Microblog Memes

You should watch Shaun's video on the Harry Potter series. He goes into a deep dive of how the books are littered with her political views - even the first one - and how you can watch her become more conservative as they progress and she became more wealthy: the books start out criticizing the system, but by the end, the message becomes that the system should never be questioned.

Throughout the books are a pattern of borderline racist stereotypes (the black kid is named Shacklebolt, the Asian girl is named two single syllable last names - might as well be named Ching Chong - the 15-year-old Irish kid is obsessed with whiskey and blowing stuff up, etc), but you can also see where her transphobia came from. Everytime she wants you to hate a woman in the books, she describes them as having some kind of masculine features, from a strong jawline to "mannish hands."

As people become more wealthy or famous, they're given a bigger microphone to cast their garbage opinions with and it's never been easier to tell the world your shitty political beliefs than it is right now.

The Harry Potter books aren't very good. They probably only got enough promotion to become the phenomenon they did because the kingmakers knew what kind of a person J. K. Rowling really was. If she'd actually been a decent human being that series would've died in obscurity.

I think it just takes quite a few moral failings to even achieve that level of wealth in the first place in the vast majority of cases.

Here specifically, these people are authors and IP holders in a society that places a lot of value in ignorance and in very chauvinist and racist ideas. By hook or by crook, they've made something original. They have some merit, and you would expect them of all people to see those societal failings for what they are. To not comment on them, or to uphold them, or to mask them, (arguably all the same thing) is a decision they made in their work. I think we vastly overestimate how easy it is to do that across an entire body of independent work if it doesn't align with your beliefs.

It makes sense that a person who has the merits and will to do something like that, again, entirely without challenging such obvious failures (as most in their position would), would be chosen to win the broad favor of a society that desperately does not want to be challenged or its failings acknowledged (esp ruling class, the ones with something to lose and wealth to spare to push these things), and would gain a lot of its wealth. Especially in ye old early-internet world when people weren't discovered as easily. Then, when their platform is secure, the mask slips.

It's not a conspiracy or an aberration, it's survivorship bias. These people are a product of our society. We have to reckon with that.

edit: I realized I could expand on what I meant in a few places so I sprinkled a bit more in.

Scott Adams was always insane. Behind the Bastards covered him. Before twitter, we just inserted our own meaning into the short comics. When he had more time to write a story in the cartoon, there were come signs. I remember the Bob Bastard episode and how he views people who give to charity.

Money/power doesn't corrupt, it liberates you from the consequences of your actions. It allows you to freely be fully true to yourself without fear of repercussions.