I’m not much of a gamer, so maybe I’m missing something here about this whole
Hogwarts Legacy situation. As I understand it, J.K. Rowling, creator of Harry Potter and,
as such, one of the primary beneficiaries of any profits earned by Harry Potter-related products,
has spent the last several years using her sizable platform and influence to campaign
against transgender people, to oppose them having equal rights and access to health care,
to vilify them as threats to the safety of children and cis women,
and generally to insult and attack and denigrate them. And, as a result of all that,
trans folks and their allies have asked people not to buy the new Hogwarts Legacy game, because doing
so would be to put money in the pocket of J.K. Rowling, avowed enemy of the trans community.
So, assuming I’ve got that much right, I guess my question to those of you who seem torn between
wanting to support the trans community and wanting to play this game is . . . what’s the problem?
I’m not talking about people who have been open about the fact that they either don’t
give a shit about trans people, or are actively hostile to them and strongly in
favor of Rowling and her many, many transphobic statements. I know what the problem is with them:
they’re bigoted assholes. No confusion there. I’m talking about people who
claim to be allies to trans people, who recognize the harm in Rowling’s conduct.
I’ve seen this basic exchange take place online a few times since this became a thing. A trans
person will say, “Hey, J.K. Rowling is an active threat to my rights and my well-being,
so please don’t buy that new Harry Potter game.” And in response, a cis person will say,
“I love the trans community, but come on — what am I supposed to do? Not buy a video game?”
. . . Yes. That’s what you’re supposed to do. Not buy a video game. And — again,
assuming you really do love the trans community, and want to be an ally, and want
to avoid causing any unnecessary harm to trans people or further empowering those who seek to
continue persecuting and marginalizing them — I’m just curious what’s so fucking hard about that?
How hard is it to not do something you don’t have to do to avoid contributing to harm being
caused to people you care about? How hard is it to not buy a thing you do not need to buy
in the first place? Because when I put it that way, it sure doesn’t seem like it should be hard
at all, or require more than a second’s thought. Ya know? Am I missing something?
What’s the hang-up here? You love trans people, but you also love video games? I mean — again,
I’m not a gamer so maybe I’m not as well informed on the matter as some,
but — maybe you could just play another fucking game? I looked up Hogwarts Legacy, and apparently
it’s an action role playing game where players will be able to create characters and explore a
virtual environment. Gosh, it’s too bad there aren’t any other games like that, apparently!
You love trans people, but you also love Harry Potter? I dunno if this helps,
but trans people are real people who exist in the real world and who are really suffering as
a result of real prejudice and inequality. There’s lots of stuff I love, too. I love Star Trek,
but if Alex Kurtzman started ranting against trans people the way J.K. Rowling has,
I think I’d cancel my plans to watch Picard season 3, and Strange New Worlds season 2 as
long as his name was attached and he stood to benefit from their success. And yeah,
skipping Picard season 3 would probably be no loss, judging by how rotten season 2 turned out,
but missing Strange New Worlds would be a bummer, because I really love that show. But you know
what? I’d fucking get over it. Because I’m a grown-up, and because there’s other shit to watch.
Look at it this way: let’s say I have a favorite restaurant. I eat there all the time. I love the
food. I’ve been going there for years. But then, I find out that the owner of my favorite restaurant
is a raging anti-Semite who denies the holocaust and thinks Hitler was actually a really great guy.
I’m gonna stop going to that restaurant. Will I miss going there? Probably. But I’ll survive.
And here’s the thing: if I made the opposite choice, and decided to keep going to that
restaurant even though I knew the owner was a Nazi, I wouldn’t expect the local
Jewish community to look kindly on me. I wouldn’t claim to still be their ally.
I wouldn’t say to them “Hey, come on, give me a break, I know the guy who
runs the place thinks you all should be eradicated, but what am I supposed to do,
eat somewhere else?” and expect them to respect me for it, because that’s obviously bullshit.
You can either act like an ally to the trans community,
or you can buy that video game. And if you’re really torn about what to do,
it seems to me that you’ve already made your choice. I’m sure J.K. Rowling and her army of
TERFs will thank you for your service, but I wouldn’t count on sympathy from anyone else.