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This actually brings up a question I had for the other thread but I didn't know how to phrase it.
For those of us who do intend to donate to LGBTQ charities are national charities the best way to do it? Or would I be better off donating to a more local charity. Like for example I live in Texas so one of my local charities would be the Texas Pride Impact Fund.
Ultimately it's Rowling's fault for representing herself and her body of work poorly if it makes people not want to buy future HP products.
Really don't get where people are coming from by acting as if I'm entitled to support the developers here. There's other games I want to play that aren't lining the wallets for open transphobes. I'm not going to buy Cyberpunk either.
I imagine if Rowling isn't receiving any royalties from this game, WB would have mentioned it - it would definitely make it a much easier pill to swallow. But fundamentally she needs to apologize and put her own wealth towards advancing trans rights and safety before I'd ever even think about buying into the franchise again.
Really don't get where people are coming from by acting as if I'm entitled to support the developers here. There's other games I want to play that aren't lining the wallets for open transphobes. I'm not going to buy Cyberpunk either.
I imagine if Rowling isn't receiving any royalties from this game, WB would have mentioned it - it would definitely make it a much easier pill to swallow. But fundamentally she needs to apologize and put her own wealth towards advancing trans rights and safety before I'd ever even think about buying into the franchise again.
I mean, in that case aren't we just contributing to boosting JK right now by discussing her IP and this game attached to it? I agree with everything you said, but even at this very moment we are amplifying Rowling's bs to somebody right now who may or may not agree with her. Talking about this game on social media shouldn't be discouraged especially if people are critiquing her transphobia, racism, and bigotry.
What needs to happen when this game gets close to launch or actually launches, the conversation needs to focus on her awful views. The pressure needs to keep being pushed on her and WB. Not talking about the game leaves it open for those who intend to support her to have the freedom to do so openly and without pushback.
Actually this is a really good point. I never really thought about it that way. If you did bury discussion about the game or the IP in general then yeah it would basically eliminate the ability to put substantial public pressure on companies like Avalanche or Warner Brothers. People could just go on playing the game in relative peace and the devs and the publisher would have no real reason to do anything about it. because if there was no discussions about the game going on then there would be no opportunities to bring up all of JK Rowling's bullshit and put the onus on them to separate themselves from her.
I don't why I didn't think of that before.
That's great news from a lore standpoint because basically all her ideas are stupid now, but that doesn't really address the concerns people have about giving her money does it?
The point is not about preventing conversation about the game, but about preventing conversation about the game that doesn't reconcile with the context of the game.
This present thread doesn't fall afoul because not only is the context present, it's basically the whole of this discussion. This isn't off-limits. But is that context going to be attached everywhere? Just imagine what a responsible post about this game on twitter would look like. You'd basically have to intersperse disclaimers about Rowling being a piece of shit in every tweet. Just, a bunch of tweets like "This looks very pretty. JK Rowling is a terf, don't put money in her pockets."
And if this were to result in a line being drawn about the game on this forum, there's no reason such a prohibition would prohibit threads like this. You can keep the pressure on without providing a space for people to post about how the new trailer looks cool, where people get to treat it as if it were simply any other video game.
Her lack of involvement doesn't mean shit to me. If I ever play this it'll be because it was given away for free or I bought it dirt cheap used. Can't possibly risk giving her money.
Realistically? As cool as this looks I'll never touch it with a fucking ten foot stick.
Realistically? As cool as this looks I'll never touch it with a fucking ten foot stick.
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I understand it's hard for any company to throw away probably more than 100 million dollar already gone into development for the author shitty behavior that might not be apparent when the game enter development ( I didn't follow the news closely enough to know when she show her real skin)
but I guess they can do something about it, like maybe donate portion of the sales to charity, or, if Rowling have no creative control in here. add some trans character and start making a push for positive trans representation in this world.
but I guess they can do something about it, like maybe donate portion of the sales to charity, or, if Rowling have no creative control in here. add some trans character and start making a push for positive trans representation in this world.
So question for fans of the HP series/world but don't support JK Rowling, do you still enjoy the series? Do you still by Hogwarts shirts and stuff from your "house"? Do you stop watching the movies or reading the books? I understand not wanting to support such a transphobic author but I can't imagine people just fell out of love of the series overnight because of her. Anything that is HP related Rowling is almost guaranteed to be making money from through licencing or royalties. So does that mean we should boycott that franchise and by extension this game? If it was later discovered that Tolkien was a pedophile would people stop supporting the Lord of the Rings too? I'm in no way saying what Rowling says or does in regards to her negative trans views is forgivable or passable but where's the line? Because people still love the series and this game looks like something a lot of people have wanted to play for a long time and it sucks that most people are making it out that because of her people can't/shouldn't enjoy this series anymore.
If she profits in any way from this game, which as the IP owner I'm sure she does, then it's an absolute no buy for me.
Was a big Potter fan, but have no intention of either lining this woman's pockets anymore or expressing any interest in the brand that may end up also lining her pockets via secondhand influence.
Was a big Potter fan, but have no intention of either lining this woman's pockets anymore or expressing any interest in the brand that may end up also lining her pockets via secondhand influence.
In your case, donate to the Texas fund, not the national fund. The state of Texas is directly hostile to the LGBT community in a way the Feds under Trump would love to be, and we have a good chance to hurl Teump out in November. Not so much the assbags in Texas. Your money would be going to needier hands, who can directly help a very underserved population, by going to Texas specific aid.
It's put me off from enjoying anything HP related whatsoever. Even the books and the movies that I already owned. But regardless, there's still a HUGE difference between products that you already own and buying new products that A) Give her even more money, and B) Send the message to all of those companies that associate with her that it's okay to keep doing business with a massively transphobic asshole, because people still need "muh harry potter merch" more than they care about trans lives.
I wont hate anyone for watching/reading HP material they already own. But buying new HP stuff is a gigantically shitty move.
I'm not sure if this is the kind of response you were looking for but: my wife is the biggest HP fan I've ever met. As an avid reader who commonly used fiction as an escape, it defined her childhood. We have tons of HP paraphernalia around the house. After learning about Rowling and her transphobia, she explained to me that she can't just throw away her childhood—that she has to separate the art from the artist. I made the point to her that she's privelaged to be in a position where she can separate the art from the artist, but that's not the case for people who are trans. She understood and felt unsure and conflicted.
You're touching on a very difficult subject here—one that is emotionally complex and where the proper moral behavior isn't exactly clear. We can't expect HP's biggest fans to just wake up tomorrow and lose all love for the HP world, but at the same time I believe it is everyone's moral obligation to be aware of Rowling's bigotry, to spread awareness, and to at least ensure you're no longer financially supporting the woman in any way moving forward. Doesn't mean you have to hate HP and throw away all your loved items though.
I've removed all things Harry Potter from my household. And yes, if Tolkien turned out to be a pedo, I would dump those books too. Like, I dunno, not wanting to own books written by pedophiles or TERFs doesn't seem like that hard a reach?
I'm not saying everyone would or should do the same thing, I'm just saying I imagine quite a few people would cause they're uncomfortable owning media made by bad people.
Interesting. Reads like WB is concerned and is trying to alleviate the situation. I guess that's nice. In the end I feel It's obvious this is just an empty gesture because irrespective of her involvement in the creative process she is still involved. I.E. There will be a check to her name for every game sold.
I absolutely don't mean to derail in any way, but I just feel the need to point out that Tolkien's work is filled with some shit that's more than a little suspect with regard to race and arguably Western cultural supremacy. It's enough to make me feel uncomfortable on a personal level, but obviously not nearly as deliberately hateful as Rowling.
I'm not telling you to throw out your Tolkien, but just pointing out that his works should probably be viewed in that context. I'm in complete agreement with you otherwise though :)
Is "not getting a little more money" all that important for a billionaire?
Wouldn't she be hurt more if the game were made into a transsexuality celebration queer universe?
A symbol of protest that she can do nothing to stop.
I say that because it'll be really hard to stop this from selling bollocks, rendering a boycott almost invisible.
Wouldn't she be hurt more if the game were made into a transsexuality celebration queer universe?
A symbol of protest that she can do nothing to stop.
I say that because it'll be really hard to stop this from selling bollocks, rendering a boycott almost invisible.
"We have to protect our partnership and investment in this person that grows more toxic and hateful by the day. Please give us your money."
gross.
gross.
Can't even bother with telling people they support trans rights. Like, that's a minimum statement. SMH
WB are in a really rough spot. I think they should absolutely state that they are pro-trans rights but I bet there is a committee somewhere working out how to not piss off their golden goose.
The only way you could rekindle my interest in this project is to disavow J.K. Rowling and her statements, prove unequivocally that she gets no money from this project and make an unambiguous statement in support of trans folks and their rights. This didn't even come close, so fuck off.
Can't imagine what the devs were feeling having knowing the knowledge of how an asshole JK Rowling is. I wanna support the devs but it also hurts knowing the money being paid goes to her as well.
I hope WB comes up with a plan like some of that purchasing money goes to trans charities or something like that.
I hope WB comes up with a plan like some of that purchasing money goes to trans charities or something like that.
Rowling torching her legacy and reputation is one of the most bizarre things. This was my dream game but now I'm a lot more skeptical of getting it.
Exactly. The woman makes millions every month as it is. I don't think people realize how ridiculously rich she is and how much books she still sells every day. The controversy isn't stopping HP books from being bestsellers on Amazon. Royalties from the game, if she gets any, will be just a drop in the bucket. So a few hundred thousand people not buying the game won't make a difference for her. The game will still sell millions. So the best-case-scenario would be if the game has a good trans representation and makes it clear that Rowling's transphobic views are wrong. I hope Avalanche will do it.
I don't know how to make this clear to people, maybe the OP needs to be edited because the article alone is kinda confused, but: this is not a statement against her.
It's literally just telling fans "don't worry, this is still basically canon even though she didn't write anything". It's not trying to distance from her. It's trying to say how close it is to her work even though she wasn't involved.
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They literally haven't.
This may be a really stupid question, and it is, admittedly, slightly rhetorical, but what evidence does she have that there's scores of trans women who are just horny men trying to prey on those born biologically as women? Like, I've never heard of this happening in my life and if it has, it's surely edge cases.
I swear to god, conservative, rich white women are just as much an enemy of progress as their male counterparts. It kind of disgusts me that many of them hide behind feminism to deflect any criticism of their positions and influence on society at large.
I swear to god, conservative, rich white women are just as much an enemy of progress as their male counterparts. It kind of disgusts me that many of them hide behind feminism to deflect any criticism of their positions and influence on society at large.
If you're a huge Harry Potter fan and this is a "Must have" just buy it used. I don't give a shit about Harry Potter so it's an easy pass for me.
If she makes a dime off of it, that's reason enough to avoid it like the plague. Fuck that TERF.
So for people looking to put their money to good use, it's obviously great that people want to donate to charities. They need the money and it will help do good.
But also? Please make sure you also donate to trans people.
You see trans people on your social feeds that need money? Donate to them. GoFundMe, Ko-fi, Patreons, etc. There are lots of people out there who are struggling to get by who will not be helped by charities directly, and could use that support.
Honestly, that's some of the sentiment I've seen around this that feels lacking representation in these threads. "Cool that you're not buying that game in support of me; I could not fucking afford it to begin with."
She's making money when you buy the game new
I'll most likely be buying this used
It really is awful timing for this game, developers must be bummed
I'll most likely be buying this used
It really is awful timing for this game, developers must be bummed
No interest in the game but just to point out she will be paid if you buy the game or not. She is considered a fixed cost she will be paid no matter what.
You can buy the game and she will be paid. All the developers could walk out and abandon the game and she will be paid. The game could have extremely low sales and she will be paid.
Frankly she probably has been paid and its the developers who will receive the backlash out of all this. She's got her money so why would she care what we normal people think.
The only way she will not get money is if the game never existed in the first place.
You can buy the game and she will be paid. All the developers could walk out and abandon the game and she will be paid. The game could have extremely low sales and she will be paid.
Frankly she probably has been paid and its the developers who will receive the backlash out of all this. She's got her money so why would she care what we normal people think.
The only way she will not get money is if the game never existed in the first place.