Tag Archives: J.K. Rowlings

Thank You, Meryl & Co.

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So there I am on Facebook during my office hours, because of course that is what I do when I should be reading student papers or writing the great American novel or some such thing. And I see people I knew in Catholic school, people I would normally think of as “good Christians” if I ever thought of such things, complaining about Meryl Streep using her Golden Globes acceptance speech as a platform to condemn Voldemort’s bullying ways and call the press to hold his administration accountable for their words and actions.

And all I could think of was if Jesus had the opportunity to get millions of people to recognize a dangerous, disrespectful bully and call out people to hold him accountable, wouldn’t he?

Hell, isn’t that basically what the Sermon on the Mount was?

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If Meryl Streep had not taken the opportunity to use her freedom of speech to speak truth to power, it would have been a dereliction of duty. When people with conviction are silent, the people without conviction take our silence as consent and agreement.

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When a reader asked J.K. Rowling, “…when the bullies actually win[, ] How do we even move forward from here?” Rowling answered, “We stand together. We stick up for the vulnerable. We challenge bigots. We don’t let hate speech become normalized. We hold the line.”

And that is one of many things writing is for: using our words to hold the line.

We Shall Have to Wear the Shades

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Dear heavens. I can barely remember a summer like this one, when we have gotten so much good news, not just in general but more so for those on the margins. So let’s make a list of the Outrageously Cool things that have been happening lately in the news and the world.

  • The American women’s soccer team decidedly TROUNCED its Japanese counterpart.
  • “Every single player on the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team is getting her own Sports Illustrated cover. In celebration of the team’s World Cup win, the magazine is publishing 25 different covers this week: one for each player, one for coach Jill Ellis, and one small group shot” (Sports Illustrated). So, basically, SI is finally taking a moment out of its decidedly masculinist, patriarchal agenda to pay tribute to some awesome women. Who Are Actually Wearing Clothes.
  • The Supreme Court just legalized “gay marriage,” so folks can love who they want, although we are still working on that whole “not discriminating against folks thing.”
  • Agent Carter has been renewed for a second season, with ten episodes.
  • Serena Williams just won Wimbledon. Again. And when she got body-shamed by a hater, J.K. Rowlings supported her on Twitter.
  •  The last of Boston’s snow finally melted. Finally.