I know a lot of us, myself included, like to believe that piracy allows us to consume problematic media without supporting artists we do not like. But piracy demand also indicates to companies an untapped market that they could tap if they create the right product. HBO is absolutely keeping tabs on piracy of their show now and seeing our traffic the same way Crunchyroll used to keep tabs on pirated fan-translated anime back when they cared.
Also, there is a similar ethical zero-sum game with all other Harry Potter media and products. Normally we can buy on the secondary market if we need a hard copy to scan and rip but don't want to support the creators. But almost every Harry Potter book in circulation is purchased by someone with intention to sell for a profit, and HBO is also likely keeping tabs on sales and resales of DVDs of the old movies. Every time money leaves your bank account for Harry Potter media, you are directly feeding the ecosystem which sustains the Queen of the TERFs.
It's honestly pretty incredible how morally radioactive this one human is. Orson Scott Card is equally repugnant, but the Ender's Game series doesn't even have a small fraction of the market share of Harry Potter (IMHO this is the fault of that movie being just okayish, not good or bad, but that's another topic.) Trump's MAGA movement is comparable in badness, but there really isn't much most of us can do other than voting and never shutting up about how unconstitutional the things he is doing is. Rowling really is comparable to Disney or Nestlé, and she's just one person, not a whole company.
Right now, the only ethical way to consume Harry Potter is watching or reading movies and books on your copies that either:
- you obtained before 2020
- were given to you for free in some non-trackable way, e.g. offline or sneakernet.
There is no ethical Harry Potter consumption within capitalism. We will have to see if this changes once she is dead.
"I'm going to be a transphobe out of spite" is a really weird hill to die on
I know right?
To me, it's pretty clear cut. Supporting a transphobe makes you a transphobe. I obviously can't control your actions, but it is interesting that you feel the need to defend a position that allows you to support a transphobe.
I'm glad you said this because I tried to word my post in a way that did not include or suggest this phrase, and I see now that trying to be diplomatic to transphobes may have been a mistake. But I still hope I changed some minds.
How am I defending someone when I’m pirating it? Money does not flow to the person.
I’m not defending my position, I’m just surprised on how authoritively the left sudden get while blaming the right for being authoritarian. Especially in a Piracy community, where people pirate and download whatever they want without caring about.. authority or opinions most of the time.
Then people get all squishy, emotionally and insult. Yeah, that will help the statement someone is trying to make.
Honestly, I don’t even care anymore. I’ll watch what I want to watch. The internet gives me a internet-headache lol. Reddit, Lemmy, whatever platform all the same crap with a different name.
Want to call me slurs or hateful names? Go ahead, you are a stranger on the internet.
Haven't used insults or slurs, but if you'd like to imagine some for your emotional security, feel free. If one line from a stranger on the internet is enough to make you watch a subpar show made by a transphobe you weren't going to watch, I don't know how much "anti-authority" you can pretend to be.
You do you, man. Stay agitated on the internet. I’ll watch and enjoy content that I like, lol.