Remember when Ursula K. Le Guin called JK Rowling a nasty basic bitch back in like, 2004? We should have listened
“This last is the situation, as I see it, between my A Wizard of Earthsea and J.K.Rowling’s Harry Potter. I didn’t originate the idea of a school for wizards — if anybody did it was T.H.White, though he did it in single throwaway line and didn’t develop it. I was the first to do that. Years later, Rowling took the idea and developed it along other lines. She didn’t plagiarize. She didn’t copy anything. Her book, in fact, could hardly be more different from mine, in style, spirit, everything. The only thing that rankles me is her apparent reluctance to admit that she ever learned anything from other writers. When ignorant critics praised her wonderful originality in inventing the idea of a wizards’ school, and some of them even seemed to believe that she had invented fantasy, she let them do so. This, I think, was ungenerous, and in the long run unwise.“
i found the specific quote i was thinking of x
Q: Nicholas Lezard has written ‘Rowling can type, but Le Guin can write.’ What do you make of this comment in the light of the phenomenal success of the Potter books? I’d like to hear your opinion of JK Rowling’s writing style
UKL: I have no great opinion of it. When so many adult critics were carrying on about the “incredible originality” of the first Harry Potter book, I read it to find out what the fuss was about, and remained somewhat puzzled; it seemed a lively kid’s fantasy crossed with a “school novel”, good fare for its age group, but stylistically ordinary, imaginatively derivative, and ethically rather mean-spirited.
damn gurl :’]
There was a character in a book I read once who was described as "handsomely fat" and that phrase is stuck in my brain forever. The author really was like "no shut up, they're charismatic, they're good-looking, they're handsomely fat. not just handsome AND fat; them being fat is directly contributing to their good looks. you agree." and they were RIGHT
seeing someone comment landfillcore under a holiday decor haul a few years back permanently changed my consumption habits. what an evocative word. I think about her all the time
it's okay if you as a lesbian want to fuck the straight blonde popstar but you can't be pretending she's a lesbian too girl at least make it a lesbian corruption kink or some shit
"taylor swift is a lesbian" check your house for mold
"I can fuck the heterosexuality out of sabrina carpenter" questionable taste, but much more respectable
"Why is ContraPoints saying [advocating for Palestine] is totally futile? Because ContraPoints doesn't want to do anything about it... She feels that the only reasonable way to live is to accept that things are bad and not going to change. Even though that is actually unreasonable. Even though it is actually also morally quite bankrupt.
You are the one who is experiencing doom. That is the thing that you feel. That does not mean other people are supporting a doomed cause. It means that you feel doom about their cause. Examine why you might feel that way. They thought Vietnam was a doomed cause, too. Cuban revolution was a doomed cause. Chinese revolution was a doomed cause...
"Zero Palestinian lives were saved"... I don't think this is true. For instance, think about the vast amount of fundraising campaigns that have tangibly helped, even as aid is blockaded in Israel, that has tangibly helped Palestinians. They have gained support as a result of this activism. So saying "zero Palestinian lives were saved" again, this is not true. This is not true.
But second of all, even if it was true, you're going to blame people for speaking out against things that are actually wrong because it wasn't effective enough instead of just like offering better ways to do it? Does something have to be done or not? Does something have to be done or not?"
I wanted to share these quotes from Sang's video because I think he is really getting at something central I notice all the time on tumblr.
So many people from the global north on this website (including the ones who quickly distanced themselves from liberals like ContraPoints), still cling to this unfounded belief in their own supposed powerlessness.
You are not powerless. Your decisions matter and have tangible impact on other people. You are in this world with the rest of us. Whether you want to accept responsibility for your behavior or not, it still meaningfully influences other people's lives.
Take stock of your actual, current impact. What are you already spending your days doing? How can you use your daily life to oppose genocide in Palestine?
If you're reading this you probably spend some of your time on tumblr. So use that to help people in Gaza to get food and medicine.
Last week after writing a post encouraging others to donate to my friend @fadel-dani's campaign (vetted by @gazavetters (#197) and 90-ghost) a lot of you actually did send funds.
Do you realize how much that tangibly improved his life last week?
He told me that he was able to buy flour and eat bread after previously having none for over a week. He was able to get painkillers and experience some small relief from his constant pain.
Your decision whether or not to donate (or whether or not to encourage other people to donate) is power. You are actually very powerful, and your decisions have a big influence on his family's life. You are deciding how to use that power right now.
It is a blessing that we have the ability to relieve others' pain.
Send some money to Fadel and know you are using what power you have to help someone. You are a lifeline.
You are inextricably connected to other people. Your presence can be felt as a comfort by other people. Please embrace this.
- “protect children” <- reactionary drivel basically every time
- “be kind to children” <-radical thinking that causes way more arguments than you would ever imagine
- "empower children" <- even more radical thinking that will get the "protect children" crowd claiming you're the one they need to be protected from












