Dear Ms. Blume,
A friend and I were talking about you this evening and he suggested I write you a letter. I chastised him for teasing me and then quickly retreated when I realized he was quite serious. This suggestion came on the heels of a discussion about the recent hubbub surrounding you. I don’t think we need to recap, as you have been swept up in the storm that is the cesspool of our media platforms today, and thus, everything is quite, well, public.
We were discussing the various perspectives and points of view being shared online and I instantly came to your defense. Which, you don’t need. Not really. You don’t need me to sort things out for you. You issued your own statement and shared your own sentiments and so, mine are moot.
I shared with a friend that when I was a younger person, my family was vacationing in Martha’s Vineyard. You were signing books at a local bookstore and I was lucky enough to meet you and receive your autograph. I was starstruck. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret was my first foray into proper young adult literature. It was a book that inspired me to question everything. To explore. To be brave. To wonder, endlessly.
I was never particularly religious as a child and I’m certainly not at this point in my life (though I am Jewish and proudly so), but there was something incredibly moving about the notion of feeling God in our most solitary moments. I didn’t equate that sentiment from your beautiful novel with a religious, capital g God. Rather, it occurred to me that there was something deeply beautiful about finding the deep and endless magic of the universe when we are alone, with our thoughts, and our faith in something bigger.
After reading your book, I remember processing that there is something truly mind-blowing about the notion that we can’t force these moments of keen awareness. We can’t really force ourselves to blindly accept that there is something so much more monumental than us; than singular humans, wandering around, seeking forgiveness, and direction, and hope, and resolution.
Your book gave me courage and comfort, as a young woman, at an age when it’s desperately hard to find or connect to either.
Anyway, one day, I was rereading your book for the thousandth time, and showing off my autographed copy to my family, and a family member threw my beautiful autographed book into the pool. I was gutted. My parents, my mother in particular, encouraged me to write to you to request a new autographed book. It seemed absurd to me at the time. I couldn’t imagine contacting such a prolific author and making such a random request and having that request granted.
And still, that’s what happened. Now, maybe it was “your people” who were kind enough to read my juvenile letter and fulfill my wish. Either way, I attributed the act of kindness and generosity and still do, really.
I am a strong and unwavering supporter of the LGBTQIA+ community. I abhor and rail against any kind of discrimination, particularly that of the homophobic and transphobic variety. I think the statements that JK Rowling has made and continues to stand behind, are repulsive and disappointing. I respect different points of view and various perspectives, but I find her position as I would a poisonous apple, dripping with the venom of ignorance and religious bred conservatism, and perhaps, a healthy dose of self-loathing.
That said, I’m not sure what’s served by torturing a human like JK Rowling. I’m not sure how despicable and terrifying behavior will somehow organically grow compassion and kindness and love. Rather, I’m certain that stooping to the kind of bullying that has been lobbed at her, only supports her already narrow and horrifying views. Fuel on the hatemonger fire.
What we don’t want to admit as a society is that our media platforms, socials in particular, are completely out of control. Things are taken out of context regularly. Sound bites are sensationalized. Human beings are hunted and all-around victimized. No one is permitted to exist in the middle or in the gray. Any step away from a seat entirely to the left or the right will result in total annihilation. Every word must be measured. Not the normal consideration one might normally apply. Oh no, a thorough analysis to determine areas of vulnerability. All the places in which a purported friend or decided enemy can enter and wreak havoc.
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, which I read several times over the years, always led me to similar messages, no matter my age or existing situation. Expect the unexpected. Always ask questions. Never allow your cup to get so filled that there is not room for new information. Keep an open mind and an equally open heart. Watch people. Really watch them.
Maybe you really are terrible. Maybe you are hateful and there is a part of you that is outraged that so many have turned against JK Rowling. Maybe. I don’t think so. This isn’t because I’ve put you on a pedestal or because I’ve convinced myself that there is one face for oppressive and evil characters. Nope.
This is because as you taught me, I want to hold close to me a little bit of magic. I want to believe that there are really good humans everywhere who don’t always see things as black and white. Or who think of people as good or evil, only.
I want to believe that the benefit of the doubt is hard to earn but still has a place in our society. I want to believe that we can think a person revolting and still not wish them grievous harm. I think we can be mad at a situation, regardless of who is involved in that situation.
I don’t want JK Rowling to be a spokesperson for anything at all, unless it’s Harry Potter, but I’m also not mad about the idea that we could maybe take a closer look at how we condemn people and what that loathing looks like in the context of teaching and changing.
And so, I understand what you are trying to say. And I hear you. And I still think you are awesome.
And I still think we can leave a space for people who don’t deserve our gentleness, but shouldn’t elicit our wrath. Not because they don’t deserve it, but more so, because it’s not worth it. Ever.
Anyway, people shouldn’t support JK Rowling, but they need not threaten her online. And, I believe you. And, thank you.
A big fan,
L.
thepathtoworthy.com 