Dear JK Rowling... Let's Talk Classism!

Dear J.K. Rowling,

I am usually impressed when a famous person takes the time and energy to interact with their fans on the internet. I'm a whole heck of a lot less impressed when that celebrity uses their position of influence to mindlessly repeat slogans and spread misleading articles to the public (with a nice side of good old-fashioned mudslinging).

Links to NHS privitisation in the news hereUK Political leaders may plan to bail on 'DevoMax' promise

This blog has already dissected your 'reverse-racism' flavoured post equating support for Scottish self-determination to some strange racial purity agenda (a sentiment, I might add, that you share with UKIP leader Nigel Fararge, and while politics makes strange bedfellows, one must to some degree examine one's allies, perhaps with a particular eye to the psychological concept of 'projection'). So instead, we'll talk about some of your more recent, and equally problematic, tweets.

Now to put some context into our discussion of classism, let's take a quick detour. I do not say what I am about to say to diminish the unpleasantness in your childhood or the tragedy of your mother's illness. However, one set of obstacles in life does not necessarily equate to another, so when I say that your upbringing was cushioned, I am speaking in terms of socioeconomic class. There are opportunities and insulation that two educated, white-collar parents can buy, not to mention the 'cultural capital' gained by inclusion in the socially dominant culture. These are the advantages that make the difference between a single mother scraping by on benefits while they continue their education and write their first novel, (indeed one who finds unemployment to be a 'liberating' opportunity to focus on their creative work), and the one who will be stuck scraping by on benefits for the foreseeable future even as they search fruitlessly for a job.  (It's worth noting that as someone with a genetic disease that is famous for masquerading as a psychiatric disorder, I understand how grueling your struggle with depression must have been; but I also learned from my illness that the ability to access treatment and competent doctors is profoundly tied to social capital and educational privilege).

That said, let's talk Twitter. I will concede that Neil Paterson could have phrased his original comment with a bit more tact (though by outraged internet argument standards he speaks with the grace of a UN diplomat). Actually, had you responded by saying that you donated because you believe the Union is good for the kids, I'd disagree with the underlying premise, but would have considered that a truthful and reasonable response. But instead you offered us this:
I could analyse the irony of the fact that although you complain on your blog about being stereotyped as a feckless leech when you were a single mother, you happily imply that this random stranger is not contributing to his country because he doesn't have millions to hand to donate to childrens' charities (in spite of the fact that you know nothing of his life-- maybe he's the one with the chronic illness and depending on charity, or maybe he spends his whole working day aiding the downtrodden, or maybe he's just an average do-gooder).  Your response rubs me up the wrong way, partly because I have fantastic parents who taught me that no matter if you're broke (like we were), you could always do your bit to make the world a better place. The implication in your tweet is that throwing barrels of money at something is the only legitimate way to make a difference, which is a slap in the face to all those out there who, in spite of having very little in material things, volunteer their time and energy to help others. Just because someone doesn't have the cultural capital and related advantages to climb swiftly out of poverty, and is living on minimum wage, doesn't mean that the few tins of food they donate or the few hours they can spare to advocate for a cause they believe in don't matter. Since you identify as Christian, I hope you'll appreciate what Jesus had to say on the topic:

And He looked up and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow casting therein two mites. And He said, “In truth I say unto you that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all. For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God, but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had. (Luke 21:2-4)

Actually, while we're on the topic of Biblical advice, it also rubs me the wrong way that you imply that you care about Scotland because of your donations, and this fellow doesn't, because he doesn't have gobs of money to back him up, or doesn't shout about his charitable doings. (Or perhaps you intended to imply instead that someone who disagrees with you doesn't care about Scotland? I certainly hope not). Donating to charity is wonderful! But parading it around as proof that you care more because you gave more isn't a very charitable tack. To put it much better than I ever could:

Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. (Matthew 6:1-2)

I am rankled by your response because I personally see people who are elderly or seriously ill or chronically unemployed or others who are marginalised in some significant way who quietly, unobtrusively pour their hearts into charity. They they organise virtual fund drives from their hospital beds, they stay all night in the rain to hand out blankets to the homeless, they spread joy and practical guidance to the sick, they squeeze their meager budgets so they can donate some shopping to the food bank, they open their homes to refugees from around the world. No, they didn't donate millions to medical research, but they give deeply of what resources they have. Their motivation is not to be seen as paragons of generosity, or to set a bar of involvement to which the rest of us should aspire or be found wanting. They are simply doing good for its own sake.
Because they care about Scotland.