The Witch Trials of JK Rowling
A podcast
In 1895, at the age of only 16, Albert Einstein reportedly made his first significant thought experiment. He wondered what it would be like to chase a beam of light. If that beam of light had reflected from the hand of a clock, it would always show the same time. In that way, time slows or even stops when moving at the speed of light. Einstein was just thinking, and his thinking led to incredible advances in physics. Of course, later in the 20th century, he never quite accepted that quantum mechanics could possibly describe the world accurately. “God does not play dice with the universe,” he is reported to have said. He never accepted some aspects of quantum mechanics, but no-one accused him of blasphemy or tried to shut him down. Other physicists didn’t call him names or picket in front of his home. Lucky him.
Social media, which initially was thought to create a democratic forum where all voices could be heard seems to have developed into a strange self absorbed environment where unpopular ideas are some times condemned and squelched before they can even be heard. As a result, many people avoid participating in social media, or, when they do, they self-censor, avoiding difficult questions. When I asked a friend who had read some of my previous posts why he sent me private email responses instead of posting comments on Substack, he retorted, “I never post anything on-line.” And I knew exactly what he meant and why he felt that way. Why expose yourself to a world of trolls looking for a victim?
Most members of my generation have little contact with this aspect of social media, though we use the internet every day for work or play or communications. We just don’t participate in social media. I do have a twitter account but I access it rarely and have few friends or followers. My Facebook page is mostly for friends and family. I have often wondered, who cares about Twitter? Why do members of the media pay so much attention to what goes on there, in the “twitterverse?”
Even Sam Harris, whom I greatly admire for his intellectual courage to take on tough questions, has until recently carefully avoided one topic - the issues surrounding transgender people. Much to the detriment of open conversation, people on the remote ends of the political spectrum have not been shy of taking very firm positions.
On the right, transgender activity is thought to endanger children. Laws are being passed in multiple states to “protect” children from gender-affirming medical treatment. Even exposing children to individuals dressed in drag is being outlawed in some states. According to the New York Times this past week, the Republican party has found that an opposition to transgender issues is favorable to the party. They will try to keep transgender issues in the news because they think it will help them in the next election. They want us to fear that all our children will be groomed to be gay or trans.
On the left, any challenge to opening all of society to LGBTQ individuals is met with condemnation, often leading to personal threats, on-line cancellation and even loss of a job. Many “trans-activists” consider any attempt to remain neutral or to engage in discussion to be harmful in a classic, “you are either with us or against us” interpretation of the controversy. There is no discussion possible. Or as the Black Panther writer and thought leader Eldridge Cleaver would have said, “you are either part of the solution or part of the problem.”
I understand their position. There is no doubt that individuals who identify as trans have been abused, denied jobs or housing, attacked physically and marginalized. They find it difficult to get good medical care, or any medical care at all. I would never want to say or do anything to add to their pain and suffering, and I hope that my comments here will not be misconstrued. I am trying to be an observer of the current situation without adding to the tension if that is possible.
Just recently Sam Harris did enter the fray, advocating his support for JK Rowling, the incredibly successful author of the Harry Potter books, who has become a lightning rod for her concerns about women and girls exposed to trans women. Harris interviewed his friend and colleague Megan Phelps-Roper who has created a documentary podcast looking at the controversy surrounding JK Rowling called, “The Witch Trials of JK Rowling.” While the title may suggest that that they are taking Rowling’s side in the argument, Phelps-Roper and her producers claim that they are trying to be as neutral as possible in teasing out both Rowling’s positions and the counter arguments from those who are trans or support the trans community.
The result is the best discussion I have seen or heard of the issues surrounding young people and their families and the entire trans community as they struggle with gender identity and interface with the rest of society.
I will admit that before listening to all seven podcasts in the series, I knew about as much about the controversy as Einstein knew about photons in 1895. (Photons had not yet been discovered or described at the time.) I imagine that the vast majority of people over the age of fifty are watching with wonder and incredulity as issues of gender and sexuality come up repeatedly in the news, in conversations, at work or at school. Discussions about bathroom access and sports participation for trans women are particularly fraught and rarely examined objectively. There is so much anxiety, fear and raw emotion surrounding the issues that clear headed discussion is almost impossible, especially in public.
The podcast series with the unfortunate title is the best discussion of these issues I have ever heard. It is a relief to be able to hear such intelligent discussions, even as they highlight the attempts to shut JK Rowling down and cancel her and her books. Unlike many others who have suffered the wrath of the on-line anti-intellectual movement, Rowling has the resources and the intellectual clarity to stand up to the mob. Hence, we can hear her views as well as the views of those who oppose everything she has said.
If you share my concern about these modern issues of gender and sex, the podcast offers an excellent starting point to understanding. I find JK Rowling to be sincere and convincing in her concern for women and girls as well as her concern for trans individuals. I believe she means no harm, though she is accused of providing fodder to critics who look to make life difficult for people like gays and trans individuals, and God knows that life is already difficult enough for them.
And, like Einstein, I find that a thought experiment is the closest I can get to understanding what it must feel like to truly believe that you are trapped in a body of the wrong gender. It must be a constantly terrible feeling. To help understand the issue better, find the podcast. Let’s all get educated.
(Please use the “Comment” or “Share” buttons at the bottom of this post to respond to me or share this post with others. Thanks.)