J.K. Rowling makes international news every time she lambasts Donald Trump with another one of her eloquent, spot-on quips.
Of course, nearly anything Rowling says, does or thinks is important; because she’s the figure of so much adoration and fascination — with no small bit of controversy. But, she’s also following in the well-worn path of so many writers throughout literary history. She proves that in some very fundamental ways: The pen is, indeed, mightier than the sword.
Controversy?
The provocative jousting was first prominently displayed when Rowling responded to the BBC tweet that likened Trump with Voldemort, one of Rowling’s most devilish characters:
How horrible. Voldemort was nowhere near as bad. https://t.co/hFO0XmOpPH
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 8, 2015
She’s not willing to take away his right to speak freely in any, albeit offensive, way he sees fit — as she resoundingly said in her May 2016 PEN/Allen Foundation speech:
Neither, though, does she see him as any less of a monster. She knows how to create monsters, she reminds us in “On Villains, Monsters and the EU Referendum.”
She write: “He has the temperament of an unstable nightclub bouncer, jeers at violence when it breaks out at his rallies and wears his disdain for women and minorities with pride. God help America. God help us all.”
And, Then There’s Harry Potter…
Rowling hasn’t made a secret of her views about Trump, but studies suggest that her fans are of a similar mindset.
In Harry Potter and the Millennials, Anthony Gierzynski demonstrates: “Harry Potter fans are more open to diversity and are more politically tolerant than nonfans; fans are also less authoritarian, less likely to support the use of deadly force or torture, more politically active, and more likely to have had a negative view of the Bush administration.”
It’s the age of Harry Potter!