Update: In light of the programming.dev update here https://programming.dev/post/8399272, the defederation is no longer going ahead.
However, something more needs to be said. Even here on Blahaj, some of our users took issue with the choice to defederate over this issue.
So I would like to give some background and context.
Blahaj Zone exists, because both Kaity and I left mainstream social media to escape transphobia. Reddit, with its lackluster approach to fighting transphobia, and twitter, with its outright celebration of transphobia pushed us here, to the fediverse, and to create Blahaj Zone and Blahaj Lemmy.
To that end, we will continue to treat transphobia seriously. Our goal is to create a space where gender diverse folk can exist and let our defenses down a little, where we don’t have to worry about getting dragged in to an argument with a transphobe, or a bad faith actor “just asking questions”.
If you are looking for a more reddit like experience, where in the interest of increased engagement, we let low level transphobia slide, and push responsibility for dealing with it on to community mods and individual users, then you will likely not be happy with blahaj going forward. If you choose to stay here, understand that we may defederate again in the future over similar issues.
The choice is yours.
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It has recently been brought to my attention that the lead admin of programming.dev is engaging in ongoing transphobia.
You can see the conversation in question here https://programming.dev/comment/6131539
For that reason we will be defederating from programming.dev in 48 hours.
There are only three communities on that instance used by small number of our users, so this won’t have a big impact, but if you are one of those users, you will need to use an alt account on another instance if you wish to access the communities.
I don’t think that’s unreasonable thinking, though the modern image of goblins is constructed from antisemitic stereotypes and imagery.
I do think it’s possible to divorce the image of a fantasy goblin from its antisemitic history, but I don’t think Rowling has done that and instead has leaned into the vile history of goblins as a Jewish stereotype.
The article someone else shared discusses this fairly well and I think it does well to note that the use of goblins as antisemitic tropes has become so commonplace that it’s original intent is often lost. While some may celebrate that and say it’s successfully divorced from its antisemitic roots, I think this is something far more sinister in the way that it’s integrated antisemitic imagery into modern thinking.
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I think many people who like Harry Potter aren’t in it because they enjoy the casual bigotry throughout the novels, but because they like a magical bildingsroman.
But Rowling is a horrendous bigot and her works are tainted by that. It seems to me that you want to enjoy things on a surface level without thinking about them critically, and I don’t think that’s an uncommon way to approach what is ostensibly a children’s series. That said, you don’t want to examine the work or its author deeper and so maybe you don’t have a great grasp on the issue.
That’s fine. But Rowling is a vile person and her works shouldn’t be promoted.
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Hm, I’m not sure if people calling out against transphobia or antisemitism is promoting exactly, though it does build awareness. The fact that people see that and then think “I don’t care what minorities have to say about how this affects them, I want to play wizards” or even “fuck this woke liberal nonsense, I’m going to play the racist game by the transphobe, I love this” is a different problem entirely. How would you suggest promoting a boycott without making people aware of the product you are boycotting?
And I think blaming the people who call out bigotry where it exists for the popularity of the bigoted work is absurd. Should people instead be silent about bigotry? I don’t think that’s a better situation. You’re going to see hyperbolic opinions on any issue, from transphobia to corn farming, and focusing on those responses to decry the people affected by hatred feels backwards and counterproductive.
All that said, this is nonsequitor to the fact that her works are bigoted and if you don’t want to bear the burden of examining media critically to avoid bigotry, the least you can do is listen when the people affected by that bigotry call it out for such.
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I thought you hadn’t looked into it? Glad to see that changed.
But I don’t think you’re being sincere here. There’s an article posted in this very thread that discusses the antisemitism in the game and JK Rowling hasn’t been the least bit shy about her transphobia.
I don’t think we agree at all here. And I don’t think you really care if the game or franchise or its author is bigoted.
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