• RoddyStiggs@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    10 hours ago

    I’m over 40.

    I gave up Bill Cosby. I gave up Kevin Spacey. I gave up all of the 80s and 90s movies about toxic masculinity and misogyny. I gave up Aerosmith (maybe Steven Tyler hasn’t been canceled yet but COME ON have you heard the lyrics to any single one of his songs). I gave up Michael Richards (and Seinfeld too). I gave up Michael Jackson.

    You can give up Harry Potter. It’s the right thing to do, it’s worth it, and it’s the adult decision. Grow up and check your allegiances. They’ll define you.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      4 hours ago

      You can give up Harry Potter. It’s the right thing to do, it’s worth it, and it’s the adult decision.

      It’s a children’s story. I don’t think you’re asking for people to leap over mountains by giving up childhood things as an adult.

      At the same time, people seem to fixate on the consumerist aesthetics and ignore the material realities. If you’ve got transgender friends and family that you support with your time and care and money, and you want to flip through an old dog-eared copy of Philosopher’s Stone (or rewatch The Usual Suspects or throw on an episode of Fat Albert) because of nostalgia, I don’t think you’re committing any kind of grievous sin.

      JK Rowling isn’t going to stop being a billionaire because you played a HP themed video game or watched an episode of her rebooted book show on HBO.

      Meanwhile, abstaining from all things problematic, without doing anything materially positive for any of the LGBTQ folks in your life isn’t doing anyone any favors. Being a Consumerist Harpy who only knows how to scream at people for their mass media of choice, in the name of LGBTQ, is turning civil advocacy into some kind of branding exercise.

      • RoddyStiggs@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        25 minutes ago

        Meanwhile, abstaining from all things problematic, without doing anything materially positive for any of the LGBTQ folks in your life isn’t doing anyone any favors. Being a Consumerist Harpy who only knows how to scream at people for their mass media of choice, in the name of LGBTQ, is turning civil advocacy into some kind of branding exercise.

        See also: Tesla

        I don’t know if you’re trying to call me out or not, but I can assure you I am quite active in advocacy and direct action for queer folks in my life and ib my community. I’m not interested in writing up a resumė about it, but I’m not the tree to bark up with that one.

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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          21 minutes ago

          I can assure you I am quite active in advocacy and direct action for queer folks in my life and ib my community

          Which is great. A lot of folks are.

          It’s also great to hear what they’re doing with their free time, as a positive rejoinder to “HP is toxic”.

          More interested in new progressive media than a 10 year old argument about a book that came out 20 years ago.

      • JennyLaFae@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        3 hours ago

        I’ve had a theory for a long time that many of the “LGBT advocate/ally” voices that participate in the discourse aren’t actually doing so in our best interests. Many ways I’ve seen people who call themselves allies talk and act are more likely to push people away than educate.

        Preferably I’d like if people could just let HP die and fade away, but beyond that just try not to give her royalty money, and if you can’t do that then at the least i don’t want to hear about it.

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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          3 hours ago

          Preferably I’d like if people could just let HP die and fade away

          With enough time and a vacuum of marketing dollars, it will. The reboot is already flopping.

          just try not to give her royalty money, and if you can’t do that then at the least i don’t want to hear about it.

          Hard to advocate for a boycott without hearing about the things you’re boycotting.

          The principle of a boycott is to pressure the business to change it’s policies. The implication is that you’d come back if they reformed.

          If you’re really looking to replace a franchise rather than reform it, helps to fill the vacuum.

          “I’m a big fan of X over Y, because it’s got all the things I like without the crude” tends to bend more ears than “Stop doing Y without my permission!”

    • muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works
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      8 hours ago

      Might want to rethink Michael Jackson. A lot of what he’s been accused of turned out to be an Epstein smear campaign when he interfered with their ops. McCauley Caulkin spoke out about this recently.

      • wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz
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        2 hours ago

        I always knew it was a set-up. I looked up to him as a kid, and people made fun of me for it, but I never believed the things they said about him.

        He had a troubled past, he was eccentric and effeminate and that already made him a target for hate, but he genuinely seemed to care about kids and wanted to offer them a better childhood than the one he had.

        It was a recipe for a PR shitstorm, especially when you throw “trying to disrupt an actual billionaire pedo ring funded by mossad” into the mix…

        He didn’t destroy McCauley, though. The publicity did. Imagine how confusing it must be to a child, to be torn away from your mentor, possibly the only person who sees you as a human and values you as such, who understands what a personal hell being a child star can be. All because he was accused of doing things to you, and the rest of the adults don’t seem to care what you have to say about it…

        And then having to finish growing up without your mentor, with all the meanness of the world amplified by fame and stigma, when no one will get near you or even mention your name except to make fun of you, and they all do it with this self-righteous smugness as if they’re convinced to their bones that they’re better than you, and they feel completely morally justified in their judgements, too…

        Yeah, I never thought MJ was the bad guy. It’s a bit of a relief to hear his name has been cleared after all these years, even if it’s come too late. If he were alive today, I wonder if he would’ve ever come out as trans. I can only speculate now, as only he could ever make that determination for himself.

        Anyway, I still remember listening on the radio when he was in the hospital, in cardiac arrest, and then being declared dead. It was a sad day for me. I think it was drug-related though, so I wonder if it still would’ve happened if he wasn’t so hated. Or if he hadn’t been so abused himself as a child. Again, just speculation, now…

        • muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works
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          2 hours ago

          You know, I have to wonder if that overdose was really accidental now. He pissed off some really powerful people who just don’t accept being told “no.”

        • Dearth@lemmy.world
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          7 hours ago

          Mac culkin and Corey Feldman have both talked about MJ positively many times in the past few years.

          • roscoe@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            6 hours ago

            Corey Feldman is the reason I don’t believe the accusations against MJ. What that kid went through is horrific and predators can smell prey a mile away. If Michael was abusing kids there is no way he would have missed that one, Corey would have been an easy target after what they did to him. But Corey comes out and tries to shine a light on the things that are happening and specifically says that Michael never did anything inappropriate.

          • TheFogan@programming.dev
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            6 hours ago

            I mean that’s great and all but a real source would be nice. Someone who was a kid speaking nicely about someone accused of harming kids, isn’t an exoneration. That’s like Kanye saying Nick Fuentes isn’t racist.

            Note not taking either side on the topic. I don’t know or really care that much on MJ, an actual useful source would be say an epstein letter where epsteins announcing they want to make MJ look guilty. Fully plausible that MJ’s scandal was a combination of people saying he’s weird, with a few chasing a paycheck. But someone who fits the demographic saying “I was around him for years and I was never abused”, is IMO not evidence.

        • wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz
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          2 hours ago

          Why, cause you’ve spent your life hating someone who was not only innocent, but it now comes out that he was actually trying to disrupt a powerful cabal committing the actual crimes, and got accused as a result and a deflection?

          Or because you’re unwilling to admit that to yourself and reexamine the beliefs you’re so accustomed to holding in that regard?

    • lowspeedchase@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      4 hours ago

      it’s the adult decision.

      MY decision is the ADULT decision. Ok buddy… you’re a big man now.

      Grow up and check your allegiances. They’ll define you.

      Oh yes laughing at an episode of seinfeld has DEFINED me as some who needs to GROW UP.

      hahahah what a load of shite.

    • Floodedwomb@lemmy.world
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      9 hours ago

      I’m not giving up the books I bought decades ago and before she outed herself as an idiot.

      I’m not stopping enjoying the stories that helped me to grow into the person I am today.

      I’m not pretending that as a gay kid having a positive gay role model in Dumbledore wasn’t a wonderful thing.

      I am not giving her anymore money.

      I am not supporting her an anyway.

      You can hate a person’s opinions and still love their art.

      Its almost like everyone is human and capable of holding contradictory ideas.

    • osanna@lemmy.vg
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      9 hours ago

      Unfortunately, Rowling probably won’t lose her millions (billions?) if we stop reading/watching her slop. But we CAN prevent her getting even more millions.

    • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      8 hours ago

      Yeah, and let’s not forget that Harry Potter is a series of books written for literal children.

      It’s time to grow up and read something written for actual adults. You might be surprised to find that HP is actually kind of shit.

      • Pennomi@lemmy.world
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        7 hours ago

        Adults are allowed to read things written for children. Shaming people for that is ageist as fuck.

        There are LOTS of good reasons to stop engaging with HP, but this ain’t one of them.

        • roscoe@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          6 hours ago

          Ageist is a bit of a stretch. Maybe ableist since an adult reading children’s books is a sign of developmental disability.

          • Vieric@lemmy.world
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            52 minutes ago

            I don’t read HP, and I wasn’t going to get involved in this discussion. But then I saw your post. I deal with actual special needs people on the daily, and you saying shit like this is vile. I think you are the one who needs to start acting like an adult, maybe do a bit of self reflection.

          • Pennomi@lemmy.world
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            6 hours ago

            Ew, that’s not true either. Lemmy is NOT the place for gatekeeping assholes. Take that bullshit to X.

            • roscoe@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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              6 hours ago

              That’s not really gatekeeping. Maybe gatekeeping a fully emotionally developed adult? But that’s a bit of a stretch too. You can’t just throw around buzzwords and expect it to mean anything. And you definitely can’t be expected to be taken seriously.

              Maybe if you put down the YA and read something age appropriate you’d get a better feel for adult interactions.

              • Pennomi@lemmy.world
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                6 hours ago

                No. Gatekeeping was the polite way to say that you have no fucking right to stop someone from doing what they enjoy, as long as they aren’t harming someone else. I personally don’t read YA novels, but I will protect that right for everyone else.

                The correct term, rather than gatekeeper, would be fascist. You can fuck right off if you’re going to try controlling what media a person consumes. If you truly think what you’re saying, you are a morally bankrupt human.

                • roscoe@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                  5 hours ago

                  With all that stretching and leaping you must be limber as fuck.

                  I would never stop anyone from doing anything that didn’t harm someone else. But I will judge the fuck out of them. Disney adults, children’s book readers, broneys, etc. are children’s minds in adults bodies. If it’s because of a disability, good for them, they should enjoy life in whichever way suits them. If not, it’s pathetic and they should seek help with their personal growth.

                  • Pennomi@lemmy.world
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                    5 hours ago

                    I won’t stop them, I will just socially shame them with an intent to stop them.

                    You have all the tact of a conversion therapy camp. I have nothing more to say to a closed-minded person like you.

          • bufalo1973@piefed.social
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            4 hours ago

            I enjoy hard scifi, politics, health, … and also enjoy some “for children” media. Just like I enjoy listening to metal, 80s, … and also listening to jazz.