Harry Potter Facing an Evil Greater than Voldemort: the Book-banning Club of Gwinnett County, Georgia
Harry Potter and the Book-Banners
First let's consider that the whole purpose behind Ms. Mallory's objections to the Harry Potter books are because they have characters who practice witchcraft, cast spells, work magic, and even kill a few people. Well, then following that logic the libraries will have to pull Shakespeare's Macbeth off the shelves too because the play has three witches in the first scene casting a spell; a monologue with Hecate, the Queen of the Witches; and Macbeth himself resorting to murder in order to further his ambtious plot to become king. While they're at it they better just take down all the Grimm's Fairytales books too because half the stories in there have witches. Sorry, kids, but say good-bye to Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, Hansel and Gretel, and the countless other fairy-tales because they all contain refernces to witches, fairies, spells, and magic. A Christmas Carol by Dickens has ghosts; The Legend of Sleepy Hallow has the Headless Horseman; Mary Shelley's Frankenstein has a scientist actually playing God and creating life from the dead bodies scanveged from a cemetery. Let's consider that nearly every story, fairy-tale, and legends both past and present have some element of the magical, the mysterious, and the supernatural. If the libraries actually went through their shelves and pulled all these books then there wouldn't be much left would there?
Laura Mallory's argument is that children are being indoctrinated into the religions of witchcraft. Yet nowhere in the Harry Potter books is there ever any mention of religion or even what religious background the characters are. And here is the most hilarious thing of all. The books are fiction! There has not been one incidence of children demanding their parents buy them robes, spell books, or magic wands. No child has decided after reading a Harry Potter book that suddenly he is a wizard. The books are meant to be entertainment not tomes to be studied for their ancient knowledge. Ms. Mallory has spent a year trying to get these books banned. Just think what she could have done with all that time and dedication to something that is truly worth raising awareness for. Like children being abused and neglected; sexual predators possibly living in the community; or the horrors children are facing in other countries due to war and famine. A child sitting at home and reading a Harry Potter book is not out in the streets exposing herself to danger.
Published by Laura Pena
I am 40 years old and a native Houstonian, born and bred. I received a private, Catholic girl's school education and then went on to college to major first in Radio/Television. I also have a major in English... View profile
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8 Comments
Post a CommentI read all 7, and this is crazy. Millions of people read these books and the world isn't up in flames is it? They're well written and a great alternative to video games.
I find it incredulous that the many thousands of REAL occult treatises are not available at public schools and public libraries. One of the better collections is at the Brigham Young University's library. LMAO.
what do you expect,she's from GA!!!if we are to assume that books are "evil" then remove the Bible! it has:incest.suicide,murder,idoltary,patricide, etc etc.....So leave fiction alone or I will have to put the bat-bogey hex on you!
Sigh, It doesn't matter how many times I wave my wand, it doesn't work. I cannot blow up that feather!
I'm glad you wrote this article. I recently heard one of my managers at work calling Harry Potter readers devil worshipers! WTF?! I wonder if these people who argue against the books because of the witches and wizards have ever read a single word of the books. I consider myself to be a Christian as well as a Harry Potter fanatic. If you pay close attention you may notice some religious subtleties, but not in the form of witchcraft. They characters have Christmas and Easter breaks and celebrations. I think one also has to pay attention to the fact that Harry is fighting EVIL. And truely educated people would know that those who performed miracles during the time of Jesus were known as "magicians" and many believed Jesus himself to be a magician performing magic. Besides, isn't our country founded on the idea of religious freedom? So, unless the school is forcing the kids to read the books, she has to respect the separation of church and state and realize that if the school has
Kudos to you for a well-written argumentative article...some people can't seem to tell the difference between the real world and a fictitious one.
It is very pathetic, and ultimately sad that in a world of terrorism and countless domestic issues, ignorant people choose to think that the real evil is work of fiction. If anything, the real culprit in making people think that witchcraft, evil spirits, demons etc are real and a danger is christianity. To say nothing of the very real human evils commited in the name of such a religion. This isn't to say all of chrisendom should be painted with the same brush, only that history speaks louder than those people who want the book banned. They should concentrate on REAL isssues, not what their superstitions invoke in their minds.
I find it amazing, appalling, and cautionary (even for Texas) that there is really someone with some credibility at a public library who is set on banning Harry Potter..