By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
JKR supporters go out on a limb accusing Scottish police of mocking author
A fictional hate crime scenario using the name "Jo" is at the center of this nonsense.
Supporters of J.K. Rowling are continuing to push the idea that the author is constantly being persecuted for her loud and obnoxious views on gender, most recently accusing Scotland police of mocking her at an event.
The Telegraph ran with a story this week in response to a Police Scotland and Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) event for LGBT history month back in February during which they reportedly offered a number of hypothetical scenarios to see whether youth attendees would consider them hate crimes or not. According to The Daily Mail, the responses were sent back to police “decision-makers,” presumably in connection with Scotland’s new hate crime law, which is set to take effect April 1.
It isn’t immediately clear how many of these scenarios were presented, or how many had to do with trans issues. But the scenario some people are claiming is an “unsubtle dig” at Rowling is about “an online influencer” named Jo “who is very active on TikTok and Instagram."
“Jo travels around University Campuses filming inputs in seminars with students, during these inputs Jo will engage with students and debate her beliefs around the LGBTI community,” it continues. “During these inputs Jo often gets very passionate about her beliefs and will say things like ‘there are only two genders, encouraging all these mental health conditions are dangerous,’ ‘too many attention seeking wannabes.’”
“Jo posted her most recent video with the caption ‘They all belong in the gas chambers #HateThePlayersAndStupidGames.’”
The lack of details and vague claims that Scottish police were being accused of making this about Rowling, when the only person cited in the Telegraph article as doing so is the co-director of a group that seems to exist to oppose trans rights, definitely served to get people all worked up on Rowling’s behalf.
But those who thought about the whole thing for more than two seconds remained skeptical.
In fact, in complaining about the scenario publicly, both Professor Jo Phoenix and MP Joanna Cherry essentially disproved the claim that it blatantly had to be a reference to Rowling, as it could have just as easily been a parody of either of them — or, the even more obvious answer, just something completely made up.
And others pointed out that reading this as being about Rowling — especially as members of the public, who do not generally think of her as “Jo” — might say more about her than the scenario itself.
TIE responded to the drama drummed up by The Telegraph’s article with a statement acknowledging that “these scenarios were written by officers at Police Scotland based on their expertise.”
“The purpose of the particular scenario that was reported on was to support young people to understand the difference between freedom of expression and extremist hate speech,” they continued. “It was situated in the context of TikTok and Instagram, which young people report as the platforms where they often see viral videos with extremist content about minority communities.”
“Regrettably, some individuals have decided to mischaracterise and deflect from such a serious topic by focusing on a fictional character in a fictional scenario and creating an inaccurate narrative,” the statement added.
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
Rachel Kiley is presumably a writer and definitely not a terminator. She can usually be found crying over queerbaiting in the Pitch Perfect franchise or on Twitter, if not both.
Rachel Kiley is presumably a writer and definitely not a terminator. She can usually be found crying over queerbaiting in the Pitch Perfect franchise or on Twitter, if not both.
