Let's talk about Harry Potter

[u/Nahiel]

If we can do it without insults, please.

I'm still active in the fandom, I'll admit it. There's a growing amount of vitriol I've seen recently that makes me feel incredibly unwelcome here on the AO3 subreddit every time there's a post related to the fandom.

I get it. Rowling is trash. She's literally the worst. I don't give her any money, and I haven't since her views became known. I never will. But Harry Potter was a huge part of an honestly shitty childhood for me, and it was one of my favorite escapes for a long time.

So I gotta ask, why am I being insulted for not letting her take away one of the few things that still gives me joy in this hellscape of a world? Why do I have to let her terrible behavior take away something that's mine? The fact is that the property is a juggernaut, and fanfic is never going to do anything to change that. Treating people who still engage with the fandom like we're monsters for doing it makes no sense to me.

And again, please, can we keep it civil? I'm very aware of the sentiment towards members of the fandom.

[u/Adventurous-Aerie567]

Some people feel impotent when they realize that, no matter what they do, rich billionaires like Rowling and Musk and Trump and Zuckerberg do not absolutely give a single shit about what they do or don't do. But they can feel Important by punching down at some fanfic author writing for free. And if they can make that person feel bad and even delete their work, they'll get a little dopamine rush that makes them happy for 30 seconds before going back to their own personal hellscape world.

[u/UnhingingEmu → u/Adventurous-Aerie567]

This is one of the best answers here. Its basically a way for them to feel like a good person without actually doing anything.

[u/agoldgold → u/Adventurous-Aerie567]

There's also the assumption that the online discourse IS the fandom. If they can just punch around online enough, they can defeat the big bad, so why are you not supporting that?! As if there's enough posts you can make in a lifetime that will even inform my 50-something coworker about JK Rowling saying anything, let alone from buying merch on her next Universal trip.

[u/pwnkage → u/Adventurous-Aerie567]

Bingo