The Harry Potter author described several transgender women as men in a series of social media posts.

JK Rowling has challenged Scotland’s new hate crime law in a series of social media posts - inviting police to arrest her if they believe she has committed an offence.

The Harry Potter author, who lives in Edinburgh, described several transgender women as men, including convicted prisoners, trans activists and other public figures.

She said “freedom of speech and belief” was at an end if accurate description of biological sex was outlawed.

Earlier, Scotland’s first minister Humza Yousaf said the new law would deal with a “rising tide of hatred”.

The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 creates a new crime of “stirring up hatred” relating to age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or being intersex.

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Ms Rowling, who has long been a critic of some trans activism, posted on X on the day the new legislation came into force.

  • otp@sh.itjust.works
    162·
    9 months ago

    I’m not obscenely wealthy, so I don’t have the experience…but it seems plausible that a billionaire midlife crisis could be “Where am I going to put this ridiculous amount of money that I’ve earned through less-than-ethical means?”

      • TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.ee
        13·
        9 months ago

        I mean, the main motivator for the endowment was always Malinda Gates. I’m sure it functions as a tax shelter, but I doubt that was really the main motivator. He’s already given over several times what his tax burden would have been, and if we compare it to other NGOs whose sole purpose is truly preserving or raising money, they really aren’t comparable.

        I’m in agreement that no one should have hundreds of millions of dollars, let alone billions. We can discuss the validity of NGO as a concept, but as far as NGO go, the gates foundation has done more actual aid work for 3rd world countries than most governments.

        • FuglyDuck@lemmy.worldEnglish
          34·
          9 months ago

          We can discuss the validity of NGO as a concept, but as far as NGO go, the gates foundation has done more actual aid work for 3rd world countries than most governments.

          most governments don’t have nearly the same revenue. This is like saying corporations have done more to help homeless people than homeless shelters (to whom the corpos donate money.)

          The reality is that a lot of the way things are, are caused by people like- and including- bill gates.

          While there are many NGOs that exist to do good things- and are very good at aid- the gates foundation is not one of those.

          I think you’ve bought into the reputation washing the foundation has done for the Gates, and severely underestimate just ho sociopathic they are…. And just how profitable the foundation is for them personally.

          • TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.ee
            1·
            9 months ago

            most* governments don’t have nearly the same revenue. This is like saying corporations have done more to help homeless people than homeless shelters (to whom the corpos donate money.)

            In this hypothetical, the shelters are still necessary for the investment to do any actual good, therefore the input of the investment could never exceed the input of the shelter.

            One of the things that makes the gates foundation an actual working NGO is that they employ their own aid workers, and set up the logistics systems that support their mission.

            The reality is that a lot of the way things are, are caused by people like- and including- bill gates.

            I agree, my claim isn’t that bill gates deserves his wealth, or that his NGO validates his earnings, or even the economic system that allowed it. My claim is simply that the gates foundation is about as good of an NGO we could ever expect to have within our current economic system.

            think you’ve bought into the reputation washing the foundation has done for the Gates, and severely underestimate just ho sociopathic they are…. And just how profitable the foundation is for them personally.

            I think that the vast majority of those impacted by the “sociopathy” you speak of are/were other wealthy silicon valley types, and the rest of the 1rst world in general. Was he a monopolistic technocrat who personally slowed the march of technology for personal gain? Yes, but to be honest so did other corporations like apple. The thing apple hasn’t done is save +30 million lives from preventable diseases.

            As far as how profitable the foundation is… I don’t really think you understand how tax write offs work. They aren’t an infinite supply of free tax credits that you can deduct from your personal income. There is a point where the amount you give exceeds your personal tax burden.

            If it were truly about making money, he would just do the same thing musk is, keeping his investments in unrealized gains, and then using those assets as collateral for tax free loans.

            Also, Id hardly claim the gates foundation has been a success at reputation washing. I mean just in the last couple years he’s been accused of everything from drinking baby’s blood for adrenochrome, injecting people with the 5g, and even creating COVID. I think he’s a difficult person to have a nuanced opinion over. People tend to not criticize them for the things he’s actually done, and tend to focus instead on some hidden insidiousness.