If you’re a loyal Harry Potter fan, brace yourself. You are probably not going to like what I’m about to tell you. This week, none other than JK Rowling has revealed that while she thinks Donald Trump is “offensive and bigoted,” she disapproves of the petition banning the Republican nominee from visiting the United Kingdom.
While speaking at Pen America’s annual literary gala in New York, Rowling made reference to the petition, which was launched last year, by explaining that while she does not agree with Trump’s disrespectful antics, his freedom to say what he wants protects her right to label him a bigot. The petition was extremely popular with the public, garnering hundreds of thousands of signatures.
“If you seek the removal of freedoms from an opponent simply on the grounds that they have offended you, you have crossed a line to stand alongside tyrants who imprison, torture and kill on exactly the same justifications,” Rowling said in her speech. “[Trump] has my full support to come to my country and be offensive and bigoted there.”
Rowling once said Trump was worse than Voldemort after the real estate mogul announced his proposed ban on Muslims entering the U.S.
How horrible. Voldemort was nowhere near as bad. https://t.co/hFO0XmOpPH
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 8, 2015
As Voltaire was once (falsely) quoted as saying: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it,” perfectly explains Rowling’s skewed viewpoint.
Along with supporting Trump’s right to be derogatory, Rowling also strongly urges people, millennials specifically, from viewing censoring as a positive action against negative speech. Pew Research Center released a study last November that found 40 percent of millennials approve of the government censoring “offensive speech about minorities.” Unsurprisingly, Rowling strongly disagrees.
“Unless we take that absolute position without caveats or apologies, we have set foot upon a road with only one destination,” said the novelist. “If my offended feelings can justify a travel ban on Donald Trump, I have no moral ground on which to argue that those offended by feminism or the fight for transgender rights or universal suffrage should not oppress campaigners for those causes.”
Personally, I think the petition serves as a representation of all the negative national attention Trump has brought the U.S. and the overall election. How is the petition banning Trump from the U.K. any different from the presidential hopeful’s suggested ban on Muslims entering the U.S.?
Although I love Rowling, she has left a gap in the conversation by failing to support these views with cold-hard facts. Sure, freedom of speech is a right that should always be respected, but what if that freedom is causing Trump supporters to be overly violent at campaign rallies, as well as rude to others who support opposing presidential candidates?
People see Trump get away with vastly unethical behavior and start mirroring his brash tone towards their peers, minorities especially. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big proponent of human rights, but Trump crosses the line far beyond what is humanly moral and acceptable.
Featured image via Getty by Robert Spencer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtdnuaixzkM
