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My tuppence-worth on @stephenking and the Allyship-That-Wasn't: This isn't going to go away for him- these things don't (ask @jk_rowling). He's going to be asked about this all the time, and people on both sides will demand a clearer position. 1/
Perhaps, in order to clarify his position, he might do some reading. Nobody who researches this issue properly can fail to have a "WTF" moment, as the obfuscation of the TRAs falls away and we realise what we're actually being required to believe- and say out loud. 2/
What we're required to engage in is a truly Orwellian exercise in doublethink. To reject the evidence of science and our own eyes, and to believe, against all logic, something that is not true. Then to state this untruth with absolute conviction. Mr King will have to do this. 3/
We're not talking about "being nice to spare people's feelings" which is what many people, who haven't had time to look more closely, think. We're being asked to deny reality, to ourselves, and to others. Mr King may have to do this publicly, without a hint of dissent. 4/
Professing this belief is a big thing to have to do publicly, with conviction. Mr King may run up against his own considerable intellect while preparing his statements and absorbing their meaning. It's not an easy thing for a mature, developed intelligence to deny reality. 5/
Now, he may "take the shilling", settle back in his armchair and opt out of the debate, for a quiet life. If he does, he's not the person I believed him to be. (I'm not a fan, but have always respected his intelligence). And of course he's entitled to do this. 6/
Alternatively, this may niggle at him. He may grow more and more irritated at what he's been compelled to say- especially as he understands the issue more. He may have an extra glass of port and "like" something he shouldn't on Twitter- but he's under scrutiny now. 7/
The more he stumbles in his doublethink, the more the cries will grow for him to make even bigger reality-denying statements. Mr King has "sinned" in the eyes of the TRAs, and nothing short of continuous self-abnegation and affirmation of their views will satisfy them now. 8/
But perhaps one day, the incessant irritation and his stash of "f**k you" money will allow Mr King to act with the courage of his convictions, and say #IStandByJKRowling, as many, who do not have his advantages, already do. 9/
