"Lord Of The Rings: Rings Of Power" Releases Official Statement Denouncing ‘Racism,_Threats,_Harassment’

[Ubiquitous]

"The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" drama drags on as its
official Twitter account just posted a statement of unity with its
cast, denouncing any fans who are allegedly harassing them.

"We, the cast of `Rings of Power,' stand together in absolute
solidarity and against the relentless racism, threats, harassment, and
abuse some of our castmates of color are being subjected to on a daily
basis," the Twitter post begins.

"We refuse to ignore it or tolerate it. JRR Tolkien created a world
which, by definition, is multi-cultural. A world in which free peoples
from different races and cultures join together, in fellowship, to
defeat the forces of evil. `Rings of Power' reflects that."

The statement assures, "Our world has never been all white, fantasy has
never been all white, Middle-earth is not all white. BIPOC belong in
Middle-earth and they are here to stay."

The statement concludes by thanking "fans supporting us," especially
the "fans of colour who are themselves being attacked simply for
existing in this fandom."

We stand in solidarity with our cast. #YouAreAllWelcomeHere
pic.twitter.com/HLIQdyqLmr

- The Lord of the Rings on Prime (@LOTRonPrime)
September 7, 2022

This official statement echoes what so many other critics' reviews have
been saying about the Amazon series. They insist that negative reviews
reflect a deeply racist worldview from fans criticizing the series
simply for having black actors in lead roles.

However, the less-than-favorable reviews are more likely to mention
weak character development, bad writing, and an overall failure to
adhere to Tolkien's original work. Most of the reviews on Rotten
Tomatoes don't mention the race of the actors at all.

That hasn't been enough to stop mainstream media from insisting that
the main reason viewers don't like "Rings of Power" is because of the
diverse cast. Even the actors from the Peter Jackson "Lord of the
Rings" adaptation have been speaking out on what they perceive to be
racist criticism.

Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, and others posted to social media wearing hats
and clothing that says in Elvish, "You all are welcome here," with
several ears of different characters in various color skin tones.

You Are All Welcome Here @LOTRonPrime @DonMarshall72
#RingsOfPower
https://t.co/8txOhlHa2f pic.twitter.com/nWytILT0zG

- Elijah Wood (@elijahwood) September 7, 2022

--
Let's go Brandon!

[BTR1701]

In article <tfAnof$9oaf$5...@dont-email.me>,
Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:

> "THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER" drama drags on as its

> official Twitter account just posted a statement of unity with its
> cast, denouncing any fans who are allegedly harassing them.
>

> "We, the cast of RINGS OF POWER stand together in absolute

> solidarity and against the relentless racism, threats, harassment, and
> abuse some of our castmates of color are being subjected to on a daily
> basis," the Twitter post begins.
>
> "We refuse to ignore it or tolerate it."

So if you're not going to tolerate it, what actions are you taking to
stop it?

Just saying, "We won't tolerate it" is only half that battle. Now you
actually have to take action to stop tolerating it, to stop it from
happening. That's what "not tolerating" something means. And since you
can't actually shut people up and stop them from saying things you don't
like, I'm curious how you're going to actually not tolerate it.

> JRR Tolkien created a world which, by definition, is multi-cultural.
> A world in which free peoples from different races and cultures join

> together, in fellowship, to defeat the forces of evil. RINGS OF POWER

> reflects that."
>
> The statement assures, "Our world has never been all white, fantasy has
> never been all white, Middle-earth is not all white. BIPOC belong in
> Middle-earth and they are here to stay."

So the dusky elves are officially bipocks now?

> The statement concludes by thanking "fans supporting us," especially
> the "fans of colour who are themselves being attacked simply for
> existing in this fandom."

> This official statement echoes what so many other critics' reviews have
> been saying about the Amazon series. They insist that negative reviews
> reflect a deeply racist worldview from fans criticizing the series
> simply for having black actors in lead roles.

Even when the bad reviews don't say or imply anything about race, the
'critics' claim it's racism anyway. Apparently it's impossible to
dislike this show for any reason other than racism, according to the
'progressive' intelligentsia.

> However, the less-than-favorable reviews are more likely to mention
> weak character development, bad writing, and an overall failure to
> adhere to Tolkien's original work. Most of the reviews on Rotten
> Tomatoes don't mention the race of the actors at all.
>
> That hasn't been enough to stop mainstream media from insisting that

> the main reason viewers don't like RINGS OF POWER is because of the
> diverse cast. Even the actors from the Peter Jackson LORD OF THE
> RINGS adaptation have been speaking out on what they perceive to be

> racist criticism.
>
> Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, and others posted to social media wearing hats

> and clothing that say in Elvish, "You all are welcome here," with

[Ubiquitous]

atr...@mac.com wrote:
> Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:

>> "THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER" drama drags on as its
>> official Twitter account just posted a statement of unity with its
>> cast, denouncing any fans who are allegedly harassing them.
>>
>> "We, the cast of RINGS OF POWER stand together in absolute
>> solidarity and against the relentless racism, threats, harassment, and
>> abuse some of our castmates of color are being subjected to on a daily
>> basis," the Twitter post begins.
>>
>> "We refuse to ignore it or tolerate it."
>
>So if you're not going to tolerate it, what actions are you taking to
>stop it?

What's that expression?

"Nudge, Shove, Shoot"?

[Ubiquitous]

gms...@email.com wrote:

>They're going to change the name to Rings of Horseshit.

Please refrain from sharing your sexual perversions with us.

[Louis Epstein]

In alt.fan.tolkien Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:
> "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" drama drags on as its
> official Twitter account just posted a statement of unity with its
> cast, denouncing any fans who are allegedly harassing them.
>
> "We, the cast of `Rings of Power,' stand together in absolute
> solidarity and against the relentless racism, threats, harassment, and
> abuse some of our castmates of color are being subjected to on a daily
> basis," the Twitter post begins.
>
> "We refuse to ignore it or tolerate it. JRR Tolkien created a world
> which, by definition, is multi-cultural. A world in which free peoples
> from different races and cultures join together, in fellowship, to
> defeat the forces of evil. `Rings of Power' reflects that."
>
> The statement assures, "Our world has never been all white, fantasy has
> never been all white, Middle-earth is not all white. BIPOC belong in
> Middle-earth and they are here to stay."

JRRT didn't portrary M-E as all white by any means,and he didn't
portray nonwhites as intrinsically evil...but he DID portray some
societies that were ethnically homogeneous and not thereby evil...
and those devoted to the uncritical worship of diversity can not
abide such a thing even as a fantasy.

-=-=-
The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.

[trotsky]

On 9/8/2022 10:31 PM, Louis Epstein wrote:
> In alt.fan.tolkien Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:
>> "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" drama drags on as its
>> official Twitter account just posted a statement of unity with its
>> cast, denouncing any fans who are allegedly harassing them.
>>
>> "We, the cast of `Rings of Power,' stand together in absolute
>> solidarity and against the relentless racism, threats, harassment, and
>> abuse some of our castmates of color are being subjected to on a daily
>> basis," the Twitter post begins.
>>
>> "We refuse to ignore it or tolerate it. JRR Tolkien created a world
>> which, by definition, is multi-cultural. A world in which free peoples
>> from different races and cultures join together, in fellowship, to
>> defeat the forces of evil. `Rings of Power' reflects that."
>>
>> The statement assures, "Our world has never been all white, fantasy has
>> never been all white, Middle-earth is not all white. BIPOC belong in
>> Middle-earth and they are here to stay."
>
> JRRT didn't portrary M-E as all white by any means,

Damn, you went off the rails right off the bat. (Sorry for mixing
metaphors.) If characters that were non-white were cast as such,
there'd be no problem, at least theoretically. But characters that were
white, or characters that were "invented" for this story aren't true to
Tolkien's amazingly detailed vision, and as such diehard fans have every
reason to complain. Hope this helps.

[Paul S Person]

On Fri, 9 Sep 2022 05:22:01 -0500, trotsky <gms...@email.com> wrote:

>On 9/8/2022 10:31 PM, Louis Epstein wrote:
>> In alt.fan.tolkien Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:
>>> "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" drama drags on as its
>>> official Twitter account just posted a statement of unity with its
>>> cast, denouncing any fans who are allegedly harassing them.
>>>
>>> "We, the cast of `Rings of Power,' stand together in absolute
>>> solidarity and against the relentless racism, threats, harassment, and
>>> abuse some of our castmates of color are being subjected to on a daily
>>> basis," the Twitter post begins.
>>>
>>> "We refuse to ignore it or tolerate it. JRR Tolkien created a world
>>> which, by definition, is multi-cultural. A world in which free peoples
>>> from different races and cultures join together, in fellowship, to
>>> defeat the forces of evil. `Rings of Power' reflects that."
>>>
>>> The statement assures, "Our world has never been all white, fantasy has
>>> never been all white, Middle-earth is not all white. BIPOC belong in
>>> Middle-earth and they are here to stay."
>>
>> JRRT didn't portrary M-E as all white by any means,
>
>
>Damn, you went off the rails right off the bat. (Sorry for mixing
>metaphors.) If characters that were non-white were cast as such,
>there'd be no problem, at least theoretically. But characters that were
>white, or characters that were "invented" for this story aren't true to
>Tolkien's amazingly detailed vision, and as such diehard fans have every
>reason to complain. Hope this helps.

Except, if I understand some of the information on this topic
correctly, they mostly are /not/ criticizing it for the daring of
their casting but rather for the tepidness of the result.

As least, explicitly. It is, of course, possible that they regard the
result as tepid because of the daring of the casting.

>and he didn't
>> portray nonwhites as intrinsically evil...but he DID portray some
>> societies that were ethnically homogeneous and not thereby evil...
>> and those devoted to the uncritical worship of diversity can not
>> abide such a thing even as a fantasy.
>>
>> -=-=-
>> The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
>> at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.

--
"In this connexion, unquestionably the most significant
development was the disintegration, under Christian
influence, of classical conceptions of the family and
of family right."

[Michael F. Stemper]

On 08/09/2022 22.31, Louis Epstein wrote:

> JRRT didn't portrary M-E as all white by any means,and he didn't
> portray nonwhites as intrinsically evil...but he DID portray some
> societies that were ethnically homogeneous and not thereby evil...

He also (in narration) described racially integrated Bree as "excellent",
specifically for being racially integrated:

[...] The Big Folk and the Little Folk (as they called one another)
were on friendly terms, minding their own affairs in their own ways,
but both rightly regarding themselves as necessary parts of the Bree-Folk.
Nowhere else in the world was this peculiar (but excellent) arrangement
to be found.

--
Michael F. Stemper
What happens if you play John Cage's "4'33" at a slower tempo?

[Louis Epstein]

In rec.arts.books.tolkien trotsky <gms...@email.com> wrote:
> On 9/8/2022 10:31 PM, Louis Epstein wrote:
>> In alt.fan.tolkien Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:
>>> "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" drama drags on as its
>>> official Twitter account just posted a statement of unity with its
>>> cast, denouncing any fans who are allegedly harassing them.
>>>
>>> "We, the cast of `Rings of Power,' stand together in absolute
>>> solidarity and against the relentless racism, threats, harassment, and
>>> abuse some of our castmates of color are being subjected to on a daily
>>> basis," the Twitter post begins.
>>>
>>> "We refuse to ignore it or tolerate it. JRR Tolkien created a world
>>> which, by definition, is multi-cultural. A world in which free peoples
>>> from different races and cultures join together, in fellowship, to
>>> defeat the forces of evil. `Rings of Power' reflects that."
>>>
>>> The statement assures, "Our world has never been all white, fantasy has
>>> never been all white, Middle-earth is not all white. BIPOC belong in
>>> Middle-earth and they are here to stay."
>>

>> JRRT didn't portray M-E as all white by any means,

>
>
> Damn, you went off the rails right off the bat. (Sorry for mixing
> metaphors.) If characters that were non-white were cast as such,
> there'd be no problem, at least theoretically. But characters that were
> white, or characters that were "invented" for this story aren't true to
> Tolkien's amazingly detailed vision, and as such diehard fans have every
> reason to complain. Hope this helps.

And I am a complaining diehard fan,to be clear.
I'm pointing out that the Haradrim,for example,were nonwhite,
and Sam is seen to speculate on what led one to his death in
Sauron's service without any hint that his race made him evil,
and the wokies should not be pretending that fidelity is racism.

Diversity is the cause of every war in history...too many people
thought differences were important enough to kill over.

[Louis Epstein]

In rec.arts.books.tolkien Michael F. Stemper <michael...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 08/09/2022 22.31, Louis Epstein wrote:
>
>> JRRT didn't portrary M-E as all white by any means,and he didn't
>> portray nonwhites as intrinsically evil...but he DID portray some
>> societies that were ethnically homogeneous and not thereby evil...
>
> He also (in narration) described racially integrated Bree as "excellent",
> specifically for being racially integrated:
>
> [...] The Big Folk and the Little Folk (as they called one another)
> were on friendly terms, minding their own affairs in their own ways,
> but both rightly regarding themselves as necessary parts of the Bree-Folk.
> Nowhere else in the world was this peculiar (but excellent) arrangement
> to be found.
>

Should Aragorn be perceived as disagreeing in that he then
passed a law barring Men from the Suza?

[Michael F. Stemper]

On 11/09/2022 19.57, Louis Epstein wrote:
> In rec.arts.books.tolkien Michael F. Stemper <michael...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 08/09/2022 22.31, Louis Epstein wrote:
>>
>>> JRRT didn't portrary M-E as all white by any means,and he didn't
>>> portray nonwhites as intrinsically evil...but he DID portray some
>>> societies that were ethnically homogeneous and not thereby evil...
>>
>> He also (in narration) described racially integrated Bree as "excellent",
>> specifically for being racially integrated:
>>
>> [...] The Big Folk and the Little Folk (as they called one another)
>> were on friendly terms, minding their own affairs in their own ways,
>> but both rightly regarding themselves as necessary parts of the Bree-Folk.
>> Nowhere else in the world was this peculiar (but excellent) arrangement
>> to be found.
>>
>
> Should Aragorn be perceived as disagreeing in that he then
> passed a law barring Men from the Suza?

Is this supposed to be a new spelling of "Shire" with which I
was previously unfamiliar?

If so, then no. If he disagreed, he would have made either the Big
Folk or the Little Folk leave Bree.

--
Michael F. Stemper
I feel more like I do now than I did when I came in.

[Stan Brown]

On Mon, 12 Sep 2022 14:59:56 -0500, Michael F. Stemper wrote:
> On 11/09/2022 19.57, Louis Epstein wrote:

> > [quoted text muted]

> >>
> >
> > Should Aragorn be perceived as disagreeing in that he then
> > passed a law barring Men from the Suza?
>
> Is this supposed to be a new spelling of "Shire" with which I
> was previously unfamiliar?
>

Not a new spelling, an old one. :-) In Appendix F, II of The Lord of
the Rings:

"The name of the Shire (Sūza) ..."

My news client doesn't always handle accented letters correctly.
Inside the parentheses should be four letters: S, u-circumflex, z, a.

--
Stan Brown, Tehachapi, California, USA
https://BrownMath.com/
Tolkien FAQs: http://Tolkien.slimy.com (Steuard Jensen)
Tolkien letters FAQ: https://preview.tinyurl.com/pr6sa7u
FAQ of the Rings: https://BrownMath.com/general/ringfaq.htm
Encyclopedia of Arda: https://www.glyphweb.com/arda/default.htm

[Michael F. Stemper]

On 13/09/2022 00.05, Stan Brown wrote:
> On Mon, 12 Sep 2022 14:59:56 -0500, Michael F. Stemper wrote:
>> On 11/09/2022 19.57, Louis Epstein wrote:
>>> [quoted text muted]
>>>>
>>>
>>> Should Aragorn be perceived as disagreeing in that he then
>>> passed a law barring Men from the Suza?
>>
>> Is this supposed to be a new spelling of "Shire" with which I
>> was previously unfamiliar?
>>
>
> Not a new spelling, an old one. :-) In Appendix F, II of The Lord of
> the Rings:

Okay. I've read that multiple times, although not recently. All that
I really remember is that Bilbo's name is "really" "Balba" or something
close to that.

> "The name of the Shire (Sûza) ..."

>
> My news client doesn't always handle accented letters correctly.
> Inside the parentheses should be four letters: S, u-circumflex, z, a.

Came through just fine here.

--
Michael F. Stemper
Exodus 22:21