As an opinion columnist, it’s my job to know what I think about things, and then try to persuade other people to agree with me.
In this gig, it’s better to be hateful, or even to be wrong, than to be uncertain. ‘Wishy-washy’ is the ultimate character flaw for a columnist.
The hard bit comes in when, after all my research, reflection and examining of an issue, I still don’t know what to think.
Or at least, my thoughts can’t be summed up neatly in 800 words.
But I’m starting to wonder if maybe that’s the problem – most things can’t be, not really.
And maybe if more people were openly, unapologetically uncertain, we’d move past the stifling stalemates that characterise our current political landscapes. Worth a try.
So here goes, cue the deep inhale:
I dunno if I’ll watch the new Harry Potter TV show.
Harry Potter TV show discourse is a minefield
I know, it sounds flippant – but it really isn’t.
Because behind the story of witches and wizards which defined and shaped my childhood, there now presses a tide of issues around its creator which, to be honest, are overwhelming to me in their nuance.
Human rights debates. Free speech arguments. Considerations of art vs artist. Nostalgia. Cancel culture.
It’s a minefield. It would be easier to turn away; write about something else – the network certainly has.
"I don’t think this is the forum," Bloys said when asked about Rowling's views. "That’s a very online conversation, very nuanced and complicated and not something we’re going to get into." https://t.co/YgrAEXjyzJ
— Variety (@Variety) April 12, 2023
Because it seems like the moment that (author and executive producer) JK Rowling’s name comes up, everybody is so busy doubling down on either side of this divisive figure that we’ve forgotten that the point of an argument is to find consensus.
And we’re all so afraid of being branded hypocritical that we’ve disallowed ourselves to be contradictory, as if it is a virtue to have a simplistic viewpoint rather than a considered one.
As if to understand your opponent is the same as condoning them.
So here are some statements that I believe. Some of them might seem to contradict one another, but I don’t think any are mutually exclusive.
I hope that for anyone else who feels strongly and thinks hard, this demonstration of uncertainty stands as proof that you do not need to know what you think – but you must still think, anyway.
Statements I believe to be true:
Trans rights are human rights.
Women’s rights are human rights.
Self-expression becomes problematic when it infringes on the legal rights of others.
Progress trumps status quo.
No one is more important that anyone else.
Trans people should be allowed to exist without constant questioning, persecution and projection.
JK Rowling is allowed to feel the way she does, and express how she feels; we can have no equality or democracy without freedom of expression.
Trans people and allies are allowed to feel disgust or fear or rage about the things JK Rowling says, and express that too; we can have no equality or democracy without freedom of expression.
I disagree emphatically with JK Rowling’s views on trans self-ID.
I understand intellectually why JK Rowling holds the views she does on trans self-ID.
I am scared of men on streets, not trans women in toilets.
I am, sometimes, scared of men in toilets, not trans women on streets.
It is madness to trust a stranger when they tell you who they are.
It is madness not to trust a stranger when they tell you who they are.
And there’s more…
I always wanted a Harry Potter TV series. It just makes so much more sense as a way to adapt it than in movie form.
There’s no need for a Harry Potter TV series. Playing on millennial nostalgia to justify pumping money into yet another retelling of a story which has not even had the chance to fall out of fashion is such an obvious and disappointing move from the HBO producers, who could be funding new and original stories and helping to grow the industry with their platform.
Identity politics is a great way to distract liberal-leaning people and create infighting which allows universal battles like climate change, disease and food supply to go unfought, playing directly into the hands of the most sinister ideologies.
Identity politics is profoundly important, and if we’re not fighting for the rights of the individual, then any collective we create has no value.
I can love the art and hate the artist.
I can’t endorse the work of someone whose values and tactics I so disagree with.
The kid in me loves Harry Potter.
The adult in me can’t love JK Rowling.
It’s just a TV show.
It’s definitely not just a TV show.
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