I was having a cup of coffee before leaving for work and idly scrolling through Twitter when I became aware of the contretemps because I follow Tom Holland, whose tweets are generally a bright spot in the dark abyss of that site. I immediately flicked on my Kobo (I had to plug it in because it was nearly dead) and purchased one of Holland's books- Athelstan: The Making of England. I then tweeted in reply to Mr. Swist saying that I had done so, and encouraging others to do the same. Because this is the way to deal with this sort of pusillanimous attack by despicable and dishonest operators like Swist. Of course, he didn't much appreciate my gesture; I was swiftly blocked by Mr. Swist. I shall endeavour to bear this deprivation with fortitude.
I wasn't planning on purchasing any new books right now... I've got a large stack in my "to be read" pile and have been slacking off all summer, rereading old 1940's mystery novels and such. But the other day a nasty piece of work- one Jeremy Swist, PhD - took it upon himself to try to "cancel" British historian Tom Holland. What was Holland's crime? Well, he tweeted in reference to the online hate to which JK Rowling is being subjected, suggesting that threatening women with rape and murder is bad. Mr. Swist then galloped valiantly to the defence of the rape fantasists, taking to his keyboard to inform the world that Tom Holland had gone on a transphobic verbal rampage. Swist is apparently a faculty member at Brandeis University (the motto of which, ironically, is: "Truth even unto its innermost parts") in the Department of Classical Studies where his specialty is, um, the connection between Greek & Roman and heavy metal music. Mr Swist then followed the well-trod path of many a social justice warrior before him, attempting to derail Holland's career as an author by telling his followers not to buy Holland's books. I suspect that a good deal of Swist's animus is the result of jealousy; Mr. Holland has written several successful books about the Classical period- Persian Fire and Rubicon, for example- as well as a number of other popular books and also has a successful historical podcast. Mr. Swist's musings on the Greco-Roman roots of heavy metal don't seem to have generated quite the same level of interest. This may, come to think of it, go some way to also explain his visceral hatred of Ms. Rowling. I was having a cup of coffee before leaving for work and idly scrolling through Twitter when I became aware of the contretemps because I follow Tom Holland, whose tweets are generally a bright spot in the dark abyss of that site. I immediately flicked on my Kobo (I had to plug it in because it was nearly dead) and purchased one of Holland's books- Athelstan: The Making of England. I then tweeted in reply to Mr. Swist saying that I had done so, and encouraging others to do the same. Because this is the way to deal with this sort of pusillanimous attack by despicable and dishonest operators like Swist. Of course, he didn't much appreciate my gesture; I was swiftly blocked by Mr. Swist. I shall endeavour to bear this deprivation with fortitude. I think that it's important for us to support authors and others involved in art and literature- and academia- when they are brave enough to take principled stands. Too many are intimidated into silence by fear of losing their careers and income... we must make it clear to their employers and publishers that in reality it's just a few illiberal malcontents that are kicking up a ruckus over nothing and that we're willing to put our money where our mouths are. Of course, it was no hardship for me to buy Holland's Athelstan; I already own his excellent Dominion and enjoyed it immensely. I've never read the Harry Potter series- never been interested, frankly, though some of my nephews and nieces are big fans. But dang it, if this online persecution of Rowling continues I may be forced to purchase her works, just on principle.
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