We had a saying, when I first started in police work. It was: “He, (she, it and fifty-five other variations of acceptable pronouns, I added as a concession to the time we live in) can fuck up a box of rocks with a rubber mallet.” In my day that statement was taken as a negative. Things and word meanings change. These days, bad or baaad means good, and racist means I disagree. I guess it even comes to JRR Tolkien. At the link.

https://thefederalist.com/2021/06/18/in-an-affront-to-its-namesake-the-tolkien-society-goes-woke/

Tolkien was a veteran of WWI. He was also a college professor. He created a world complete onto itself. History, language, alphabet, it was all there. At least two camps have gravitated to Tolkien’s work. There are the folks who are invested in his writings because of the stories. I started reading The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings in 1967. I have revisited both probably twenty to thirty times. In LOTR terms I’m a slacker. His works have also attracted the attention of academics. Each year the Tolkien Society meets to discuss Tolkien’s work. This isn’t Comicon nobody dresses as a hobbit, elf lord, or fairy. I suspect more than a few fairies attend, but not in drag. They discuss weighty topics related to Tolkien’s body of work. Things are different this year. Here are some of the topics on the agenda.

… seminar attendees will be subjected to something different. Papers to be presented include, “Gondor in Transition: A Brief Introduction to Transgender Realities in The Lord of the Rings,” “The Lossoth: Indigeneity, Identity, and Antiracism,” and “‘Something Mighty Queer’: Destabilizing Cishetero Amatonormativity in the Works of Tolkien.” Pretty much the entire program is like this.

The Federalist

I am not surprised that the LGBQRSTUVWXYX is actively engaged in coopting Tolkien’s work. Tolkien wanted to create an English prehistory much like the Vikings’ SAGA and the German legends. He succeeded. He created a history where none existed. I can see the attraction for the LGBQRSTUVWXYX community. I added RSTUVWXYX. I didn’t want to leave any group out. The extra letters are for rent, easy terms, contact the author. What is one to do? No past, a shaky present and inability to procreate? Steal somebody else’s history.

I think that the LGBQRSTUVWXYX picked the wrong author. I would advise them to take a look at the “Flashman” series by George MacDonald Fraser. Fraser’s character “Flashman” is a coward, fraud, conman, and libertine without scruples or morals. Other than his heterosexuality he embodies everything the LGBQRSTUVWXYX stands for and by. Fraser inserts Flashman into a wide variety of historical events. In each instance, Flashman, plays a pivotable role. He is a hero the LGBQRSTUVWXYX can get behind.

“He can fuck up a box of rocks with a rubber mallet!” In my day it was pejorative. Folks these days, see it as a goal to achieve.