Potter Books Upheld In GA

Thinker Joined: Nov 12, 2006 Posts: 423

Let reason prevail.

Code:

The Georgia Board of Education voted on Dec. 14 to uphold a local school board's decision to leave Harry Potter books on library shelves, despite a mother's objections that they promoted witchcraft, the Associated Press reported.

The board members voted without discussion to back the Gwinnett County school board's decision to deny Laura Mallory's request to remove the best-selling books.

Mallory, who has three children in elementary school, has worked for more than a year to ban the books from Gwinnett schools, claiming the popular fiction series is an attempt to indoctrinate children in witchcraft.

Gwinnett school officials have argued that the books are good tools to encourage children to read and to spark creativity and imagination. Banning all books with references to witchcraft would mean classics such as Macbeth and Cinderella would have to go, they said.

J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books have been challenged 115 times since 2000, making them the most challenged texts of the 21st century, according to the American Library Association.

http://www.scifi.com/sfw/news/sfw_news_20061218.html

Master of Logic Joined: Oct 04, 2003 Posts: 9384

sjc wrote:

Let reason prevail.

Code:

The Georgia Board of Education voted on Dec. 14 to uphold a local school board's decision to leave Harry Potter books on library shelves, despite a mother's objections that they promoted witchcraft, the Associated Press reported.

The board members voted without discussion to back the Gwinnett County school board's decision to deny Laura Mallory's request to remove the best-selling books.

Mallory, who has three children in elementary school, has worked for more than a year to ban the books from Gwinnett schools, claiming the popular fiction series is an attempt to indoctrinate children in witchcraft.

Gwinnett school officials have argued that the books are good tools to encourage children to read and to spark creativity and imagination. Banning all books with references to witchcraft would mean classics such as Macbeth and Cinderella would have to go, they said.

J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books have been challenged 115 times since 2000, making them the most challenged texts of the 21st century, according to the American Library Association.

http://www.scifi.com/sfw/news/sfw_news_20061218.html

THIS GETS MY "WTF? AWARD"

I cant even believe that a school board even had to entertain this for one second.

HEY YOU DUMB BUTT! Go look up "fiction" in the dictionary. Harry Potter promotes witchcraft like Jessica Rabbit promotes sex. IT'S FICTION

Posted: Tue Dec 19, 2006 11:07 pm

My brother's kids read the Harry Potter books and it hasn't done anything to them. They still worship the mighty horned one and torture small animals...

Thinker Joined: Nov 12, 2006 Posts: 423

Brian37 wrote:

THIS GETS MY "WTF? AWARD"

I cant even believe that a school board even had to entertain this for one second.

HEY YOU DUMB BUTT! Go look up "fiction" in the dictionary. Harry Potter promotes witchcraft like Jessica Rabbit promotes sex. IT'S FICTION

Hey, you're yell at people who believe in the existence of an invisible sky daddy. Of course they don't know the difference between fiction and reality. Smile

Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 1:31 am

Have you ever seen interviews with kids who read harry Potter? They sound liek 10 year old college students and are more articulate than most adults I know. This is the DESIRED EFFECT of children reading.

Also, those books are Moby Dick length. It would have to be pretty damn extreme for me to have a problem with smart Moby Dick sized books that kids actually read. In every sense other than religious flummery the Harry Potter books are a great thing.

Master of Logic Joined: Oct 04, 2003 Posts: 9384

kmisho wrote:

Have you ever seen interviews with kids who read harry Potter? They sound liek 10 year old college students and are more articulate than most adults I know. This is the DESIRED EFFECT of children reading.

Also, those books are Moby Dick length. It would have to be pretty damn extreme for me to have a problem with smart Moby Dick sized books that kids actually read. In every sense other than religious flummery the Harry Potter books are a great thing.

Same flap has been aimed at books like Huckleberry Finn for "controversial" content.

Stupid censor Nazis who are afraid of the free market of ideas. They are afraid that morals dont need to come out of ancient myth.

Thinker Joined: Nov 12, 2006 Posts: 423

kmisho wrote:

Have you ever seen interviews with kids who read harry Potter? They sound liek 10 year old college students and are more articulate than most adults I know. This is the DESIRED EFFECT of children reading.

Also, those books are Moby Dick length. It would have to be pretty damn extreme for me to have a problem with smart Moby Dick sized books that kids actually read. In every sense other than religious flummery the Harry Potter books are a great thing.

Many of those who want this sort of book banned haven't actually read any of them. Hell, many of them having even read their own bible. The bible does in fact promote murder, polygamy, incest, cannibalism, adultery, etc, etc, etc.....

Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2006 12:31 am

The thing that bugs me about it is that their religion contains witchcraft. Sorry, but it does. Prayer is an attempt to cast a spell so god will work magic.

As a friend of mine put it, Christians do not like unauthorized spirituality.

Master of Logic Joined: Oct 04, 2003 Posts: 9384

kmisho wrote:

The thing that bugs me about it is that their religion contains witchcraft. Sorry, but it does. Prayer is an attempt to cast a spell so god will work magic.

As a friend of mine put it, Christians do not like unauthorized spirituality.

Name me one religion that does not involve superstition and magic.

Thinker Joined: Nov 12, 2006 Posts: 423

Brian37 wrote:

Name me one religion that does not involve superstition and magic.

Like murder and sex its ok when they do it in their god's name. Smile

Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2006 4:41 am

I would be hard pressed to think of one that doesn't. I think that's the whole point of religion. Even if your body has to live in this harsh world, your mind can live in fantasyland.

Confident Learner Joined: Nov 18, 2006 Posts: 67

Yeah learning tools whatever.

If you're going to encourage kids to read, at least let them read books that aren't unimaginative slander of the great ancient mythos ):

At least should could have made up her own lame mythos to ruin.

Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 2:38 pm

Ah, still more news from Gwinnett County. That place seems like it could be considered the U.S. capital of fundie news. Laughing

Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2006 9:37 am

sjc wrote:

Brian37 wrote:

Name me one religion that does not involve superstition and magic.

Like murder and sex its ok when they do it in their god's name. Smile

And this comment reeks of troll...it has what to do with the harry potter topic mentioned above? None...

Back to the topic...The most intelligent response to this would have been to immediately point out to the lady that the book is indeed fiction - like half of the books in the library already are...I'm sure there was a Hardy Boys book that covered some cult...let's ban that whole volume also... Rolling Eyes

The Learned Joined: Feb 27, 2006 Posts: 110

bronco2 wrote:

sjc wrote:

Brian37 wrote:

Name me one religion that does not involve superstition and magic.

Like murder and sex its ok when they do it in their god's name. Smile

And this comment reeks of troll...it has what to do with the harry potter topic mentioned above? None...

I thought the point was that the Bible is horrific in its examples of genocide and murder and mass rapes and infanticide, and it also mentions the occult. So, why is it okay for the Bible to be evil, but not okay for Harry Potter and gang to use magic to fight evil?


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