and popular music full of "problematic" elements

That is what makes this so extraordinary. That a museum where presumably someone has oversight of the organisation as a whole, has allowed a lone individual, who judging by the blog, is in fact doing little more than showing of to friends.

Or we really are living in an age where the media is able to create figures of hate that can be demonised by all, and the vast majority of people just passively agree.

Many of the acoomanying information plates have been totally woke washed - reducing everything about the city and its key figures to slavery connections ( for someone who didn't know better they would think the city had been an actual slave port. It wasn't); and one medieval depiction of Mary Magdalene had an info plate which stated that at that period in time she was often referred to as a 'sex worker'

Wehn I go to exhibitions and see stuff like this I have a LOT of fun filling in the feedback forms pointing out the anachronisms and 21c attitudes being projected onto attitudes and behaviour hundreds of years ago - like the Queen's House moaning that 18c admirals were all white men (which was so bloody ridiculous I couldn't be bothered with it). I did point out to the Ashmolean that while they were rightly wringing their hands over the evils of historical slavery, it was also happening right under their noses probably not too far away from the museum and what were they actively doing about that?*

*These people are supposed to be historical experts yet can't see why that doesn't work.

Mary Magdalen as 'sex worker' - words fail me.

That para WASN'T meant to be bolded. Formatting on this site really doesn't like ne.

I was there on Thursday and the HP artefacts were on display, but each had a comment along basically apologising for having the item and saying they understand it will upset people and Seattle stands with the trans community.

Put a trans person into some form of museum/collection and have them point out the transphobic items. No one will be prepared to challenge this viewpoint for fear of being transphobic and losing their job. All debate utterly closed down. Suits the trans agenda just fine.

Btw, Gilliam is male, Rowling not. Wonder if that makes a difference?

Gilliam sure does like his hyperbolic adjectives, doesn't he?

I was there on Thursday and the HP artefacts were on display, but each had a comment along basically apologising for having the item and saying they understand it will upset people and Seattle stands with the trans community.

I wonder how many visitors innocently visiting thinkg their children will like this (and we will!) read the comments and are just bewildered.

Despite those of us on FWR it is clear a lot of people just aren't listening to or hearing about trans issues. (Sorry BBC your influence isn't what it was)

Silly little man no-one's heard of hugging himself that he's put a woman - and a world famous and very successful author at that - in her place and silenced her.

Aha I knew there must be a reason why Gilliam could still be celebrated and say what he wants. "Transphobia" from males totally ok. Got it.

Meanwhile in the online shop. Lots of HP stuff for sale:
https://shop.mopop.org/search.php?page=1&section=product&search_query=harry

Remember buy any of these items and JKR gets money as does the museum.

Interesting logic on display here. JKR is bad yet giving her money is ok.

I had to wait in today for someone to come and do a repair, who didn't turn up for the 3rd time, so was very a very bad mood. I was filling in time channel hopping when I saw on C5 that the Storm Huntly show was going to discuss this ie was it right to remove JKR's name from an exhibition about her creation.

So this just seemed like a further indication of a bad day as I could only imagine what would be said as this is an off shoot of Jeremy Vine on 5.

And sure enought instead of addressing the question, is a museum within its rights to "erase" the creator of artifacts on display, they got a trans activist via zoom who was allowed to go on and on about the awfulness of JKR and the harm she did.

The male panelist said it was absurd and they shouldn't have done it. The female panelist said of course they had the right. Again more time given to trans activist.

So in the end only time for 3 callers. 2 men saying the whole thing was ridiculous. And the 3 a woman from Scotland (not sure she is part of women wont wheesht!) very clear about JKR and women's rights, no transphobia (in fact Storm Huntly had said she had done research and couldn't find evidence of transphbia). So instead of taking up what the caller said about women's rights, again the trans activists was allowed to dismiss what the caller had said as trans people's rights were negatively impacted by her.

I know this is quite trivial, but did make me think, presumably day time tv is full of "discussions" like this, when in fact they aren't discussion but because of media cooption, become yet another free platform for TRAs.

And also that in terms of the public commentators, it seems men feel more able to say that the TRA agenda just has no basis in reality, but that women feel they have to appear sympathetic, and deny that women's rights are being impacted.

However when I checked later that particularly on facebook commentators were saying the Museum had not right to deny the existence of JKR. On twitter it was more evenly balanced between those saying was rubbish and those saying the museaum was standing up for trans activists.

The only thing it did make me realise, which I am sure everyone else has already registered, was trans commentator going on about how Harry Potter had become bigger than JKR and was important to young people who had the right to enjoy Harry Potter without being distressed by the reality of JKR.

And that because they are important and young peole and shouldn't be distressed we should enable their dillusion that Harry Potter had somehow emerged out of the ether and was JKR free.

Which also made me realise that they had no integrity at all. With that sort of mentality you cant imagine anyone in that age group every taking part in a boycott if it meant them having to give up on something they enjoy.

Its like a whole other level of reality. Everything and everybody is expected to collude with and reinforce their dellusions.

The Director is merely demonstrating the vindictive spite we gave come to expect from some quarters in the trans movement. All they have achieved is more publicity for their own I'll nature.

The blogger is unironically calling Rowling, "she-who-must-not-be-named"?

They're so /priggish/, aren't they?

I really am middle-aged! I just don't understand young people any more.

OMG. Silenced again. And yet daily articles in the National Daily Mail.

Wow. I'd hate to see someone who is promoted!

Seriously? The "slienced" thing is a joke. People will vote with their feet if they wish to attend the museum or not.

What are you talking about?

Who is using the word “silenced,” with reference to whom?

Have you posted on the wrong thread?

Are you an unsophisticated bot posting inappropriate canned responses? GPT-3 is free, your developers have no excuse.

Yup, I was going to say something similar.

This is not just about gender ideology. It's about identity politics and a whole different view of the purpose of historical information. Where you go to see a painting and get to read an "explanation" of how the painter was a racist, because he didn't have access to racially diverse models in rural England in the first half of the 20th century. Or someone at the university museum tells you breathlessly that one of the early board members owned stock in a company that was involved in the sugar trade in the Caribbean, and so the university was built on slavery. (All the while they have their Apple phones in their pockets, no sense of irony at all.)

They like gender ideology because it completely fits into their larger view of the world.

The exhibition manager looks like a LazyTown character.

Re the denunciations written on Apple products, I also see all the Pride/rainbow merch that is produced in China and other manufacturing hubs with v problematic human rights records - current genocide of minorities ie Tibetans/Uighurs and also a less than supportive attitude to LGBTQ++++ add some more letters rights.

I am in Seattle currently. It seems a strange place and yes totally captured. LGBTQ etc flags everywhere and gender neutral toilets.

We went to the observatory and most of the staff had blue hair, pronoun badges and were wearing face masks so you couldn't hear any of their info re the animals.

We got refused service in a bar as my relative (in their 60s) didn't have ID.

Funny that the residents of Seattle are upset by a children's book but not by people defacating and shooting up in the streets, which we have also witnessed.

Aquarium sorry not observatory

Woke was never about true social justice. If it was, our champions would look to right wrongs everywhere.

No, it was always strictly about Western ills and failings. So the West are the eternal perps, but the Chinese? Who really cares when you can edjukate the racist, transphobic masses in your own country.

And JKR really is the worst of the worst.

I am curious about this mask thing. I'm not in Seattle, but I noticed a few weeks ago that the person in my workplace who is most into the id pol/quur thing, is also still wearing a mask. In fact is the only person in the workplace and one of a few that I see. some of the others are also similar, blue hair, tattoos, non-binary, etc, or are very old people.

Agree with this by @thevegetablesoup

“Funny that the residents of Seattle are upset by a children's book but not by people defacating and shooting up in the streets, which we have also witnessed.”

when we were there the juxtaposition of bloody pride flags everywhere and nobody doing anything about the homelessness and addiction crisis right in front of them was stark. I have never seen homeless people in such a state in a developed country - so you can organise to strip women if their rights but not to collect shoes and clothes for people barefoot and in rags?

“Let them wear flags!”, perhaps.