https://tuckerlieberman.medium.com/jk-rowling-trans-rights-2b8b92bf0d5f
"On June 6, 2023, we solemnly observe the third anniversary of J.K. Rowling’s
pledge to march for trans rights.
I respect every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic
and comfortable to them. I’d march with you if you were discriminated
against on the basis of being trans. At the same time, my life has been
shaped by being female. I do not believe it’s hateful to say so. — J.K.
Rowling on Twitter, 6 Jun 2020
Rowling supporters commonly cite this tweet as proof that she supports trans
rights.
In doing so, they primarily support Rowling, not trans people, since they are
primarily concerned with the perceptions, experiences, and opinions of Rowling
rather than those of trans people. Hence, my intentional choice of the words
“Rowling supporters,” by my own assessment as well as theirs. Their chosen
hashtag is #IStandWithJKRowling, not #IMarchWithTransPeople.
As for the claim that Rowling supports trans rights, the time-elapse reveals
otherwise. “I’d march with you” is a pledge. The pledge’s condition “if you
were discriminated against on the basis of being trans” has been satisfied.
Three years have passed. The pledge has not been and plainly will never be met.
You might call the original statement a “lie,” or “bluster” or “bullshit,” or
just “PR.” Those terms depend on precise assessments of Rowling’s intention or
lack thereof. I’m also looking at intention, but in a broader sense.
A pledge is provisionally judged when it is first expressed; it carries weight
insofar as it expresses real intention to perform an action. The pledge is
ultimately judged when the promised action does, or doesn’t, occur. If we
decide the speaker was insincere all along, that affects our judgment of them,
and if we believe we were outright lied to, we’ll believe it would have been
better had the unfulfilled pledge never been made at all. But even without
getting into the details of the person’s sincerity, the pledge doesn’t have any
positive effect if it’s not fulfilled.
If the person was sincere in their commitment but their pledge goes
unfulfilled, they ought to give a reason for what happened, and if they remain
committed, they ought to make a new pledge they can actually fulfill and make
themselves accountable for it."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
