op disabled reblogs but I think the point still stands
reminder that the books themselves also suck ass actually. there's an entire plotline endorsing slavery. the one character who advocates to end slavery is bullied and made fun of. the one slave who doesnt like being enslaved is bullied and treated as an outcast. the bankers are the picture of racist stereotypes of jewish people. the one asian character is named fckn Cho Chang. the worldbuilding SUCKS. fuck harry potter and fuck rowling. stop giving her your money.
This is all true, but we need to talk about how to explain JK Rowling to normies who aren't in any of the circles where JK Rowling's awful choices are discussed regularly. How do you talk to someone who, if you mention Harry Potter, says, "Oh, I really liked those books" or "Oh, I really liked those movies?" and get them to understand what a shitstain she is without seeming to just be calling THEM names for saying they liked something?
Yes, she mocks rape victims. She threatens litigation against the mildest criticism against her. She has created an LGB group to make it so very clear that trans people are not welcome where she gives money. She is the funding behind Scotland saying trans women aren't legally women. The list goes on.
But. I promise you, 99% of the people around you don't know she's done any of this because they aren't following her social media or stories about her. To them, she is just the author of those fun wizard books. You gotta talk about how she's SO WEIRD and ISN'T IT SAD.
You need to tell the normies how she uses the funds from all her payout agreements for ALL Harry Potter licensing, including the re-release of these movies.
"It's so fucking weird. It's so fucking off-putting. It's so fucking sad." Say that over and over. Don't try to tie it into larger ideas. This is not how people will listen. "Isn't it just fucking sad she has all this money that could go to literacy or scholarships, and she's using it to attack people who are just living their lives? What a weird fucking choice."
We need to out-Morbius Morbius in terms of this tanking, and the way you do that is talk to normies about how fucking WEIRD and RUDE she is. How ODD that the second Fantastic Beasts movie gave a "actually, fascism isn't too bad" vibe all the way through and especially at the end. How she has complained that the child actors from those movies particularly don't agree with her views on trans people and that she's publicly said that's why she wanted a new show.
What a WEIRD thing to say about child actors you worked with over a decade ago. It's so WEIRD she would care that those child actors have different opinions than her. It's really SAD she apparently has no hobbies except posting on social media about how she hates trans people. A beloved author who could be using her name to raise money for animal rescues and homeless people and all sorts of really great causes that could improve people's lives, and she's out here doing THIS? It just bums me out. I just can't support someone who uses their money to harass and harm other people like this. I don't know WHY she acts like this or WHY she's chosen to make it her whole personality, but it just makes it really hard for me to want to support any Harry Potter stuff, even when I loved it so much. Knowing any money made from that franchise goes into her pocket to just pour out onto orgs and laws that tell adults they can't just live their lives and be left alone is WEIRD.
And then say what you're gonna be doing instead. You know, I'm going to go and find some new fantasy books at the library. I'm going to boardgame day down at the game store. I'm going to a stitching group. I'm going to host a 1980s fantasy fest at my place; do you have any favorites you recommend? We should have a film fest where we watch all the movies that scared the shit out of us as kids.
If the normie goes, "Well, I'm going anyway," say, "Okay," and change the subject. If they try to justify because you clearly aren't into their decision, don't let them. "Hey, do whatever you want. I'll be [doing whatever you said you'd be doing." And then change the subject again. You don't have to threaten to cut someone off or yell at them or say they're terrible. They have to make the decision on their own, but you can make your point in a way that hopefully resonates and also refuse to back down but also refuse to absolve them.
Iâm going to take this chance to advertise what I consider to be the perfect replacement for HP. My credentials are that I always thought HP was mediocre despite being at the tail end of the HP generation and was super into these books instead. Allow me to present the Septimus Heap series
this is the first âď¸. Itâs a 7 book magical boy series much like Harry Potter but infinitely better. Itâs got chosen one vibes, found family, trauma recovery, Big Bad Man, ongoing peril, grey morality, sassy pants magic boy, hijinks and the dragons are way better in this one. All of this is also set within a super fun and zany world where the author occasionally just drops random little tidbits of lore or just goes off on a world building tangent with no purpose other than making the setting richer. Thereâs often a section in the back of the book just explaining a few random bits and bobs or tying up side characters stories or giving the history of an institution just for funsies. Also there is a really wide cast of fully fleshed out, real characters who have pitfalls and bad habits and do the wrong thing for the right reasons and have relationships with each other that live a breathe and feel like an actual underpinning of the story. Thereâs even ghosts guys come on.
The author also loved the world so much she wrote a follow on trilogy set about 10 years after the 7th book (yes thatâs ten books in this world you read that right) where we open up a whole other branch of magic in this world and expand upon it while still keeping an eye on and catching up with the characters we all fell in love with in the OG series. Speaking of the author-
this is her đsheâs just an English lady called Angie Sage who lives in Cornwall and, to my knowledge, just lives her fucking life without trying to do any genocides. She just writes her stories and goes about her business.
In conclusion dump HP and JoKe Rowling and pick up the incredible world of Septimus Heap and Normal Author Lady Angie Sage instead!
