Dear Muggles, Please Leave J.K. Rowling ALONE | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Entertainment

Dear Muggles, Please Leave J.K. Rowling ALONE

A response to all those Death Eaters who want J.K. Rowling to stop tweeting.

166
Dear Muggles, Please Leave J.K. Rowling ALONE
Wikipedia Commons

When you work in the book industry, you will undoubtedly at some point be involved with something related to "Harry Potter."

To me, "Potter" always seemed to be one of those universal positive things that practically everyone could agree was good, like puppies or hot fudge sundaes. However, this view changed for me this summer when I interned for a book news site and discovered just how many people on the Internet are angry at J.K. Rowling.

This July 31 marked both the 52nd birthday of the Potter author, as well as the 27th birthday of her fictional boy wizard. Much of the Potter fandom and entertainment media took to the Internet to celebrate this unofficial 'HP' holiday, sharing their own homemade birthday cakes, Potter memes, and favorite HP memories.


In honor of all this Potter love, the website where I was interning decided to share a slideshow on Facebook of "J.K. Rowling's Most Inspiring Quotes."

The article featured advice, mottos, and words of wisdom from from the "Harry Potter series," interviews with Rowling and candid interactions between the author at book signings and conventions. Yet despite this overwhelmingly positive and light cotent, the reaction from readers was overwhelmingly irritated, rude and even downright hostile at times.

I waded through almost 500 Facebook comments calling Rowling a "hack," telling her to "go back to Scotland" and "stay out of the public-eye," or vowing that they "would never ever read another word this woman writes."

As a lifelong lover of Rowling and her writing, I was personally shocked to read all these passionate and vicious attacks and wondered what she could have done to cause such a Facebook frenzy. I soon learned that, as with almost every online news controversy lately, it had to do with Donald Trump.

The night before, Rowling had gone on one of her infamous "Trump Twitter rants," this time calling out the President's announcement that transgender individuals would no longer be allowed to serve in in the U.S. military as well as his sexist attacks on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" host Mika Brzezinski, where he tweeted that Brzezinski suffered from a "bad face lift."

On her own Twitter, Rowling struck back against Trump's character, by responding to the President's account with a quote from Abraham Lincoln:

On another date Rowling went so far as to compare Trump to HP's most wicked villain, tweeting back in June, "Voldemort wasn't nearly as bad."

However, this is hardly the first time Rowling has taken to Twitter to express her strong personal or political beliefs.

Last year, she publicly opposed the U.K.'s decision to pass the Brexit vote and withdraw from the European Union. She also regularly uses Twitter and her websites to promote her own charity: Lumos, an international non-profit that has raised money to give over 8 million impoverished children access to health care, education, and a strong family community. Yet, if someone were to only read these latest responses to any news featuring Rowling, they might wrongly assume that she spends all her time looking for new ways to "troll" Trump on Twitter.

Even on content that had no relation to Rowling's personal beliefs or statements, such as a sneak preview of the trailer for her new 'Corman Strike' TV series, was flooded with outraged cries urging her to quit the business and worry about the U.K. rather than try to express opinions on American politics.

I'd like to take a moment to address Rowling's critics and explain why I completely disagree with the idea that she needs to stop her political Twitter posts and quit publicly expressing concerns about U.S. political policies and the actions of President Donald Trump.

Today, the idea that one nation, especially one as militarily and economically dominate as the United States, has no effect on the people of another nation is completely incorrect. The policies of the Trump administration, for instance the withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris Agreement and the enforcement of Trump's new immigration ban, have long-term consequences on the lives of people far beyond the U.S. border, and they have a right to be concerned.

Among all of these attacks, insults and misguided judgements, the type of response I found the most troubling were those that advised Rowling "to stick to doing what she knows" i.e. writing novels, and keep out of real life political issues. So many of these critics wrote that as an "entertainer," Rowling had no business expressing her opinions on current events, and they would prefer that she would contain her writing to worlds of fantasy and magic.

Firstly, the idea that entertainment is somehow entirely detached from politics is obviously false. From the Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" shifting public perceptions of slavery, to the communist trials of the Hollywood Ten during the 1950s era of McCarthyism, to Emma Watson and Beyonce's recent speeches on the importance of feminism, our actors, singers, and authors have always had a large influence on society and our own thoughts about the ways the world works.

Any famous person, by virtue of being in the public eye, automatically has the power to enact cultural change because they have a wide audience of people watching everything they do our say. People admire and seek to emulate their favorite celebrities, from copying their hairstyles and workout routines, and even their moral philosophies.

Therefore, it's incredibly important when internationally recognized figures like Rowling or George Clooney, or speak up for the causes that they believe in and use their platforms and wealth to support the causes they believe in.

Secondly, Rowling may be a "fantasy author," but the values and ideas found within the "Harry Potter" series are far from fictional.

Rowling drew much of her inspiration for the Wizarding World and the violent conflicts between pureblood and muggleborn wizards from our real-life history of racism and prejudice. It's no coincidence that Gellert Grindlewald's defeat is set in 1945, the sam year of the conclusion of WWII. Similarly, Voldemort and his followers used many of the same tactics as Hitler himself, such as spreading fearful propaganda, when they took over the ministry in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

These parallels and ideas about human nature did to go unnoticed by the millions of children and parents who read the series and formed much of their first impressions of good and evil from Rowling's characters and their efforts to protect and defend their friends and love ones.

For many young children, hearing Draco Malfoy call Hermione a 'mudblood' in "Chamber of Secrets" or watching a competent professor Lupin resign from teaching because parents wouldn't trust a werewolf around their children was their first exposure to the fact that the existence and unfairness of prejudice, hatred, and bigotry that sadly still exists in our own society.

I remember as an eight-year-old feeling motivated by reading about teenage Hermione's passion for House Elf rights and imagining starting my own "S.P.E.W." campaign for the better treatment of household pets.

Back in June, the "New York Times" published an editorial in honor of the 20th anniversary of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," which attributed a rise in millennial "youthful liberal activism" and passion for politics due to growing up reading the HP books and absorbing their messages of anti-prejudice, tolerance, and revolution.

As a proud member of this HP generation, I for one hope that Rowling continues to share her thoughts and expose injustices both online and through her storytelling. To quote Dumbledore: There comes a time when we all must "make a choice between what is right and what is easy."

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Relationships

Power of Love Letters

I don't think I say it enough...

442424
Illistrated image of a letter with 2 red hearts
StableDiffusion

To My Loving Boyfriend,

  • Thank you for all that you do for me
  • Thank you for working through disagreements with me
  • Thank you for always supporting me
  • I appreciate you more than words can express
  • You have helped me grow and become a better person
  • I can't wait to see where life takes us next
  • I promise to cherish every moment with you
  • Thank you for being my best friend and confidante
  • I love you and everything you do

To start off, here's something I don't say nearly enough: thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You do so much for me that I can't even put into words how much I appreciate everything you do - and have done - for me over the course of our relationship so far. While every couple has their fair share of tiffs and disagreements, thank you for getting through all of them with me and making us a better couple at the other end. With any argument, we don't just throw in the towel and say we're done, but we work towards a solution that puts us in a greater place each day. Thank you for always working with me and never giving up on us.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

11 Signs You Grew Up In Hauppauge, NY

Because no one ever really leaves.

15897
Map of Hauppauge, New York
Google

Ah, yes, good old Hauppauge. We are that town in the dead center of Long Island that barely anyone knows how to pronounce unless they're from the town itself or live in a nearby area. Hauppauge is home to people of all kinds. We always have new families joining the community but honestly, the majority of the town is filled with people who never leave (high school alumni) and elders who have raised their kids here. Around the town, there are some just some landmarks and places that only the people of Hauppauge will ever understand the importance or even the annoyance of.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

Moana's Top 10 Life Tips

"Moana" is filled with life lessons that involve far more than finding true love as many other Disney movies do.

41211
Animated image of a woman with long dark hair and tattoos
StableDiffusion

1. It's easy to be fooled by shiny things.

Digital image of shiny gemstones in cased in gold. shiny things StableDiffusion

Tamatoa created a liar filled with shiny things simply for the purpose of tricking fish to enter and become his food. He too experiences a lesson in how easy it is to be tricked by shiny things when Moana distracts him by covering herself in glowing algae so Maui can grab his hook.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

7 Types Of Students You Will Meet In College

You wish you could be #5, but you know you're probably a #6.

21046
cool group of lazy college students in class
StableDiffusion

There are thousands of universities around the world, and each school boasts its own traditions and slogans. Some schools pride themselves on sports, while others emphasize their research facilities. While there is a myriad of differences among each and every school, there will always these seven types of students in class.

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

15 Rhyme Without Reason Greek Life Function Ideas

When you have no ideas for what to wear to this date function

321451
A dog and a frog
Healthy Pets

I am going to a rhyme without reason date function and I have looked at so many different rhyming words and I figured there need to be a new list of words. At these functions, there are usually at least two rockers and boxers and an umpteenth amount of dogs and frogs. I have come up with a list of creative and unique ideas for these functions.

If you like what you see, get a shopping cart going with these costumes.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments