this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2025
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I want to be respectful here, but this has a lot of issues embedded in it.
This kind of rhetoric rises from what I've called the Authoritarian Left, which is an immensely detrimental wing. It's a group where there is no nuance.
You say that if a trans person says it's hurting them I should stop doing it. OK, but what if a republican says it? Now suddenly I should ignore them? You can't base your entire ideology on what members of groups say or demand that others adhere to yours simply because you think you're right.
I love trans people, and I actively fight for them and their rights. But why? I'll tell you, it's not because Democrats told me to love them, or a religious leader, or anyone in politics. I looked at the world critically and found their cause worthy.
I'm a durable ally. I'll stick with it when it's not cool or trendy, or when it comes at a cost. But that's because I arrived at those truths myself.
To loop all the way back to the premise - if talking about Harry Potter at all hurts Trans people, then this post hurts trans people. If you disagree with that, then nuance exists. And I'm saying in the nuance of how and who I talk about any topic with, I know and understand that those people understand the situation.
I don't make public posts about Harry Potter. I often talk about how JK Rowling is a garbage person. My friends have a Harry Potter party that they've been hosting for years, and every person there is of a similar mindset that trans people deserve so much more than they are getting.
You have to allow more than one idea in your head at the same time. If you're making the rule "talking about Harry Potter in any way, at any time, makes you an active enemy of the trans movement", then that's not a place I want to be associated with.
If you want advice - focus on how JK Rowling is harming people. Elevate that as much as you can. When you make these purity tests, you make people not give a shit because it makes it impossible to adhere to the strict and narrow path you say is OK.
This authoritarian left wing of democrats is what got Trump elected. They are so hard nosed on every issue they completely isolate people and make these issues harder to fight for, not easier. You're heart is in the right place, but we live in a world full of nuance, and the real trick is not scolding people into adherence, but it's coalition building and asking people to think critically about their choices. They have to find their beliefs, you can't just demand them.
There is no nuance that you are aware of that the trans people that are calling for a ban of HP haven't already thought of. It's their lived experience after all. They know so many more nuances to this, or any other trans issue than you or I do. I don't know how much time you spend in the discussions of the so-called "👻Authoritarian👻 Left" but I've found them to be immensely nuanced. Cis people don't get a contradictory opinion on what harms trans people and what doesn't, simple as.
It's not just one trans person though is it? It's a pretty widely held opinion in the trans community afaict. That bit about some hypothetical republican didn't make sense to me, no idea what you're trying to say here.
Maybe a bit more listening is due? A good start would be Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink or Blue.
Except when that cost is giving up Hahree Pawttah apparently.
Talk about "no nuance", obviously this post isn't suggesting that the mere mentioning of the name is causing trans people worldwide psychic pain. But not purging Harry Potter from your life, giving space to a franchise that is used to hunt trans people is actively harmful. Wouldn't you be suspicious of someone who is still a huge "The apprentice" fan? Or a huge "Tesla" fan (" Oh I'm not buying their cars, but I still admire them!!")? Similar sentiments apply here.
More generalizations from the nuance-haver, I think it's addressed above but just to reiterate, its about purging a franchise from your life that is having a toxic effect on the world.
I'll take my advice on fighting for the trans cause from trans people thanks.
Source? I don't believe that the democrats even have a left wing, much less an 👻authoritarian👻 one, much much less one that is powerful enough to have decisive swing in the presidential election.
I'm gonna keep telling people that are platforming fascists that they are platforming fascists. If they continue to do it, I can then know where they stand.
You're actively alienating people from the movement you say you're a part of.
You are doing more damage than I am, and continuing to alienate people over your perception of a strict adherence to what is right is not helping.
You're trying to use childish spelling to say I can't get over not having Harry Potter. I'm not even arguing it's good. I probably bring it up maybe once a year? And pretty much always with a caveat of wishing the author wasn't such an asshole. Yet that isn't enough for your purity test apparently. I would reflect on the fact that you need allies that you don't agree with to build a movement. Right now you're narrowing your scope to a tiny percentage of people, all because you can't imagine that maybe you aren't fully and totally correct on this topic, and you want to try and belittle me into agreeing with you.
I don't think I'll continue the conversation from here. I hope you limit further damage and alienation to people trying to be on your side.
People that don't listen to trans people, but only consider themselves allies to make themselves feel better, so they can enjoy their transphobic treats while still patting each other on the back are detrimental to any movement and should be gotten rid of. And if you don't even enjoy hp that much why are you coming to it's defense so hard? If there are legit arguments as to why harry potter is so fucking important to someones life let that person speak up. Or if they can't relay their message. You're deplatforming them as well as trans people only to "defend the movement" from those "purists" that want a transphobic franchise squashed and want to put trans peoples arguments front and center.
My "strict adherence to what is right" is merely "listen to what trans people are saying, then do that". That is it.
I want you to center trans people and not some hypothetical allies that might or might not "join the movement". In any argument about whether something is good or not for trans people it's trans peoples voices, and only trans peoples voices, that matters. If you don't argue from a trans perspective it doesn't matter. The allies perspective is irrelevant, our job is to make trans peoples voices heard and frequently, almost always really, this includes telling cis people to stfu.