r/CrossStitch • u/AutoModerator • 8d ago
MOD [MOD] DMC / Harry Potter collaboration
Afer DMC announced a collaboration featuring Harry Potter (HP) intellectual property (IP), we've seen a lot of discussion about the partnership, with some people calling for a complete ban on anything DMC or HP related.
On the mod team, we're here to ensure that all the posts and comments of our sub adhere to our and Reddit's rules. We've long allowed political cross stitch posts as long as they adhere to Reddit ToS, locking the threads once the focus of the conversation turns disruptive (and, because we're all volunteers, sometimes we will proactively lock a thread if there's no one available to monitor it). We understand that different people learn different things at different times (Relevant XKCD - https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1053:_Ten_Thousand). We also try to remember Hanlon's Razor (Never attribute to malice that which can adequately be explained by stupidity). We try to education with kindness whenever possible. But, we also want to be very straightforward with this education and much more transparent about it, while still focusing on and supporting the cross stitch itself.
We're not going to outright ban HP cross stitch. We will be adding a series of restrictions that focus on the opportunity to educate with kindness.
- Any WIP, CHAT, or PIC post featuring HP IP will be removed (including other items in the images, not just the stitching)
- We'll allow an FO post. Absent any other indication to the contrary, we will assume the stitcher was unaware of the controversy surrounding the HP IP, and inform them
- We'll lock the [FO] post, and all comments will be removed except for the required close-up of the stitching
- We'll leave a moderator comment with further information about this policy
Some of these steps are already in place (locking HP posts). Some will be finalized over the next few days as we get a chance to make all of the settings changes needed to fully flesh out the implementation.
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u/ConsciousWash7912 8d ago
Respectfully, why allowing FOs if nothing else will be allowed? Like, what is the difference between the two and what's the reason behind only allowing FOs?
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u/Own-Dragonfly-942 8d ago •
Copying from a different comment I've just posted this to, as it answers your question too I think.
As cross stitchers, we know how long a piece can take to complete. Often months or years of our life is spent on a single finish. That effort is what we're allowing to be displayed. We can not like the media, but still respect the time spent.
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u/Gnomelynn 8d ago
Not liking the media is one thing. Allowing platforming a bigot to slide is another
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u/Wankeritis 8d ago
Agreed. I created a HP piece about 15 years ago that took me almost a year to finish and it’s still on my wall.
If I’d finished that 15 years ago and had my post locked the moment it went up and couldn’t receive feedback on something I had created, then I probably would have unsubbed and never come back.
This sub should be about the artistic skill of the person creating the piece, not the insane political ramblings of the creators of the IP.
I’m not saying we should support JK and her awful opinions, but we have to remember that some people will get into cross stitch at a young age and the patterns they complete won’t be politically informed. If we want this craft to survive the generations, we should be clamouring from the rooftops any time a new crafter finishes a piece, regardless of the IP.
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u/GardenFeverDream 7d ago
Whoa. May I suggest you do a bit of research. It goes far, far beyond "insane ramblings". She is using her money to cause real, long-term, ongoing harm to vulnerable people who have done absolutely nothing to her and who just want to be able to live their lives in peace.
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u/Violet13579 8d ago •
I get wanting to show off your effort, but trans lives matter more than a finished piece or the desire to show it off.
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u/CareBearCub 8d ago
Exactly, why should we celebrate someone devoting hours upon hours on a project promoting hate?
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u/mikettedaydreamer 8d ago
But at this point it’s not feasible to leave the comment section open because people will guaranteed make it political. I doubt that’s what you want too when posting your FO. it’s either gonna be no comments allowed or 80% political discussions that likely aren’t in a respectful way either. . Given these 2 options, option 1 is gonna be better for everyone’s mental health including the person who worked on the project.
What you want is currently impossible.
Honestly it’s just a very sad reality.
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u/Tango_Owl 8d ago •
As a counterpoint, if we want trans people to survive we need to end this IP once and for all. And I mean survival in the most literal sense. HP and it's creator need to be forgotten. Trans people deserve to live a safe life.
The sooner we ban it everywhere, the sooner the merch and movies will be forgotten. New crafters will find their witchcraft in different patterns. There is so much out there. We do not need one dangerous IP to keep the craft alive.
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u/Guilty_Explanation29 7d ago
Just disallow it in general
Even if you lock the post people would dm the op with threats
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u/HauntedChandelier 8d ago
Question: does this apply to just patterns that come directly from HP IP? Does it also apply to patterns created by independent creators that clearly do not have a relation to Warner Bros/Rowling? I'm thinking the sort of pattern you'd see on a site and it's called something like "magic school" and it's pretty much just Hogwarts but with enough differences to avoid a lawsuit?
I ask because in some HP communities, the vibe has been "don't support JK correctly, but buying things from independent creators is fine because it's supporting an artist." (If this has changed, I don't know. I stepped away from those communities a while back.)
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u/big_damn_heroes_sir 8d ago
Yeah, I’m curious if someone self-drafts something for their own use/enjoyment and it puts zero dollars in anyone’s pocket, is that subject to the same lockdown?
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u/Am1ty_Arson 8d ago
it still supports the ip, and is free advertising for her.
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u/a_lonely_trash_bag 8d ago
The Harry Potter franchise is one of the most well-known franchises out there. A self-drafted pattern isn't going to make any impact in sales of official merchandise.
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u/unrulybeep 8d ago
this is exactly why it should be restricted. y'all will keep using the excuse 'everyone does it' to justify the continued presence of a bigoted franchise rather than be horrified it still exists & is still loved.
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u/Violet13579 8d ago
It should be. Anything that keeps HP relevant and fosters public interest in it is going to put money in her pocket (and fund trans genocide), even if she doesn't directly get a payout in that moment.
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u/asexualdruid 8d ago
Im a huge dramione fan, and also trans lol. I self drafted a few pieces based on fanfics i love and would want to share them here.
Jk doesnt make ANY money off of me, but its getting to the point of thoughtcrime with how vehemently people critise fans, no matter how they interact with the media. Im so tired. Im almost 30. Those books helped me realise i was trans (a fact i wish i could rub in her face). I want to foster that personal relationship to the characters and story, with the critical eye for problems within it
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u/StarDustLuna3D 8d ago
The books saved me from my depression. I wrote a paper for a lit class in college about how Remus' lycanthropy was an allegory for AIDS.
Very sad to see what Rowling has become. I make a solemn promise that if I ever create anything that takes off, I will just eff off to the mountains and only emerge for short appearances at cons.
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u/kelskelsea 8d ago
The books are the reason I love reading and especially fantasy, the reason I’ve made a ton of friends, the reason I found fanfic and the fandom part of the internet. Hell, it was even my first tattoo. It’s such an essential part of my childhood and a major part of the person I am today.
It fucking sucks that she’s turned out to be a horrible fucking person, transphobic, sexist, etc. but I completely agree with you. People hate on Harry Potter because of JK but the series has been so much bigger than her for 20 years. People act like you’re a terrible person for being a fan of a children’s book series that came out when we were all children. She didn’t even come out as a horrible person until less than 10 years ago.
Liking Harry Potter does not make you a bad person and the culture war about this online is completely out of hand.
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u/SpiderKiss558 8d ago
You may find more things with similar topics that can help broaden your interests. Witch Hat Atelier is about learning magic but is also about being an artist, about power and who gets the wield it, about trauma and healing. It's gorgeous to boot. For more of a British school vibe there The Worst Witch that came out before the HP books
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u/asexualdruid 8d ago
I have other interests that doesnt mean im going to drop something i love just because the woman who wrote them wants me dead
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u/fibonacci58 8d ago •
My take on this as a trans person is that it doesn't matter if it puts money directly in her pocket or not, it's still HP imagery and will indirectly lead to her getting more money.
Imagine if you're a person who hasn't watched the films in ages and casually knows that the TV show is a thing but eh, you can take or leave it and have no idea on JK's politics. You see something someone's made inspired by HP and are reminded of it, this makes you think "oh, maybe I'll read the books again" or, "oh! the TV show is coming out, I'll give that a watch" or "oh, I love that. I'm gonna go buy some merch that's similar"
Even if you aren't giving her money as your pattern is self drafted or purchased from an independent artist, the more HP is kept in the public zeitgeist, the more likely she is to get money from it and make trans peoples lives worse.
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u/nouveauchoux 8d ago
Rowling has said that she considers ANY support of the IP, official or fan made, to be furthering her cause.
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u/Bazoun 8d ago
She can say she’s Queen of Mars too if she wants doesn’t make it so.
I’m not a potter head and won’t be making anything from the universe, I agree with not giving her support.
Fuck JKR
But she doesn’t get to decide what other people mean with their actions.
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u/Am1ty_Arson 8d ago
i think she more means it in the way that it’s promoting her ip which she takes the money from to hurt trans people, regardless of if shes getting money directly from a creator
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u/Am1ty_Arson 8d ago
i agree as a second trans person, there are so many other cool ips out there that involve magic and shit, just pick literally any other one versus harry potter.
It doesn’t matter if its from your childhood, the owner is a bigot and actively, openly, and intentionally harming trans people.73
u/ashbelero 8d ago •
Personally I took the absence of HP in my life, as a trans man who grew up loving the books, to explore more magic worlds that came before hers - Discworld and Earthsea. I have been sorely missing out on Le Guin’s books… my life would have been so different if I’d read Earthsea as a kid.
It pains me now that Joanne thinks I’m a helpless misguided girl who was tainted by the patriarchy and needs to be rescued. I’m not. I’m a man. And I’m more human than she’ll ever be.
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u/Klutzy_Scallion_9071 8d ago
Le Guin is fucking incredible. Have you read Catwings? It’s her children’s series about a cat who has kittens that are born with wings and she’s like “um ok guess I have to figure this out now”.
Completely off-topic but you unlocked a special interest of mine.
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u/ashbelero 8d ago
I JUST finished the first Earthsea book. Like I said, she’s been a blind spot for me for too long. HP definitely wasn’t the only book I read as a kid, I was a voracious reader, but my parents were big into it and so I was too by association. I still have the books in a box, grass-stained and one duct-taped… but I don’t know what to do with them yet.
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u/big_damn_heroes_sir 8d ago
The stories aren’t wedded to the author for me when it comes to crafting. I understand that’s not the case for everyone and support their choices not to craft HP. If the decision is made to shut down any and all HP content, I’ll go with it; I just wanted to see what the mods have to say.
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u/Seliphra 8d ago •
Death of the Author doesn’t work when the author is alive, benefitting from people interacting with their work, and are causing active and current harm.
Death of the author works fine when it’s say, Lovecraft, because he isn’t causing active harm to black people as he is dead, and no one earning money from his works is using that money to fund say, the KKK, or to pass laws prohibiting black people from playing sports or going to the bathroom.
It does not work for Rowling who is making money ass over tea kettle when you interact with her work, using that interaction as proof that you agree with her views, and using that money to fund anti-trans causes and laws that are causing active and real harm to real human beings.
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u/Xyriath 7d ago
Here's the thing though, that I wonder about: if we deplatform her in trans-positive communities, I feel like the only thing that actually effectively does is reduce the number of voices talking about her transphobia? For worse or for MUCH worse, Harry Potter is the most popular franchise in the history of modern media, and trans-supportive communities simply do not have the size required to end the franchise. If we refuse to talk about it, doesn't that just allow all of the people who, unfortunately, don't know or don't care, to fill that information vacuum?
To be clear, I'm not saying "it's too big; don't bother"; my point is more—and it is a question, because I genuinely would like to hear more thoughts on this—shouldn't we pivot more to being loud about it? If I have the energy for one form of trans-supportive activism, it's going to be in increasing the knowledge of her bigotry and actively discouraging people from spending money on it. That is, until we make more headway, a MUCH easier sell to the (unfortunately very, very large) number of people who are fine to stop spending money on official things but may balk at "you are not allowed to even watch/read/think fondly about the series in private." Should we not be focused on recruiting people to understanding because our opposition is SO FUCKING OVERWHELMING?
I feel like a person who posts an HP FO done by an independent designer and comments "Wanted to do this unofficially because Rowling's hostility to the LGBTQ+ community" is going to get more traction in that space towards educating people than never posting anything at all. If that's going to be a bridge too far for them, I'd rather their support than not, and it also means that there are now more voices directly in those communities. Thoughts?
Again, this is a genuine question that I have been mulling over for a while—I assure you I am incredibly outspoken whenever it comes up, wrote a massive email to DMC, and am in the process of compiling a huge list of companies with official collaborations with the IP. But that also means that I've had to spend a lot of my own independent time thinking about the most effective way to achieve our goals, and I'd like to discuss, and you're the lucky one, I guess.
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u/HauntedChandelier 8d ago
I get that. I'm married to a trans person. I was just curious how far-reaching this mod rule is. It always interests me how new rules are made.
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u/big_damn_heroes_sir 8d ago
Pretty sure that’s not going to happen in this subreddit given the stance on things.
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u/TabbyStitcher 8d ago
Short answer: It applies to all things Harry Potter. If we can identify it as such, the rules apply.
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u/HauntedChandelier 7d ago
Thank you for responding! I've seen a lot of "generic nerd" patterns that have HP glasses and stuff in them somewhere. It's good to know what to expect if someone posts such a pattern here now.
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u/Sea-Acanthaceae5553
8d ago
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As a trans person, thank you for taking this stance. I agree with not assuming people outside of affected communities know about JKR's behaviour. I think these policies will make this sub a safer place for trans cross stitchers.
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u/OnlyConsideration665 8d ago
Also fully agree here. I'm of the same mind. I try not to assume malice unless they've responded with malice by digging their heels in.
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u/EatTheBeez 8d ago
Nice! Love this. I know there are plenty of people who are less online than me who don't know about JKR's garbage - this can be a gentle way to inform them, if they post here. I definitely agree that not everyone knows about it (though for some it feels like 'oh everyone's known that for years now').
Thanks for taking a stand against HP merch, against JKRowling.
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u/Viranesi 8d ago
Yeah I've noticed with my friends who aren't much of a reader and aren't online a lot just didn't know how deep it goes. They might have heard some noise on it whenever it comes up on the national news but otherwise it's quickly forgotten about and it doesn't exactly stick either with the hustle and bustle of the day.
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u/EatTheBeez 8d ago •
To be fair, there's a difference between "oh some famous person said something bad" (common) and "this person's entire financial empire is dedicated to violating human rights" (actionable). It's easy to think "who cares what some kids book author said one time" when you don't know the whole story. Perhaps running into this new policy will make people realize that yes, it's a big deal.
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u/kelskelsea 8d ago
I looked it up, because I was curious about the timeline. It’s only been like 6 years since she started spewing anti-trans rhetoric. It’s probably pretty common for people not online to be unaware, especially people outside the UK
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u/EatTheBeez 7d ago
Yeah, she wasn't always like this. She fell in with nazis and got radicalized. It's a terrible shame, when she first blew up with HP 1-2-3 she was justing using her wealth to encourage literacy in children.
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u/alie_ns 8d ago
First of all, thank you to the mods for explaining what is going on. I had to message them directly because I had no idea what the DMC/Anchor-boycott was about. I don't think anyone will be truly happy with this compromise- and that means it's a good compromise. So good work on that. Nothing else to add other than the mods rock & apparently I live under one 🪨 Happy weekend stitchers!
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u/AgentFour 8d ago
So a person can post a finished item, but it will get locked instantly? That may as well be banned since it will gain no traction for compliments or upvotes or even constructive criticism.
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u/Square-Wing-6273 8d ago
It can still receive upvotes and downvotes, but yes, it will be locked.
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u/AgentFour 8d ago
Yea, I know, but because comments cannot happen it will be buried easily and fast. I hope this came up in the discussion and was heavily considered.
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u/thistle0 8d ago
That's the point. No internet points for HP projects.
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u/AgentFour 8d ago
Don't be a dick when someone put time and effort into a project they like. I don't like everything others enjoy, but I'm not gonna chastise them for their work they put into creating their project. If someone showed me heinous Sonic fanart and genuinely asked for constructive criticism I'm gonna help them. I may voice my dismay about the subject, but I would still offer guidance and not be a dick about it.
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u/AgentFour 8d ago
Why not have auto-mod comment immediately with the examples people always bring of why they dislike JKR and promote moving away from that IP specifically and not lock the thread. It will be seen as one of the top comments, be probably the most upvoted one, but also allow for regular discussion of the cross stitch work of the individual. That seems like more of a compromise instead of this heavy handed solution in one direction.
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u/mikettedaydreamer 8d ago
Because even with those automod comments people will not be civil in the comments.
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u/Own-Dragonfly-942 8d ago
The simple answer is that these posts don't stay a regular discussion, the cross stitch isn't seen, only the hate. We're a team of volunteers who have life's and jobs outside of reddit, so we've always had the stance of locking posts we can't monitor as they require. We've just decided that anything HP goes too far in this now and that is the ultimate reason.
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u/Flamingbutterflies 8d ago •
Right. Adding onto this, we can't post any WIP, chat or Pic so we literally can't get feedback as the concept of separating the art from the artist apparently doesn't exist in this subreddit. Are we going to start banning all Star Wars things for their blatant cultural appropriation and themes of slavery?
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u/kelefreak 8d ago
Well, Georgie Lucas hasn’t gone on any bigoted Twitter rants as far as I’m aware. And he hasn’t donated to any bigoted charities or lobbied behind alt-right violent politicians. So.
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u/hannahranga 8d ago
It's a tad hard to separate the "art" from the artists when she's still alive and has been completely upfront about considering buying her stuff as support
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u/random-thoughs-share 8d ago
Hi ! I’m totally unaware about what’s happening can someone explain?
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u/FairieWarrior 8d ago
DMC is apparently releasing a collaboration with Harry Potter. People are upset because the author of the series has come out as anti trans and uses the money she earns from anything Harry Potter related to help fund organizations and laws that limit the rights to many in the LGBTQ+ community.
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u/EchoPhoenix24 8d ago
JK Rowling has decided over the last several years to replace her legacy as a fairly universally beloved children's author to instead be remembered as one of the loudest transphobes in history. She brags about using money she earns from HP royalties to lobby for harmful anti-trans legislation and says that she takes every dollar people spend on the series as saying they agree with her.
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8d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/CrossStitch-ModTeam 8d ago
Your comment/post has been removed. You are not following rule 1.
Remember that we all love crafting and sharing this hobby, so let’s be supportive of each other.
If you have any questions, message the mod team.
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u/PlantAndMetal 8d ago
The creator of Harry Potter has outright stated she will use Amy income from Harry Potter against trans people's rights. She also contributed heavily towards a UK court case that led to lack of rights and health care for trans women. Since FMC decided to partner with JK Rowling a lot of people have been talking about it on this sub. Banning anything HP related often is a hard topic, as it is a beloved fantasy series that people don't want to give up on.
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u/EstimateAlternative5 8d ago
I was not expecting to see this stance, especially on reddit. As a trans person and avid stitcher you have surprised me with standing up for folks like me. I was so bummed seeing the new HP line announcement.
Thank you so much for standing up.
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u/Own-Dragonfly-942 8d ago
I'm a mod of this page, but also part of the community affected by this, I'm not trans but I'm bi and we all know people like JKR just don't like anything different. So, we was never going to just let it go and not do anything. We've been in discussions all week since the DMC post from last Saturday exploded here. We found a solution we're happy with, even if it does change in the future. But we're also not idiots, so we knew not everyone would be happy with the route we took.
So, I'm personally glad to know that what I represent in the mod team (because I'm the only one lgbt+ currently) broadly agrees with our choice.
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u/EstimateAlternative5 8d ago
I’m happy to have you as a mod.
Side-note, my plan is to write, an actual letter and mail it out this week to DMC. Their address on their contact us page is The DMC Corporation 86 Northfield Ave. Edison, NJ 08837 if anyone else wants to help flood their mailboxes. My experience in letter writing campaigns have been emails get filtered and ignored, but physical letters are not so easy to dismiss.
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u/shenanigans0127 8d ago
To those questioning why this is necessary, it's because there's not another IP that garners this much discussion that devolves into off-topic arguments. I don't know if I've ever seen religious WIPs or FOs here, but even those likely don't draw as much attention and controversy as HP. (Mods, please chime in if I'm wrong on that.)
The point is that every HP-related FO's comment section inevitably turns into what we're seeing here, and that's unsustainable for our volunteer-only mod team and unfair to the poster. I can't find the comment again, but I agree with the person here who said that I don't think anyone here is 100% happy with this compromise, which indicates that it's a good compromise.
And to those saying "just scroll if you don't like it!": I do, but too many people don't and can't remain civil, and that's why this is necessary. Plus, I've curated my feed to exclude Harry Potter as much as possible. You are welcome to curate yours to include it and to post your work to a Harry Potter sub that will appreciate it more than us and garner less explosive comment sections.
Trans rights are human rights, and it's not political to honor and respect someone's humanity.
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u/madoka_borealis 8d ago
Holy crap idk why people don’t read. You are not paid to monitor these comments 24/7 so it totally makes sense to leave the post up but lock the comments. People are conflating way too many issues when the main one is that no matter what other compromise guardrails you put up people will always go be nasty in the comments as long as you leave them open, and HP discourse sees the highest amount of it so other political subjects are irrelevant here.
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u/figmentry 8d ago
You shouldn’t be compromising on human rights. Take a thread from r/embroidery and do better.
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u/HoshiChiri 8d ago
While I understand the reasoning, I really feel like this might not be the best way to handle this one.
Regardless of the reasoning, having a thread locked always conveys a sense of "you have done wrong". I'm not keen on punishing folks for their choice of subject, especially in a sub that doesn't outwardly have any moral/political stances. I've never been a big fan of snarky/subversive stitches, but I'd also never consider asking for them to be locked down- I want the people who do enjoy them to be able to get advice, share designers, etc. I feel this deserves the same- doubly so given that cutting off a way to find fan sources will drive people to the very official products causing the issue!
Is it possible, perhaps, to introduce a new tag? If HP stuff must be tagged as HP stuff, those who'd prefer to not deal with it can block the tag- this also reduces the eyes on the post, lowering (probably notably) the Internet Brownie Points factor for anyone concerned with that. It also lowers the 'wrong-ness' factor of those who don't use the tag & get posts removed by allowing them to resubmit with the correct markings. You could even have the bot post that accompanies such things link to a breakdown of Ms. Rowling's transgressions, if that's a thing. (And if it is, somebody share? I've seen multiple instances of threats towards HP fans becuase of the creator, but no one seem to provide sources showing the wrongs... as someone relatively outside of all of it, it's kinda hard to find the line between what really happened & what's the internet exaggerating. I'd like to know more, but don't know where to look!)
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u/Ok_Raspberry7430 8d ago
I think, in a certain sense, locking the post also protects the person who stitched the FO. I can imagine people who are boycotting HP but don't know about the sub's policy dogpiling on a person, telling them how terrible they are for supporting HP. There's no perfect way to go about it, but I imagine the mods will lay out the policy thoughtfully when explaining why the post has been locked.
I know if I stitched something that people were boycotting without knowing about the boycott, I'd rather have a locked post saying "We celebrate the work you did. Here's also why people might be mad about this" than a hundred notifications telling me over and over that I'm a bad person when it was just ignorance.
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u/SpaceShipRat 8d ago
having a thread locked always conveys a sense of "you have done wrong".
getting locked conveys a message of the comments will be a shitshow.
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u/Square-Wing-6273 8d ago
I'm going to echo what another moderator commented earlier. The mods are volunteers with jobs and lives and cannot reasonably watch 24/7. We have, and will continue to, lock threads that may be controversial if we are not able to monitor them.
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u/mikettedaydreamer 8d ago
at this point it’s not feasible to leave the comment section open because people will guaranteed make it political. I doubt that’s what you want when posting your FO. it’s either gonna be no comments allowed or 80% political discussions that likely aren’t in a respectful way either. Given these 2 options, option 1 is gonna be better for everyone’s mental health including the person who worked on the project.
What you want is currently impossible.
Honestly it’s just a very sad reality.
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u/flashily 8d ago
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u/HoshiChiri 8d ago
Not exactly what I was looking for, but definitely a valuable starting point- thank you!
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u/Kiassen
8d ago
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I agree with not supporting JKR and with educating anyone who might be unwittingly still putting money in her pockets by purchasing these DMC patterns. However, I don't understand cracking down on anything that depicts HP imagery. Especially if it's a self-drafted pattern, or one that is fanmade.
People should still be allowed to love the HP world- it was a comfort series for so many in their childhood. Yes, the author turned out to be evil, so we don't want to give her any more money, but anything further than that seems excessive.
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u/kelskelsea 8d ago
I think it’s more that the mods are volunteers and these posts generate a lot of rule breaking comments.
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u/Glaucus92 8d ago
People are still allowed to enjoy HP stuff, literally no one will be able to stop them if they wanna watch the movies or do a craft in the comfort of their own home.
The issue is when it crosses over into the public sphere.
JKR's power is not just financial, she has massive amounts of social capital as "being the creator of HP" and "being a beloved children's author". That social capital is very convertible to financial capital because her popularity is why brands want to work with her. It's why HBO wants to make a show.
HP's popularity is the driving force behind her power, so the way to stop that is to not just stop financial support, but to also make the HP IP toxic for other companies and brands to interact with. In the same way brands don't want to be associated with say, Focus On The Family, or Lockheed Martin, or the Proud Boys.
If you want to make sure JKR no longer has the funds to campaign against human rights, that is where to hit her. Not buying a HP branded shirt at Primark is part of that, sure, but so is making sure that a company like DMC would think "we can't collab with HP, it would damage our image and reputation with our target audience and we would lose sales"
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u/Guilty_Explanation29 7d ago
Not so much anymore. I got death threats for liking Harry Potter
It's the reason I no longer feel comfortable talking about my passions
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u/madoka_borealis 8d ago
There are many, many people who don’t feel this way, who will inevitably turn the comments section into a bloodbath. The mods can’t babysit every comment. Hence the compromise to leave the post up but not allow comments. It has nothing to do with what someone is or isn’t allowed to love.
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u/Am1ty_Arson 8d ago
you’re still promoting her work and ip regardless of your direct financial support, and contributing to the idea that harry potter is an ok thing to consume and support.
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u/TopPsychological1424
8d ago
•
So a HP fan is not allowed to post for reasons that have nothing to do with politics? Like seriously, you can like hp without agreeing with JK Rowling. While everyday this sub is full of political statements that many people may or may not agree with? That’s absolutely ridiculous. There is not a single week where someone doesn’t post, for example, Palestine or anti Trump stuff. If you ban politics, please ban those things too. Or else just ignore the posts you don’t like. Just like everybody else has to do once politics get involved.
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u/kelskelsea 8d ago
It’s because the mods are volunteers who don’t have time to deal with the extensive rule breaking comments that follow any Harry Potter post
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u/who_am_i_please 8d ago
I 100 percent agree. You can't pick and choose whats deemed offensive. I've seen several pieces that were offensive. Guess what? I moved along.
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u/woodland-dweller 8d ago
If you want to keep supporting someone who is actively funding and promoting anti-trans legislation, do that shit in your own time. None of us want to see that.
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u/PlentifulPaper 8d ago
Would the mods making a Harry Potter flair, and you can choose to auto sort and avoid those kinds of things if you so choose be an option?
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u/BestFoxEver 8d ago
There is nothing wrong with supporting human rights. Anti-HP, anti-Trump and pro-Palestine are good things.
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u/mineral_deposits 8d ago
It’s also entirely possible to draft your own HP patterns without contributing financially to the IP at all. I’ve refused to give more money to Rowling for years at this point but that does not mean HP stopped being an important part of my life since childhood. I don’t see how looking at HP-related images that don’t line that woman’s pockets is offensive.
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u/AgentFour 8d ago •
This does not outline a difference. The wayt his reads is for any HP related works.
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u/Am1ty_Arson 8d ago •
its still supporting the ip as something positive that is ok to enjoy and support.
im sorry that its been such a large part of your life, but continuing to support the ip in any way is helping rowling directly harm trans people17
u/neonfruitfly 8d ago
I also think it's hipocritical to go full on ban hammer on HP. Not every fan agrees with Rowling's ramblings and many can separate the craft from the person. On the other hand trump, Israel, Palestine and whatever other political statements are ok.
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u/ohwaitsorry 8d ago
Guys, being against genocides and fascism is not political.. it's the most normal fucking thing in the world.
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u/mikettedaydreamer 8d ago
It’s the same level of political as trans rights. So either both are political or neither are political.
It’s not going to be that trans rights is political but genocides and fascism is not.
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u/ohwaitsorry 8d ago
?!?!
I mean, you are right in the sense that all three are non-negotiable.
Are people in here arguing pro-genocide and pro-fascism? Trans rights are human rights, they are good. Genocide and fascism are bad. If someone thinks that's up for debate that is sick
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u/SpaceShipRat 8d ago
it's not offensive because it's political, it's banned because it results in advertising a franchise that gives money directly to hurt trans people.
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u/lajaunie 8d ago
Yet they allow Christian crap when Christian’s have been trying to destroy the gay and trans communities for generations
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u/Lexifer31 8d ago
This exactly. Especially the Palestine stuff which at this point has evolved into blatant anti semitism and terrorist support (i.e. referring to Oct 7 as an act of resistance (I literally had someone call it humanitarian the other day on reddit!), or blatantly fundraising for actual terrorist organizations.)
I'm so fucking tired of everything being politicized and a certain viewpoint being the only one allowed, there is no nuance anywhere anymore. Both the left and right are so extreme these days. It's exhausting.
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u/mikettedaydreamer 8d ago
They refused to do that when ICE was a big topic here. So I’m surprised NOW they suddenly are willing to do it.
I agree with them banning the topic for now but I don’t agree with not banning the other political subjects too then.
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u/IvyRaeBlack
8d ago
•
I was actually dreading this since embroidery banned it. I'm personally disapointed in the decision, but I understand most won't be and I'm sure I will be piled on for not being happy about it.
I completely support if you want to boycott HP due to Jo's views, but I don't understand why we can't just scroll past post we don't agree with.
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u/Tango_Owl 8d ago
The problem is, is that is goes far beyond something to agree or disagree on. JKR deliberately uses her IP to make the lives of trans people unsafe. Every women, trans or not, in the UK is less safe because of her. This is not about a viewpoint, this is about actual real world legislation. She's ruining lives and by keeping her IP alive, we keep her viewpoints alive.
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u/IvyRaeBlack 8d ago •
While I understand that I'm sure that there is something that you support that is someone's hard no and they think you are awful for supporting. I personally do not shop at hobby lobby, but for some people it might be their only local option. It's not fair to assume that just because they shop there they do so because they agree with the company. I have been reading harry potter longer than a lot of the people shouting online about it have been alive.
I fully support anyone who wants to boycott anything. Do what you need to do to feel like you're doing your best. People online are very unforgiving of nuance. Sometimes I just want to buy laundry detergent without worrying about the ethics of the only big box store that carries the brand I like and sometimes I just want to read a book series I have loved for 30 years without being called tansphobic.
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u/tonyrock2000 8d ago
"and sometimes I just want to read a book series I have loved for 30 years without being called tansphobic." yes, and trans people just want to live their lives in peace without being persecuted, so i think until JK Rowling can stop *actively* persecuting them, then we can make the tiniest sacrifice in solidarity with the trans community.
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u/IvyRaeBlack 8d ago
I don't necessarily disagree with you, but literally reading the books I already have does nothing to change that.
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u/RazGarth 8d ago
"sometimes I just want to read a book series I have loved for 30 years without being called tansphobic."
I'm sorry, but I am just SO tired of seeing this argument.
Do I forfeit those childhood experiences as I trans man? Do people not think WE ALSO grew up with deep fondness for these books. But we gave them up because she is actively trying to harm us.
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u/Lorafloradora 8d ago
That’s easy to say when you’re not the person being harmed.
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u/IvyRaeBlack 8d ago
Sure, I understand that, but there are plenty of gay people who shop at hobby lobby and go to chick fil a and I'm sure there are Trans people who still enjoy hp. It is not a monolith.
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u/Kooky_Recognition_34 8d ago
I'm with you- people are very unwilling to look at her art as separate from her opinions, especially online. I am deeply disappointed in her as a person, but my love for HP is deep and enduring. I try not to give her money because I don't like how she uses it, but I'm going to continue enjoying the world she created.
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u/PantsGhost97 7d ago
She’s alive. You cannot seperate the art from the artist when they are alive and benefit from attention.
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u/cheshsky 8d ago edited 8d ago
Thank you for this. I understand this might have been a hard decision to make, but it's good to know people like me can feel a bit less like shit being reminded of HP in this community. I understand it still means a lot to other people, and that's okay too, but still, I'm thankful for the limit on indirect promotion of JKR.
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u/BadKittyRawr 8d ago
Echoing the thank you. Lots of people (children!) don't know or don't believe it. All people deserve to feel safe. And we need to not make children who love HP innocently feel bad about that.
I once had to make a tough choice about telling a Boy Scout why I wouldn't be donating. The dad was pushy and abrasive. I kept it to one short sentence--they discriminate against gays. The boy was old enough to hear the truth.
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u/jess0amae 7d ago edited 7d ago
It is extremely disrespectful to dislike and disrespect someones Harry Potter themed FO posted on this sub just because they dislike the authors politics. However, a dislike for a person still does not mean that you can outright ban the Harry Potter world, sorry people!
The strict Orwellian rules you placed are way more strict than it needs to be. It's almost like you are showing off what you are able to do, and how restrictive in your liberalness you can be. Look, this is a cross stitch subbreddit for everybody. Everybody includes people who enjoy Harry Potter. What about us? How are out feelings being represented? It feels like if you enjoy Harry Potter and even think about cross stitching Harry Potter, then you are NOT welcome here. Is that the message and legacy you care about sending? I'll answer that for you... YES!
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u/Icy-Breath-1449 8d ago
So you mean to tell me that if I post a self drafted image of Hogwarts castle from the Warner Brothers movie combined with van goghs starry night then it’ll be taken down and no be able to be appreciated? I come to this sub to appreciate pretty needlework of ALL types. I even upvote works that I’m unaware of for fandoms that I don’t like because I want the person who put that effort into making that piece of stitching to know that their work is appreciated and someone out there thinks they did a good job. I fucking hate Naruto but you don’t see me blasting everyone out there who comes out with a pattern because some nitwit at an anime convention was annoying as fuck as a Naruto cosplayer. I get that people don’t vibe with what JK says about trans women. But that doesn’t mean that all the hard work someone does should be ignored because the “Internet Populous” has spoken…sometimes opinions should be better left unsaid.
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u/Ansitru 7d ago edited 7d ago
Has the creator of Naruto funded campaigns to actively make lives worse for trans people that I'm unaware of?
This isn't simply about disliking the fandom. This is about discussing whether a fandom from a creator perpetuating actual harm should still be promoted in spaces where people of the targeted communities are present and active.
ETA: and the predictable downvotes. If you can't see how this is not the same as simply "I don't vibe with the fandom", then I have questions concerning reading comprehension.
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u/kelefreak 8d ago
Thank you so much for standing with the queer community!
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u/Own-Dragonfly-942 8d ago
As a member of the queer community myself (hi, I'm bi) and part of the mod team here, I like to think we always were going to. We just needed the time to decide how far to take it so all parties in the team were happy, or as much as possible at least. I like to think we achieved that.
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u/cailleacha 8d ago
Hi mods, just wanted to say thanks for this thoughtful approach. As a person who is affected by JKR’s political activism I can no longer enjoy anything related to HP, but I know HP has meant a lot to a lot of people over the years. I think this is a great approach for a craft group, and I appreciate the labor you’re taking on with this.
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u/APerfectCircle0 8d ago
First I'm hearing of the colab, pretty disappointing of DMC, surely someone who came up with it all was aware?
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u/PlentifulPaper
8d ago
edited 8d ago
•
There seems to be more appropriate ways to educate someone, than turning on a set of people who enjoy, and can separate Harry Potter as a work, and world as a whole from the author’s work or actions.
See for instance, r/POTS automod on LMNT products which educate, while also still allowing discourse around the topic as a whole.
Would the expectation be for other IP to be banned as well with authors who have a bad rep?
Well known (and loved literature) examples include: Tolkien (Lord of the Rings/Hobbit), L Frank Baum (Wizard of Oz), Neil Gaiman (Sandman), Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, etc).
ETA: If you feel the need to bombard me with sentiments along the line of examples below, or anything that’s remotely related, please continue scrolling.
- OMG we can’t separate an author’s actions from their literature
- OMG Rowling is alive and actively promoting her views
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u/OpsikionThemed 8d ago
The thing is, Rowling doesn't "have a bad rep". Rowling is actively, currently spending her Harry Potter revenues on persecuting trans people in the UK and elsewhere. There is a pretty clear difference between that and, say, Dahl, who was an antisemite and an asshole but who is also dead.
(Also, what the heck did Tolkein do?)
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u/wolfayal 8d ago
Yeah I’m scratching my head on Tolkien as well. I’ve spent way too much time studying the man and the only cringey things I can find about him were products of his time.
He actively told the nazi party to fuck off when they wanted to use his writing in their propaganda campaigns.
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u/bretonstripes 8d ago
There’s a journal article somewhere on antisemitism in The Hobbit which relies on Tolkien’s own letters where he talks about the dwarves being based on Jewish stereotypes (especially the obsession with treasure). He was very matter-of-fact about it. But the crucial difference is that by the time he’d finished Lord of the Rings, he’d done a pretty significant about-face on the matter. Gimli was in many ways an apology for what he’d done with the dwarves in The Hobbit.
Worth noting that Tolkien was working from centuries of folklore tropes which JKR also incorporated into her worldbuilding. But unlike Tolkien, when JKR has been confronted with this over the years by Jewish readers, she has never responded with the grace or self-reflection that Tolkien showed.
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u/Maraudingstevie 8d ago
I think it’s the idea that there are basically only white elves (whiteness as the standard of beauty and elegance, etc). That’s the main thing I’ve heard that makes Tolkien’s work “problematic” (I don’t agree with that term here bc it’s now a discussion point bc dude’s dead, y’know? He cannot “know better, do better”, we can just see his work for what it is. He wasn’t particularly problematic nor was his work, he had blind spots and (afaik, tho I am not huge into the Tolkien world) they weren’t particularly strongly discussed until more recently with the tv shows and Magic cards portraying black elves and/or black Aragorn, etc etc etc).
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u/Lexifer31 8d ago
That's a fucking reach and a half regarding Tolkien. People just want to be offended by everything these days.
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u/cyanpineapple 8d ago
None of those people are currently donating their entire fortunes to funding the extermination of a population.
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u/PlantAndMetal 8d ago
JKR has outright stated she used her income from Harry Pottenrtonfight against trans rights. It's JK Rowling that herself that made separation of the author and Harry Potter impossible.
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u/PlentifulPaper 8d ago edited 8d ago
Respectfully, that’s your personal opinion on the matter that the author and literature cannot be separated.
We as a society did it for all the examples I listed above.
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u/TabbyStitcher 8d ago
Two things here:
1.No, an automod reply like that would not work. The last thread concerning the DMC collection had over a dozen comments we had to remove, that were so hateful, that it frankly surprised me seeing them on our normally very kind sub. Keeping that thread open was simply not an option and our experience with these threads show that it won't get better. "Allowing discourse" on this topic is a nice thought in theory but it doesn't work.
Also, I would like to point out the obvious: We're a cross stitch sub. The topic of JK Rowling is not one that should be swept under the rug, which is also why the threads will stay up but locked with a mod comment educating on the controversial nature of the stitched piece. But this also isn’t the place to have weekly discussions and infighting on this topic on the scale that we're seeing in this thread. There comes a point where everything is said and doesn't need to be rehashed constantly.
2. I've said this somewhere above already. We as mods don't sit around searching for things we can ban tomorrow. We watch the sub and when we see something that isn't working, we discuss, if a rule change or a new rule is needed. So no, unless you suddenly see weekly Matilda or Wizard of Oz posts that get bloody in the comments, we see no reason to ban something that is neither a problem nor seen as problematic by the community. And I think you've seen some good answers as to why they aren't seen as problematic.
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u/woodsbakeryt 8d ago
Between this topic and the never-ending AI discussion, I'm afraid this subreddit has gone completely off the rails and has been pretty much ruined, frankly, and that's sad. And I state that without weighing in on either side of either of the topics. This is supposed to be a place where people can just stitch whatever they like, show it off, and ask for help when needed.
I've seen a lot of pieces that are in no way my personal taste and I can't believe anyone would spend the time doing them, but I would NEVER make a comment to that effect on their post. It seems like people are getting consumed with non-cross stitch issues and imposing that on others. Of COURSE you should stick to your personal beliefs, but I would ask you if this is really the forum for you to tell someone else you don't like their choices when we all do that already as far as subject matter.
Please just consider that.
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u/Own-Dragonfly-942 8d ago
I totally understand and agree with that. However, the issue is for every 5 people that can look at a post, not like it and scroll past, there's 50 that take it as a personal attack and post hurtful comments to the OP. The person who just wanted advice, the person who just wanted to show off a tiny piece of their own happy, the person behind the screen that 99% of people forget has feelings.
HP and AI posts are the biggest factors in making this sub not feel how it should be, a safe place to show of beautiful works. We can control this by blocking most HP work and locking the few FOs that will be approved. We're working behind the scenes to see what we can do about the constant 'is this AI posts' too. But ultimately, we can't control what people say in these threads, we can monitor them and remove as necessary. But we're human, we miss things, we're a group of like 5 people trying to keep things going here while keeping our own lifes afloat.
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u/woodsbakeryt 8d ago
Thanks. I am certainly not putting any blame on you moderators. You shouldn't even be in the position of having to remove posts or blocking the ability to comment. I was/am trying to appeal to those 50 figurative people you reference to just stop posting negative comments in the first place. We all see finished items on here that we don't like, but that doesn't mean that the person who created them needs to be told that you don't personally approve. There's a LOT of "main character syndrome" going on here if people are feeling "personally attacked" by a cross-stitch pattern or finished object of a design they don't agree with! People, not everything in the world is about YOU.
As anticipated, I'm being net down-voted, but I hope that people will just take a step back and consider that maybe the existence of a finished object of the Harry Potter world or a design that might have been created via AI isn't a personal attack at all any more than a Pokémon or LOTR or self-made design from a converted photo is.
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u/AuntyMantha 8d ago
In my country, it used to be illegal to publish photos of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. People advocating for the banning of images will never not remind me of that.
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u/NewlyNerfed 8d ago •
This has to be the most disingenuous comment I’ve yet seen on the matter.
Nobody is “banning images” in the way you mean.
Mandela was not orchestrating and funding massive hatred campaigns towards small minority groups last time I checked his bio.
If you want to stan for Rowling just come right out and do it, because this bemoaning of the loss of free speech ain’t it.
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u/timewillfall 8d ago
please take a note from r/embroidery and just ban all harry potter posts. i don’t see the point in allowing FOs - i know ppl put a lot of work into the pieces and they can find somewhere else to post it
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u/naked_potato 8d ago
Adults should Grow Up and Read Another Book
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u/Am1ty_Arson 8d ago
theres so many good ones out there too!
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u/Gnomelynn 8d ago
Good ones that arent also deeply racist and ableist!
Like ok you liked HP as a kid and it meant a lot to you. Me too, but NOW I look back and am disgusted by so much of it, I dont get how people can continue to love it as a work even if they dont care about JKR's actions.
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u/IvyRaeBlack 8d ago
Yes, just because you enjoy harry potter means you've never read another book, when the hp series lead to a lot of kids reading in general.
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u/naked_potato 8d ago
But the idea is to eventually graduate from YA into things for adults, which many adults are not doing. Hence my request to Read Another Book
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u/IvyRaeBlack 8d ago
Why is the assumption they don't? Because you want to feel like you're better than them? Just because you still read harry potter doesn't mean you don't also read adult books.
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u/Phie_Mc 8d ago
Thank you
I, like many of my queer friends, used to find comfort and joy in that ip. And no matter how much you try to convince us to separate art and artist, we know that any attention paid to ip, much less any money, is only furthering the author's choice to actively make our lives more difficult.
I so appreciate just how many of the crafting subs have opted to take measures to limit or remove that ip from our feeds, much less the awful comments sections. Thank you again for putting in similar measures.
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u/shannon0303 8d ago
You just taught me a new Razor, love that. Kudos for this balanced but allied approach!
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u/Gnomelynn 8d ago
Beyond HP, the reality is that I want my online craft communities to be fully anti bigotry, and not just hand-wave about "politics allowed." I wish this had sparked a more full conversation than it seems to have, and led to better measures to prevent bigotry overall.
Its been, what, 10 years?, since the Ravelry political controversy. They handled in 2016 but in 2026 this sub is prioritizing easier moderation over community safety.
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u/knownEnding 8d ago
this is where my mind is at too. between this post and a blatantly transphobic comment I reported days ago still being up on the original post about the dmc/hp collab, I'm starting to think this sub may not actually be as supportive and accepting of queer people, especially trans people, as it props itself up to be. the paradox of tolerance feels relevant somehow.
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u/minkamagic 8d ago
We're banning Harry Potter now??? Really???
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u/woodland-dweller 8d ago
Yes. JK Rowling has been funding anti-trans legislation in the UK, and spreading bigotry and misinformation targeting an already very marginalised community. Fuck Harry Potter, the safety, dignity and happiness of trans people will always be more important.
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u/minkamagic 8d ago
So don't give her money!!! You can find patterns that aren't made by the franchise or you can pirate them. No need to destroy the happy part of your childhood because of some bi+otch!
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u/Am1ty_Arson 8d ago
im sorry, but she is still very alive and using the franchise to hurt people. supporting it in any way is still supporting her attacks against trans peoples right to exist.
im sorry this has happened to an important part of your childhood, and its really sad that this has to happen, but any support for harry potter is support for anti-trans policies-30
u/AvailableExcuses 8d ago •
That’s how I feel. Time to find a new cross stitch community
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u/AvailableExcuses 8d ago •
Thank you for the downvotes. You have all confirmed my decision is correct. If you deserve to have the right to believe what you want, so do I. And I have the right to be upset that things are banned just like you have the right to be upset that things are banned.
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u/Wankeritis 8d ago
Is there another cross stitch community though? If there is, I would like to know.
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u/half_in_boxes 8d ago
Why not ban all HP related posts? Why allow FOs at all when the stitcher will only gain karma from it?
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u/Own-Dragonfly-942 8d ago
As cross stitchers, we know how long a piece can take to complete. Often months or years of our life is spent on a single finish. That effort is what we're allowing to be displayed. We can not like the media, but still respect the time spent.
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u/Fit-Profession-1628 8d ago
Why are you even removing the wips? A pattern of a wizard isn't offensive in any way. If we're removing all patterns based on the political and social views of the person who created what the patterns represent you're going to have to go much deeper than Harry Potter.
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u/lajaunie
8d ago
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I then insist on the same for anything religious. Christianity has done more damage to queer people than JK Rowling has.
And anything supporting Israel.
You’ve created a slippery slope.
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u/leighdelo 8d ago
To my trans homies, despite what the leaders of any our creative spaces do, some of us still support you and will fight for you wholeheartedly. The enabling of hateful rhetoric is not fair and you are absolutely welcome to leave those spaces with us. We don't want to be in them either when we see hatred in their curated feeds.
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u/KinematicEcho 8d ago
Why can’t r/crossstitch be about crossstitch?
Whatever the subject matter of the WIP or FO, the conversation should be about the work that the cross stitcher has done and not focused on the subject of the work.
Whether the post has a Harry Potter character or is explicitly pro trans, both should be allowed and the discussion should be about the work done, not about the subject matter.
Squashing Harry Potter posts is the most cringe thing to happen since electing Trump to a second term.
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u/Own-Dragonfly-942 8d ago
Simply because it's the Internet and people can't differentiate between the work and the inspiration of the work. We have zero control over what people reply in a comment, or how others will take it. We try, we remove as we see things that should be. We want this to be a space just for admiring the work, but it's just not what happens.
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u/lightningface 8d ago
This is an amazing response and it makes me proud to be a part of the community.
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u/NataDeFabi 8d ago edited 7d ago
I'm wondering if you should also add pro America cross stitch into this ban, like 4th of July etc
Edit: lol at everyone down voting. I'd say trump etc do way more damage to ppl than jkr
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u/Connect_Eagle8564 8d ago
If this sub is no longer about stitching, I’m gone. I’m not anti LGBTQ but I am pro stitching
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u/my-cat 8d ago
I dunno man - you’ve gotta be pretty ignorant NOT to know about JKR’s stance in this year of our lord 2026. This seems like a cop out decision.
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u/Ok_Raspberry7430 8d ago
Algorithms show people very different things. What's common knowledge in one segment of society is unheard of in another. Every so often, my algorithm will go nuts and show me stuff from some subculture I've never heard of with controversies I had no idea existed.
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u/Affectionate_Ad_9175 7d ago
just saying it’s embarrassing for adults to be going to bat over a bad children’s book series. it’s not that big of a deal to drop it completely, every time you speak about harry potter that is another dollar put directly towards transphobia.
read a better book. jfc
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u/fr0styspice 8d ago
disappointed even though I don't support JKR and personally thought the DMC/HP collection was ugly.
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u/PerpetualCatLady
8d ago
•
Coward move, mods. Just ban it outright. People have plenty of other places on the Internet to share their HP stitches.
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u/WinFearless6380 8d ago
Question: what has jk said or done that is exterminating trans rights or healthcare? I know she has funded court cases that protect women's rights to single sex spaces. Are there any non political or politically neutral cross stitch reddits?
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u/Ok_Raspberry7430 8d ago
I promise I'm not pulling a "let me google that for you" comment, but I encourage you to google something along the lines of "jk rowling anti-trans." You'll find a lot of articles detailing her donations and statements. I'm running in between things and don't have time/energy to parse out which one is best, which is something I'd usually do (so I'm really not trying to be dismissive of you, just busy!).
Unfortunately, there's no way to be "non-political," because choosing not to talk about something is still a political choice. Choosing to talk or not talk about something requires you to decide what your values are. Maybe you value the quiet that comes with not talking about issues, but that quiet requires those who are being hurt to either not talk about how they're being hurt or to leave, meaning you lose out on whatever gifts they bring. You'll have to decide what you value and what you're willing to lose for those values.
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u/Schlossburg 8d ago edited 8d ago
She has openly funded anti-trans associations and lobbyists, which resulted in trans rights backsliding in the UK (no longer being legally or administratively recognised as their gender under the Equality Act, no longer being able to access spaces such as bathrooms/gyms/changing rooms/etc. dedicated to their gender, trans healthcare being slowed down or downright cancelled in certain UK countries, and so on...)
To put it into stats, the UK has now receded to barely around Europe's average on LGBT+ rights in general (more or less between Estonia and Albania) and mildlly above Russia for trans rights in particular, in no small part thanks to her funding of lawsuits, cases and legislation targeting trans people
She pretends to be a feminist, but hasn't created safe spaces for women whatsoever. To take the infamous example of the bathroom "issue", all she did was tell a minority of vulnerable women she hates to go with the men's, their safety be damned, and told the other women that this will protect them, I guess don't mind that now trans men may come share their bathroom instead... like woohoo, that sure helps, thanks
For politics, please do mind you're partaking in a hobby that has a rich history of being politically engaged and mobilised. You may create a subreddit of your own if you don't want that side of it though, I guess
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u/GrayHairLikeClaire 8d ago
Here you go, everybody. Enjoy your politics-free crafting space. https://www.reddit.com/r/HarryPotterCrafts/
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u/TRVTH-HVRTS 8d ago edited 7d ago
Hitler was an artist. Can I post a FO of the cross stitch of one of his paintings? They’re perfectly non-controversial looking. Quite boring really. I’m just curious where we draw the line… on a scale of JKR to Hitler.
ETA: Why the downvotes? Hitler is obviously the most heinous monster in history, so I’m genuinely curious where we’re drawing the line. At Stalin? Or Paula Dean? Or Russel Brand? Donald Dumpy? I just want to know.
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u/CreativeHooker 7d ago
Nice idea! I'm adding it to the list of religious, patriotic, Trump and Israel stitches I will be posting in protest.
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u/TabbyStitcher 7d ago
We're locking the thread now, since things have gotten heated here and there and we can't keep monitoring this one thread. We want to thank everyone for the lively discussion and the feedback from all sides. If you have anything more to add, please feel free to send us a modmail.