Racism is collectivism in the absolute worst ways
Racism is collectivism, and it doesn’t matter what the endgame is: whether it’s prioritizing race representation and vice versa.
Some may find it ironic that I’m writing about this one day after I admitted I’m still stewing over the producers of the Harry Potter TV show casting Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape. But for a character so well-described in the books and the dynamics surrounding Snape’s backstory, casting someone like Essiedu to play Snape was a bad move.
I’ll also say it again: Essiedu is talented enough to portray any character you’d ask him to, but not a character relentlessly bullied in the 1970s who was always portrayed as white. It makes you wonder if there was any ulterior motive behind the decision, especially when we get to the flashbacks in Season 5 when we may see James Potter and the Marauders humiliating Snape in front of the entire school during the 1970s and hanging him upside down.
J.K. Rowling even wrote in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that, and I’m paraphrasing, “Snape was clearly unpopular.” Then, there’s the fact that hardly anyone apart from Albus Dumbledore trusts Snape, or that “Ron called Snape something that made Hermione go, ‘Ron,'” in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and the obscenities Harry and Ron shouted at Snape in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Harry Potter made a terrible casting decision, end of story
I could write a book on how horrible it was to cast Essiedu. If you cast Essiedu to play someone like Remus Lupin, Mad-Eye Moody, or even Albus Dumbledore (who is implied in Deathly Hallows to be part American Indian), there’d be controversy, but it’d be easier to accept.
Plus, I’ve often thought that Morgan Freeman would’ve made a good Dumbledore if this TV show was filmed 10 years ago. He’s got the voice for it and played similar characters, but considering his age, it would’ve been ticky-tacky in 2026.
That said, to simply go the “purest” route and say all characters thought to be white should be played by white actors is also in poor taste. We’ve seen Morgan Ross of MovieFlame highlight this when he talked about the castings of Hogwarts students, mainly of Terry Boot, Alicia Spinnet (who is Asian in the TV show but black in the movies), and Susan Bones (who is heavily implied to be black in the books).
A white actress portrayed Bones in the Harry Potter films Philosopher’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets, but that was actually director Chris Columbus’ daughter making cameo appearances.
Ross also highlighted several Slytherins played by black actors, none of whom were given much in the way of physical descriptions in the books. In that case, even if you thought they should be white because you either pictured them as white or white actors played them in “filler” roles for the movies, if nothing in canon tells you their race, then it’s definitely “anything goes.”
Here’s why it matters beyond just casting for a TV show that, like it or not, will be successful.
Don’t fall into the collectivist trap that is racism
Racism is collectivism, because it’s basically saying that race should be a factor in life. I came across as Substack post yesterday from a conservative account claiming, and I’m again paraphrasing, “we shouldn’t intermingle with black people because they all think white people oppressed them when in many cases it was actually blacks oppressing blacks or Asians doing the oppressing.” This is still collectivism, even if this account supposedly preaches “small government.”
While the latter half is true — as is the case with the slave trade — the former is collectivism at its absolute worst. I’ve met a few blacks who get on well with everyone, regardless of their background. I’ve met conservative blacks, blacks who are pro-gun, pro-Constitution, and blacks who scoff at the idea that whites owe them something. That said, blacks are as diverse in thought as any other race. They don’t have one-track minds.
Who’s responsible for consistent race card pulling, anyway?
Further, one reason we’re in this racially-charged mess to begin with is because a contingent of people in the media, celebrities, athletes, academia, activists, and politicians pushed the issue onto us. I had personal experience seeing this at an old day job. If they didn’t, it wouldn’t mean that fans wouldn’t be pissed because of the Essiedu casting, but at least we wouldn’t think the producers weren’t pulling an artificial “representation” card.
You see the people at the top constantly pulling that card, plus the entire anti-racism mantra, which when you take a deep dive is every bit as racist as racism, itself. Take Ibram X. Kendi, who has shared the idea that “the only remedy to racist discrimination is antiracist discrimination.”
Still, we can end this madness simply by refusing to conduct business with and endorsing people who are hellbent on pressing the issue. That doesn’t mean boycotting the Harry Potter TV series or cutting ties with your favorite sports teams and movies. I’ll definitely be watching the show because other than Essiedu’s casting, most of the trailer showed us a book-accurate take.
Ways to combat the entire racially-charged game
It does mean refusing to play their game. When the NFL says, “It takes all of us” to end racism or whatever their slogan is these days, simply stop buying merchandise from brands they’re representing, or even buying products that the athletes repeating that mantra are endorsing. Heck, if you’re watching the games, then refrain from doing business with its sponsors who blare ads during commercial breaks. Trust me, they’ll get the hint.
Don’t send politicians endorsing DEI your hard-earned money for donations, or buy books or anything related to those politicians or celebrities. Write longform critiques like I am, right now, and share them.
We don’t need to go online and repeat slogans, or attend mass protests and shout slogans. Adopt a “vote with your feet” mentality, and this madness will end. One way you can vote with your feet is to opt out of the wokeness and start supporting authors like me who have their own storefront and buck the mainstream. One that doesn’t repeat slogans, bow down to algorithms, or worry about getting shadowbanned because of “wrongthink.”
