Am I A Failing Ally For Liking Harry Potter?

My heart and my brain are fighting.

A couple of years ago, we entered the Cancellation Era and changed culture forever. The world became simultaneously better and harder. People were finally called out on their mistakes, or crimes, but entire fandoms were brought down with them.

Every time someone beloved is accused of something, there are always die-hard fans who refuse to believe it. To a certain extent, if there is no proof and the person who goes to trial is not convicted, I can understand — even though we should all know by now that justice is not as fair or impartial as it should be.

Some icons are at the origin of heated debates between fans and casual enjoyers. I’m thinking about Michael Jackson and Johny Depp, for example. Both are beloved by some, hated by others, and no amount of accusations or testimony will change that.

It’s not the case with J.K Rowling. To this day, I have yet to hear someone take her side and support her beliefs. I know there are many people that have similar beliefs, but they tend not to spend time on Twitter with Potterheads.

Now, I want to say that I support Trans people, and the entire LGBTQA+ movement and community. I believe that love is love and that everyone should be able to express themselves and be themselves, whatever their own definition might be.

I also believe that everyone is entitled to their opinion. We can disagree without having to fight or hate each other. You don’t believe in what I believe? That’s okay, as long as you don’t spread hate.

Before in my life, I have been prone to judge and boycott people that had been accused of sexual harassment, rape, and other crimes. I would put the artist and the art in the same bag, condemning both to my life sentence. I wouldn’t spread hate, but I would refuse to consume anything they were a part of.

It’s an easy thing to do when it’s not someone, or something, that you love. It is much harder to have to reexamine something close to your heart and accept the flaws in it.

So, when it comes to Rowling, it’s complicated. Not because of her, but because of her work. As much as we agree with her detractor, I can’t cancel Harry Potter.

I love the Harry Potter universe. It started early. My mom used to read the first two books as bedtime stories to my sister and me. The third book is the first book I read on my own. I have fond memories of laying on my parents’ bed with my sister as my mom was reading the story, trying to find the right pronunciation for made-up words.

To me, Harry Potter will always be home. Every couple of years, I reread the books. Every time, I fall in love again, rediscovering the many small details that help bring the universe to life. It is truly magical.

Yet, more and more, this work of fiction is being attacked. For fair reasons. It’s been deemed racist and in general lacking diversity. Yes, Cho Chang as a name is not really okay, when we take time to think about it. We see that now, but the first book was published in 1997. As sad as it is to say, at that time no one had anything to say about these kinds of things.

It’s a product of its time. Examining it with today’s lenses is good — maybe even essential — but it won’t break the emotional link many of us have with it.

I feel bad, almost ashamed, every time someone says that Harry Potter is problematic. They come up with good arguments. I’m being told that liking it, and spending money on goodies is being part of the problem. I’m an accomplice.

Yet, I can’t help but believe that the story and the universe are bigger than this and much bigger than its writer. She gave life to it, like a mother to a child. It will always be true. Now the child is an adult, with a life of its own. A mother doesn’t define a child, an author shouldn’t define a book. We don’t love the story for its flaws, we love it beyond them.

Every week, I stumble upon new theories about Harry Potter. The latest I read was about Ginny and Harry. It said that at their wedding, George danced with Ginny twice. Once for him, once for Fred.

How do people come up with things like that? I don’t know, but I love it. I love that it’s still alive and going. I love that we made it our own, and have continued the story way beyond the last book.

Harry Potter is a fandom too big to be reduced to a person, or to a flawed story. The intention doesn’t matter anymore. It has become something else, thanks to the fans. It lives in too many of us but be canceled.

Even after all this time, we will always love it.

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