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Jack-Campin t1_j7kqvkj wrote

It would have helped if that article had not bought in to the "antisemitic" bollocks. That's entirely made up out of nothing.

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chang-e_bunny t1_j7kz38u wrote

Hooked nosed grubby little bankers who have a Star of David on the floor of their bank comes across a little too strong. /u/REXwarrior

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Trashcoelector t1_j7l5r3e wrote

That's literally only in the movie, which she did not direct.

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Jack-Campin t1_j7kzd5w wrote

Where did you get the Star of David from?

The rest of that description fits the way goblins are pictured in dozens of other childrens books.

Rowling is not exactly reticent about her opinions. If she hated Jews she'd have said so straight out.

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roscid t1_j7mqi78 wrote

> Rowling is not exactly reticent about her opinions. If she hated Jews she'd have said so straight out.

Probably not, though. Most people, even bigots, understand that expressing outright antisemitism is socially unacceptable. Clearly we aren't there with transphobia yet, because she can say what she says and still have people defend her "right to her opinion."

Many people don't understand trans issues, and therefore see them as up for debate rather than being a human rights issue. I don't necessarily blame them for being ignorant considering the vast amount misinformation out there, but it does give JKR a lot more leeway to be openly transphobic compared to being openly antisemitic, racist, sexist, etc.

(Please note that I'm not debating whether or not she is antisemitic, I haven't examined the claims or the evidence either way. I am simply offering a counterpoint to the specific part of your comment that I quoted.)

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froggythefish t1_j7mku3b wrote

Hmm I wonder if there’s a reason goblins are depicted that way in childrens books

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Jack-Campin t1_j7mpet0 wrote

As far as I can tell, no. Macdonald got them out of old German folklore. There are similar grotesque beings in traditions from all round the world and he would have known of others.

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froggythefish t1_j7mpwem wrote

Just because something bad already existed doesn’t mean it isn’t bad to perpetuate it. Instead of letting Jewish stereotypes die out, the game devs are including them and thus sustaining them. The fact the stereotypes already existed isn’t an excuse. Gamers need to start playing good video games anyway, like the hidden indie gem “Otoko Cross: Pretty Boys Mahjong Solitaire”

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Jack-Campin t1_j7mqoig wrote

It isn't a Jewish stereotype. Goblins are folklore bugbears that turn up in places where Jews have never been. Look at the cast of a Balinese shadow puppet show.

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froggythefish t1_j7mr0ci wrote

Dudes just denying the existence of stereotypes now, gamers have truly ran out of options

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Jack-Campin t1_j7mrtsy wrote

I haven't played a video game in 30 years, so you aren't talking about me. Or are you saying Daleks were Jewish?

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froggythefish t1_j7mrytp wrote

What video game did you play 30 years ago?

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Jack-Campin t1_j7mvcpe wrote

Daleks on a Mac Plus. There was a thing called Doom around the same time, I couldn't be bothered.

First ones I played were in 1974. I knew people who were developing the first text-based MRPGs on university weekend computer time and they had things like Asteroids consoles in their houses. I looked at that stuff, thought "I can see where this is going", and decided reading books, playing Go and playing the flute were more my thing.

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froggythefish t1_j7mvuqw wrote

And you haven’t played a video game since then? Impressive! I know it seems grim, that Hogwarts legacy is what gaming has become, but there are still decent games out there. An example is the hidden indie gem “Otoko Cross: Pretty Boys Mahjong Solitaire”

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dwhee t1_j7ry54v wrote

Your insinuation is that anything hooked-nose and money-grubbing is automatically targeted at Jews. That is Anti-Semitic as fuck. One second you’re complaining that people won’t “let stereotypes die” and in the next you’re complaining about people “denying the existence of stereotypes.” If anything, you are perpetuating them.

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froggythefish t1_j7rygtt wrote

“By pointing out blatant racism, you are being racist!” Top tier gamer take

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dwhee t1_j7ryr5d wrote

Goblins are obviously anti-semitic, in all instances. See, you said this, and you seem to think it's not funny.

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maybe_Lena t1_j7kr8f1 wrote

It’s not baseless, have you read the books? Because she makes the bankers Jewish stereotypes…

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Jack-Campin t1_j7kw7vg wrote

The objection is to her featuring goblins, which were commonly used in children's books in the period when she was writing (ultimately inspired by George Macdonald in the 19th century; he was rediscovered in the 1980s). Just google "goblin children's book" and see how many hits you get.

I think I know exactly which book was her main influence, as it was popular around Edinburgh a bit before she started writing the HP books - my wife got it for her kids. Nobody's ever accused that book of being antisemitic.

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Trashcoelector t1_j7l5cqj wrote

Have you seen Warhammer goblins and gnoblars? Their noses are like 2 feet long. Even if goblins did emerge from antisemitic stereotypes, assuming that fantasy writers have to be aware of this and that they are antisemites is ridiculous.

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