Hi Danny, I strongly suspect you’ll delete this but that’s fine. Really I’m just talking to you. I want to ask why you feel the need to misrepresent Rowling in this way? You don’t like her or agree with her. Fine. But then why not present her fairly and explain where your problem is.

There is no deadnaning in her essay. Not a single instance. Nor is there any misgendering. Fear-mongering and nonsense? Fair enough, that’s your opinion. But why lie about the other stuff? Like most of the writing that lives in infamy online, most people (as you recommend) will never read it. So this game of Chinese whispers continues until the truth of what this person said, right or wrong, is distorted beyond all recognition.

Secondly, it’s hard not to notice how you chose to edit out any aspects of what Rowling says which humanise her in any way. For instance, the sentence before your first quote is this:

The writings of young trans men reveal a group of notably sensitive and clever people.

I get that this doesn’t fit the narrative of “Rowling is the devil” but it’s just as much a part of what she said and thinks as the rest. How would you feel about somebody misrepresenting you this way? How does it make you feel to do this to somebody else?

Or in your second quote, you cut out a single sentence. And it’s this:

I struggled with severe OCD as a teenager.

Why omit this? Because people might relate to it? You’re writing about a human being here. I write about politics occasionally, including people like Trump, and as much as I loathe him, I always do my best to present him fairly. Maybe you disagree, but I consider this integrity to be a hugely important part of the job of writing.

If you’ve read this far then thanks for at least giving some time to my point of view. I’m not trying to defend Rowling’s views. I’m just arguing that even those we disagree with deserve to be treated with basic honesty. You can disagree with her without diminishing yourself.