Discussion
It is weird reading about JK Rowling’s latest aberration.
I wonder where her virulent anti-trans perma-psychosis comes from.
I’ve read that she had a troubled childhood and suffered domestic abuse that made her suicidal but there’s nothing I’m aware of that hints at where her dogged hatred of trans people comes from.
Thinking of my own racism as a teenager, it can just be the waters you find yourself swimming in, but…
Contrapoints has a very good theory on that in her video The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling. In that video she makes some very good connections between the current trans liberation and past liberation struggles (women's liberation; gay). The parallels she draws are uncanny. She implies Rowling's TERFism can be well explained and understood with Andrea Dworkin's 'Right Wing Women'.
@largo thank you. I’ll look that up
@urlyman She's like Jews who supported genocidal apartheid fascist Likud.
Each are afraid their identity will be wiped out. Jews fear new pogroms. She fears "real women" will lose out to these interlopers!
Of course, their fears drive them into the arms of horrible bigotry and anger of defensiveness. They thus do their respective causes MUCH greater harm.
Make sense? Misogynist gay men may find a similar human flaw--we all have them. Getting "woke" is about identifying the overt bigotries as much as the subtler, pervasive and culturally embedded ways people treat each other, in defending our identities sometimes to absurd extremes that seek to control others not conforming to their worldview.
@urlyman the only way I can explain it is she must have had a bad experience with a trans person and generalised that all trans people are bad.
That's obviously a completely illogical leap to make.. just like racism and all that. But if it's not something traumatising like this then I can't see what else could "explain" it.
@elduvelle that could be the case. There’s probably also an insidious effect of being famous, followed by millions, and having thousands among them reinforce her tragic delusions
…it takes a particular kind of stupidity to be presented with new information and remain committed to ignoring it in order to propagate hatred
@urlyman Actually, it doesn't. Apparently, people who have strong views tend to retrench in the face of adverse evidence. Us humans aren't that good at acting logically and being prepared at fully changing our opinions. The trouble is, that the more people who agree with you, and the more money or power you have, the more likely you are to be able to maintain your position. That's why people like her, Donald Trump, and numerous others can carry on.
@UkeleleEric yes, well said. Elevated status is toxic. It seems many cultures have understood this and developed strategies for breaking it down. Unfortunately ours celebrates and monetises it :(
Install bonfire.cafe
Get the full app experience
