Troubled Minds

Harry Potter creator JK Rowling found herself in hot water recently after a remark that she made was deemed by some people to be transphobic. I have no idea what she said, nor do I have any intention of finding out, but whatever it was, it provoked some of those with minds troubled enough to be offended to post pictures of them burning their Harry Potter books and vowing never to read anything by her again.

 

Rowling’s latest novel in the Cormoran Strike detective series, Troubled Blood, written under her pen name of Robert Galbraith, attracted similar criticism for apparent transphobia. Some of the criticism came in reviews written by critics who later conceded that they had not actually read the book, although this is a quote from a review posted on Amazon by someone who claims to have done so. “To see this novel contain a man dressing as a woman as a murderous and dangerous killer is an awful and tired trope in story writing. These type of portrayals increase people's prejudice against people and fuel the idea that they are malicious, perverted individuals.” Troubled Blood is nearly 900 pages long; the reference to a convicted serial killer who admits to having worn a woman’s coat and “a wig, bit of lipstick … they think you’re harmless, odd … maybe queer” to lull his victims into a false sense of security covers less than one paragraph. To frame a whole book as transphobic on that basis is laughable.

 

That reviewer also slates the book for being awfully written, for having predictable characters. They say they struggled to read it and did not enjoy it, which makes me doubt that they read it at all; why persevere with a book you so obviously hate, and probably decided you would hate before embarking on reading it? I admit that I was a little daunted by the page count before I started Troubled Blood, but I raced through it and having read all of Rowling’s Strike novels, I have to say that this was the one I enjoyed the most.

 

It’s unlikely that Troubled Blood is the only thing that has offended the reviewer on Amazon recently since we now live in a world in which taking offence at things seems to be the default position for many people, and expressing it in reviews or on social media an almost everyday event. When the concept that black lives matter came to prominence on social media recently it was responded to by many with the refrain, “all lives matter.” I see many of those same people now promoting “blue lives matter” without any apparent difficulty. If all lives matter, where is the need to say that blue lives matter?

 

A lot of people on social media are currently offended by the fact that October is Black History Month. “When is white history month?” they cry, in much the same way as they greet International Women’s Day with the question as to when is International Men’s Day, or, in response to Gay Pride, when Straight Pride takes place. Those who are offended by Black Lives Matter seem also to be very exercised by black faces in TV adverts for companies such as Argos, and to return to Black History Month, Sainsbury’s have rather got it in the neck from actor Laurence Fox who says he will boycott the store due to their support. I cannot find him leading a boycott of the National Health Service, which is also celebrating Black History Month, but presumably he will be deregistering himself from his GP and/or dentist as we speak, and will eschew any NHS services should he fall ill in the future.

Laurence Fox seems, from other tweets and in articles that feature him, to be perpetually angry and offended. I can understand him deciding to stop shopping at Sainsbury’s because they are too expensive, or don’t stock items he wants, or because he thinks the quality of their products isn’t up to scratch, but other than offending his sensibilities, I struggle to see how he is adversely affected by their support of Black History Month. Presumably the fact that the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and of the Lib-Dems also support Black History Month was a driver in his decision to form his own political party.

The Sainsbury’s Twitter account eloquently rebutted one twitterer asking about white history day, and to those offended by the presence of black actors in TV ads, just ask yourself this: If you find it so objectionable to see someone of different ethnicity on TV, how do you think those still under-represented groups of our society feel when the default on TV is white, straight, and largely male? One also has to ask, why do people find it so objectionable, why are their minds so troubled by people different from them? I fear that many responses would start, “Well, I’m not racist, but…”

 

It is true to say that most people have a tendency to follow social media accounts that reflect their own interests, beliefs, and opinions. Social media creates bubbles in which one’s own views, prejudices, and opinions are reflected, and reinforced, and in which anything critical or in opposition to those positions is characterised as being woke (my goodness, there is a word I detest), or virtue signalling by people commonly characterised as snowflakes. On the other hand, there are accounts on social media that people follow with which they perpetually disagree, and while it is good to expose oneself to views that differ from one’s own, to do so merely to dismiss or insult these positions is as bad as immersing oneself in the echo chambers.

 

Frankly, I marvel at the stamina of some of those people who maintain a constant stream of criticism of social media posts that offend them; I find it tiring enough just reading them. It is often the case, however, that I come across something on Twitter or Facebook with which I disagree, or which I know is factually inaccurate, and am tempted to respond. Sometimes I get to the point of typing a response; more often than not, although my mouse may hover over the reply button, I delete the comment and move on. Largely this is because it is apparent from the post or comment that the other person has views so deeply entrenched that they will brook no argument; mostly it is because my life is better for ignoring it and moving on.