The world just got a lesson from two public figures – J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter fantasy books, and Drew Brees, quarterback of the New Orleans Saints – on how to deal with an increasingly influential group of individuals, wrongly identified as ‘social justice warriors’. Ironically, Rowling defended herself from an all-out blitz from the mob far better than the NFL star.
In these angry, hysterical times, when merely stating biological fact is enough to trigger the electronic lynch mob, most people prefer to keep their opinions to themselves. And in the event that a person does find the courage to utter unpleasant truths that upset the liberal mindset, the reaction comes fast and furious. This is something J.K. Rowling now understands firsthand.
The British author made the apparent mistake of taking issue with an article that appeared in Devex, which brands itself as “the media platform for the global development community.” The headline summed it up: ‘Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate.’
The article stated that in addition to 1.8 billion girls and women around the world who menstruate, gender non-binary persons (that is, transgender women who were born as biological males) also experience the monthly ‘visitor’. Of course, that is an absolute falsehood. Although a person is free to identify with whatever gender they want, that does not change the biological fact that it is simply impossible for born males to menstruate, and it speaks volumes about the times that we are living in that that point needs emphasized.
Rowling, apparently struck by the fact that the article left open the possibility of a unicorn existing in nature, quipped to her 14.5 million Twitter followers, “‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”
‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?
Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate https://t.co/cVpZxG7gaA
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2020
Predictably, the so-called ‘social justice warriors’ – who, let’s be completely honest are in fact cultural revolutionaries modeled after the Mao Zedong prototype – rallied their forces and went on a search-and-destroy mission against the esteemed character of Ms. Rowling.
Literally NO ONE said the concept of sex or womxn is erased.
The only thing erased here is YOU erasing the legitimacy of trans folks.
Please reconsider where you stand here, for trans folks and for so many who used to idolize you.
— Maddy Eisenberg (@maddyeisenberg) June 6, 2020
Even Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe took exception with Rowling’s comment, writing in The Trevor Report, “Transgender women are women…Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people.”
Despite the uproar, Rowling bravely stood her ground, arguing that her critics do believe in the reality of sex since they have turned it into a completely fluid concept that can be changed simply because a person wills it. Sex with regards to a person’s gender has become an abstract psychological notion as opposed to scientifically demonstrable fact.
“If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction,” Rowling argued. “I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives.
“It isn’t hate to speak the truth.”
Needless to say, for a public figure like J.K. Rowling, whose reputation is practically everything, it would be very easy to retreat and apologize under such circumstances, and even easier never to speak out at all, which is what the overwhelming majority of people choose to do. After all, the left today has absolutely no desire for civilized debate.
That much has already been demonstrated on liberal-dominated college campuses across the country, the breeding grounds for the cultural revolutionaries. Today, students and even professors would rather burn down their campuses than hear an opposing argument. Believing, like all deluded revolutionaries that they are in possession of ultimate truth, their ideological counterparts, the conservatives, are deemed unworthy of the radicals’ time. Nothing short of destroying their enemy will suffice, and if that means censoring their thoughts and words, or exposing them to hostile attack, then so be it.
That cheap tactic appears to have worked on New Orleans Saints star quarterback Drew Brees, 41, who gave a heartfelt explanation to Yahoo Finance as to why he is opposed to NFL players taking a knee in protest against excessive police force before football games.
Highlight: @readdanwrite asks @drewbrees what the star NFL quarterback thinks about “players kneeling again when the NFL season starts.”@drewbrees: “I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country.”
Full exchange: pic.twitter.com/MpCkFyOMed
— Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) June 3, 2020
Here is Brees’ comment in its entirety:
“I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country. Let me just tell what I see or what I feel when the national anthem is played and when I look at the flag of the United States. I envision my two grandfathers, who fought for this country during World War II, one in the Army and one in the Marine Corp. Both risking their lives to protect our country and to try to make our country and this world a better place. So every time I stand with my hand over my heart looking at that flag and singing the national anthem, that’s what I think about. And in many cases, that brings me to tears, thinking about all that has been sacrificed. Not just those in the military, but for that matter, those throughout the civil rights movements of the ‘60s, and all that has been endured by so many people up until this point. And is everything right with our country right now? No, it is not. We still have a long way to go. But I think what you do by standing there and showing respect to the flag with your hand over your heart, is it shows unity. It shows that we are all in this together, we can all do better and that we are all part of the solution.”
I am a big fan of Drew Brees. I think he’s truly one of the greatest quarterbacks, but he should not have taken back his original stance on honoring our magnificent American Flag. OLD GLORY is to be revered, cherished, and flown high…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2020
However, following the fierce backlash his remarks received from among his peers, as well as from street protesters, the sacrifices that Brees’ two grandfathers had made during World War II no longer seemed quite so important. What suddenly mattered more to Brees was taking a symbolic and very submissive knee to the mob (even Brees’ wife, Brittany, felt compelled to apologize for her husband, exclaiming over social media, “we are the problem”), despite the fact that “systemic racism” in the U.S. police system and throughout American society seems to be extremely overblown, not least of all today, in the year 2020, a critical election year when the left will do just about anything to ensure victory.
The larger problem with public figures apologizing after declaring their stance on an issue that does not flush with that of the left is that it simply encourages wrong-think among the mob, who refuses to let an opposing viewpoint be heard inside of their echo chamber. As a result, Americans will never have the critical conversations that are desperately needed during times of crisis. What we’ll get instead is a dangerous hostage-like situation with cultural revolutionaries seizing entire street blocks in the belief they have been granted moral authority to behave anyway they want.
Had Drew Brees held his ground, much like J.K. Rowling did under different circumstances, he could have helped to diffuse a very dangerous situation. America needs more people who are willing to ‘stick to their guns’ regardless of the emotional backlash their opinions may attract. The survival of democracy depends on these sort of tough-minded individuals.