r/mildyinteresting • u/waiha • May 01 '26

humankind hiccups 😅 Well this aged like milk.

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Stumbled upon this while clearing out the attic.

She visited my primary school in Edinburgh shortly after releasing TPS. The girl in front of me (my friend and train-to-school comrade) was Southeast Asian and has an incredibly elaborate sounding name. When Joanne screwed up her face when my friend gave her her name for the signature, I laughed. This is how she decided to sign my copy.

I was laughing at you, JK.

EDIT: It’s on EBay.

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u/Excellent_Condition May 02 '26

People on this thread and on Reddit in general very often paint everything she has done or said in a negative light.

The things she has said about trans people should be viewed negatively, but the Harry Potter series is generally one where compassion, love, and kindness are the central themes.

However, people tend to lump everything she has said or written in the same light.

Case in point: your goblin example. Without having read the books, you cite her descriptions of goblins as being banker people with big noses. Lots of people have said the same thing.

In the books though, that isn't the description given nor how they are presented. The physical description of a goblin is as having "swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard, and very long fingers and feet." They are described as clever and able to stand up for themselves against wizards who try to control them, and are often bankers and metal smiths.

As far as I know, their noses (your example) aren't mentioned in the books at all.

People like to view everything that a person does as good or bad based on their overall viewpoint of that person, when people are more complicated than that.

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u/DeansPigInAPoke May 02 '26

You’re missing cultural context here. Large noses aren’t the only issue. Bankers with “Swarthy faces” and “pointed beards” are how Jewish people were represented in centuries of anti-Semitic imagery and stories in Europe. They were also referred to as “clever,” but with negative connotations, the same way the devil was called clever.

These are absolutely anti-Semitic tropes.

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u/GayMedic69 May 02 '26

You’re reaching just to try to make a point but you’re just making stuff up.

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u/DeansPigInAPoke May 02 '26

Sure I made it up. And so did: The UK AntiSemitism Policy Trust’s report on Antisemitic Imagery and Caricature: https://antisemitism.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Antisemitic-imagery-May-2020.pdf

The Holocaust Museum Katz-Ehrenthal Collection 500 Years of Antisemitic Propoganda https://www.ushmm.org/collections/the-museums-collections/collections-highlights/500-years-of-antisemitic-propaganda

Antisemitic Tropes https://www.facinghistory.org/sites/default/files/2024-02/Antisemitic_Tropes_Chart.pdf

And then there’s a whole Wikipedia article with extensive source list:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitic_trope

BRB. Gotta tell them all the jig is up! We’ve been caught!

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u/GayMedic69 May 02 '26

Yeah you made it up and then “cited” websites generally that don’t actually support your position. For example, there is nothing at all about “swarthy faces” or “pointed beards” in your first citation whatsoever. Most of the imagery in that first source actually contains people without beards at all.

I get it, you made some shit up and then pasted some links hoping I wouldn’t actually check your sources, but I did and you were wrong.

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u/Iccotak May 08 '26

I hardly see any of these people taking strong positions on games like WoW which are extremely explicit in using stereotypes for their fantasy races...

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u/FunPuzzleheaded9714 May 02 '26

yeah I mean, shes a terrible person when it comes to trans people but at least she belives in decency for most people. shes absolutely awful to one slice of the human race but at least she wrote some problematic books that people were calling out way before she admitted she was trasphobic.

Im sure shes really nice to be around.

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u/ImPapaNoff May 02 '26

God you people are insufferable lol. I wonder why more people don't hop over to your way of seeing things when you put it all so eloquently. It's mind blowing that her brand seems to become more and more valuable when what you are saying is just so clear and popular to think.

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u/[deleted] May 02 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/ImPapaNoff May 02 '26

My response to the previous person was assuming everything they said was sarcastic. Is that not the case? I'm saying trans activists are insufferable.

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u/FunPuzzleheaded9714 May 02 '26

most people do jump to our side of the conversation. it turns out when you're a decent person people like being around you and all the people who want to be insufferable and up siloing themselves. hope that's working out for you

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u/ImPapaNoff May 02 '26

Here's the problem. I'm on your side as far as trans rights go. I just think the mindless animosity directed at one person is both misplaced and unhelpful to the cause.

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u/Sensitive-Computer-6 May 03 '26

Shes litteraly investing her money and reputation in british society to enable and support anti trans legislations. Thats why nobody goes after the harry potter actors who support her. Shes a proactive obstacle for peace and freedom of expression, the other ones just actors whit shit oppinions.

Oh yeah why are the Indians ranting about the british, do they not have anything better to do? Why is Sitting Bull calling out Washington, why does he have such a hate boner for that guy?

dump queston.

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u/rigathrow May 02 '26

the same jkr that's antisemitic, mocks asian people, mocks irish people, and pulled a whole "the elves like being slaves actually"? sis has BEEN hateful and never practiced what she preached re: hp being about belonging and shit.

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u/Excellent_Condition May 03 '26

Have you read the books?

The fact that the elves have been brainwashed to like being slaves is a significant plot point that Hermione is very outspoken in campaigning against.

Having evil occur that your main characters oppose doesn't mean you support evil.

That's like saying that George Lucas is a bad person because Darth Vader killed children.

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u/rigathrow May 03 '26

i have, numerous times in my teens. and watched the films numerous times as well. hermione's treated like she's nuts for being against slavery.

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u/Excellent_Condition May 03 '26

She is by some characters, not by others. Not every character in a book is good, and not all characters agree with each other.

Treating the actions and viewpoints of all characters in a book as being the same as the author's viewpoint is illogical.

If everyone in a book was completely well intentioned, well informed, acted in the best interest of society, and never mistaken, you'd have a boring book where nothing happened and no evil needed to be overcome.

You'd basically be stuck with man vs. nature as the only genre of fiction that could exist.

And for the record:

  • Sirius is very direct about supporting Hermione (When Ron makes fun of her, he says "If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals").
  • Mr. Weasley supports her when she is angry about Winky's situation.
  • Dumbledore is also very direct about supporting elf rights in paying Dobby and talking about how Kretcher was mistreated.