I'm really frustrated about Evanna Lynch's response. Its a really well thought out one from a good place but I absolutely hate the "we need to be friends with bigots and educate them and change their mind!" mindset
When has that ever worked? When has standing up to a bully and educating them on why they shouldn't bully ever actually worked?
Bigots should absolutely be social outcasts, they should be treated like shit and ostracised for their views, not handled with kiddy gloves and empathised with. Especially if they have a lot of influence.
In a just world people like Trump would never be elected, they would be booed off stage as soon as they said something fucking hateful.
People should not be allowed to say whatever they want with no consequences and we shouldn't be pulling punches against harmful ideologies and ideas
Also fuck Rowling for using her past trauma as a shitty excuse to punch down at a minority that have nothing to do with her. Fucking disgusting
I know it's frustrating, and no one is obliged to go out of their way to fix bigots, but compassion does work. An enormous amount of bigotry comes from a place of fear, and assuaging that fear leads to real change. It's not right to tear down the efforts of people who choose to do the emotional labour and put in the work, because what they do is incredibly valuable.
There's a balance to be found between the immediate need to shut down expressions of bigotry (especially because it's always bound up in fearmongering, and spreading fear spreads hate), and the long term eradication of bigoted worldviews held by individuals.
You're absolutely right that it's more important to protest a JKR booksigning and prevent it from happening than to let it go ahead so someone can have an empathetic discussion with her about her transphobia over a cup of tea; but as long as they don't lose sight of the big picture, anyone prepared to educate her with kindness has the potential to make a significant impact.