6 replies to this topic

[nowensone]

I hope this is appropriate for the coffeehouse here

Pulled off AP story: "Laura Mallory, a mother of four, told a hearing officer for the Gwinnett County Board of Education on Tuesday that the popular fiction series is an 'evil' attempt to indoctrinate children in the Wicca religion."

To my rational mind, this mother seems extreme in her position.  As critics have pointed out, banning books with witch references would eliminate many other traditional literary works that virtually everyone has grown up with, like most children's stories, Shakespeare, hell, Halloween would be in jeopardy, including it's typical decorations in schools.

I'll get to my question now, does Laura Mallory actually have the support to make this ban possible?  It would seem there is no way she could, this is metro ATL, not Salem, Mass in the 1600's, but why is this making national news if she is a lone voice?  There are plenty other "crazies" spouting newsworthy things every single minute if not...

Edited by nowensone, 04 October 2006 - 07:45 AM.

[pksiv]

I was living overseas when these books first started coming out and I was amazed to find out that we, as Americans, have some serious issues related to common sense.

The original Harry Potter book was called "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" everywhere in the world, except the good ol' USA.  Why? Because apparently we're not bright enough to realize that it's a silly childrens book and not some evil intent on ruining our youth.

I guess this goes back to the days when we had to put white hats on the good guys and black hats on the bad guys. Just so we could tell them apart.

I certainly hope that she doesn't have the support. But since they recently put stickers in school books indicating that evolution is just a theory, I wouldn't be suprised.

[Pillsbury]

Yeah, I've heard about this being played out all over the country (and maybe even the world).  All it takes is for one person to decide something is evil, get a bunch of people together (who probably never read the book) and then it works like a giant pyramid scheme, where you tell a friend and then they tell a friend, and then, next thing you know, mobs of angry mothers, armed only with torches and Chevy Surbubans,  raiding public schools all over suburban Atlanta to rid this great state of the evil Harry Potter.

Was that the reason they named the book what they did?  I thought it was just because people in England thought Americans were too stupid to know what a philosopher is.  

I saw the movie and thought it was boring.  

[nowensone]

I love the books, but I think the movies are terrible, and don't match the characters and actors or mental pictures I get out of the books.  That could just be me though.

Regarding the "Philosophers" to "Sorcerers" change, that is an odd one, I can see no way to pervert "Philospher" into something bad.  Come to think of it, Laura Mallory would have more ammunition with the "Sorcerers" wording since you could argue that it is a male witch.  A philosopher is just some guy at the top of the mountain dispensing wisdom.  

I have no problem with stickers in school books indicating that evolution is just a theory, really, none at all, as it has certain problems to work out and why it still has "theory" status.  All I would request in return is that they put the same sticker inside of all bibles.  Sound fair everyone?

[charlotte_bon_vivant]

Pillsbury, on Oct 4 2006, 01:42 PM, said:

I thought it was just because people in England thought Americans were too stupid to know what a philosopher is.

No, the U.S. publisher, Scholastic, felt kids wouldn't read a book with the word "philosopher" in the title. They felt "sorcerer" was more exciting to kids.

I think it would be difficult to get Harry Potter banned in Gwinnett. If she lived in Cobb, sure.

Edited by charlotte_bon_vivant, 08 October 2006 - 10:19 AM.

[Pillsbury]

^ Ah, I see now....

[DigitalSky]

charlotte_bon_vivant, on Oct 8 2006, 12:19 PM, said:

I think it would be difficult to get Harry Potter banned in Gwinnett. If she lived in Cobb, sure.