It’s a sure sign that I need to write when a topic continues to swirl through my brain, like an Azkaban Dementor, sucking the life away from other important things like eating, letting the dog out (dammit, now I have to clean the carpet – AGAIN), and watching my TIVO’d episode of Top Chef.
But such is the case of the last 18 hours. Since reading about the renewed effort of one woman in Georgia to force the school board to ban JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series, I have done little but rant in my head, turn the air blue, and feel extremely sorry for any person as tunnel visioned and frightened of her own shadow as Laura Mallory.
Full of conviction that the Harry Potter books not only promote witchcraft, but are attempting to indoctrinate children into religious witchcraft, Laura has been battling the evil spirits on the school board for over a year.
Said school board, as it has done on previous occasions, has once again denied her appeal and told her – in legalese, of course – NO, and to get a life.
Now her fight against Harry Potter is hardly the first time some parent has gotten their broomstick a little too far up their own behind, and gone after the series.
Rather, the books have been challenged 115 times since 2000, making them the most challenged books of the 21st Century, according to the American Library Association.
Typical arguments against them are, the whole witchcraft angle, and that they encourage children to question authority.
Oooooooooooooooo, that’s baaaaaaaaaaaaaad.
Right.
I have news for every parent out there. There is a wide gulf between disrespect and common sense. If you are not teaching your children to think for themselves and, YES, question authority when a person or situation seems wrong, you are doing a huge disservice to them. Blindly following along just because someone older tells them to do something is a sure fire way to have your child end up in a car with a stranger, molested by a neighbor, or just one more in a long line of human lemmings who cannot think their way out of a paper bag.
As for the allegations it promotes witchcraft?
Abracabullshit.
If Harry Potter is attempting to indoctrinate children into witchcraft, then what the hell has Walt Disney been doing lo these many, many years?
With the exception of Bambi and The Lion King, I am hardpressed to think of many Disney movies, old or new, whose plots don’t rely firmly on a magic wand, evil spells, or some errant pixie dust.
Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, anyone? How about a mermaid getting a new pair of legs? Ursula certainly didn’t knit them out of seaweed. And Robby Benson morphing from a beast into a hunk? I don’t believe a plastic surgeon was one of the characters in Beauty & The Beast.
That sneaky Walt surely must have been a warlock.
I think what offends me the most about these arguments is this: These people completely devalue the children they are professing to protect, and essentially believe kids aren’t smart enough to understand that these are stories – works of fiction.
I have three kids. At no point after watching Peter Pan did any of them ever attempt to fly out a second story window. And despite living in a princess dress, sparkly shoes and a crown for a solid month when she was four and addicted to Cinderella, my middle daughter was never found sitting inside a pumpkin expecting it to take her to the ball.
Hell, I grew up on these stories too and I think I turned out ok. When my daughter needed a homecoming dress a couple months back, I didn’t stand her in the yard and wave a toilet brush at her while singing Salagadoola mechicka boola bibbidi-bobbidi-boo, in an attempt to conjure up a gown.
I. WENT. TO. A. STORE.
Kids are smarter than most grown-ups give them credit for. Seriously, when was the last time you read about someone from our generation being arrested for standing atop a desert cliff and dropping an ACME anvil on someone’s head?
More than 265 million Harry Potter books have been bought around the globe, yet in the latest religious census, less than ½ million people WORLDWIDE belong to Wicca. And that number has gone DOWN, not UP. You do the math.
What it should tell you is that kids enjoy the books. Period. And like any good fiction, they provide escape, excitement, empowerment, enjoyment, and yes, the ability to flex their imagination muscles.
Perhaps, what frightens the Laura Mallorys of the world is that by allowing children to read big books, they run the risk of then having to have a conversation with that child about what they read. The child may have questions, comments, insights - and oh no, that might make it a little uncomfortable for the parent.
Grow up.
Since my own children entered school, I have spent a lot of time in the classrooms, helping with projects, etc. Just this morning I was once again riding herd on 100+ 5th graders while they worked on a holiday gift for their parents. And it is, and always has been, painfully obvious to me, that the majority of kids are completely unfamiliar with a grown up showing any actual interest in anything they have to say.
And God knows, humor is obviously in short supply in these kids' lives. But once I break through their "all-grown-ups-are-serious-and-have-sticks-up-their-asses" wall, and begin drawing them out, boy do they talk. About everything. Sometimes about nothing in particular. The point is, they are thrilled to have an adult focused on them, asking their opinions, valuing their answers, engaging them in thoughtful conversation.
You know, I am fine with people like Laura Mallory staking out some arbitrary moral high ground for themselves. And if they choose to keep books like Harry Potter out of their own children’s hands, so be it. That’s one of the rights of shooting a living creature out your uterus – you get to raise it the way you want.
Just don’t deign to think that everyone else needs your guidance. That you are some chosen voice of morality. You’re not. You’re one person who happens to believe one thing.
Sadly, like many of the other book burners before her, Laura has not read the very books she is castigating.
I have.
And I can tell you that JK Rowling has crafted some of the best, most imaginary, least condescending children’s literature ever written.
Harry Potter showcases the classic fight between good and evil, places a high value on the bonds of friendship, and above all, teaches that there is a world of difference and integrity between doing the easy thing, and doing the right thing.
Having 265 million children embrace those tenets is, to me, pure magic.
She's at it AGAIN, now with riddiculus accusations that Harry Potter promotes, not only witchcraft and evil, but drugs, gangs, and voilence in schools. Her win of the title "Idiot of the Year" by the Washington Post is very well suited.
Checking out the website where she was given that quite apporpriate title, look at the runners up:
Silver Medal: Nevada state senator Bob Beers who's pushing the legislature to consider letting teachers carry guns in classrooms "to stem a rise in school violence." Ready, aim, learn!
Bronze Medal: The 22-year-old British war vet who attempted to launch a Black Cat Thunderbolt rocket out of his rear end, on Guy Fawkes Day.
Honorable Mention: The hard-working cops of Muzaffarpur, India who attempted to arrest a 3-month-old baby for robbing a bus only days after his birth.
Posted by: Rowan | Saturday, January 27, 2007 at 11:27 PM
Hi Linda!
Wow! What a refreshing blog! Most I come across are rants about who knows what but, not only are your's funny, you have great common sence!
Several years ago my wife and I were heavy into the evangilacial movement. You know the ones, James Dobson sits to the right of Jesus Christ himself, Pat Robertson gives advice to God and so on. While we are away from that lifestyle and crowd, we still believe in God and try to raise our kids in a "Christian" home.
That being said, I loved the piece on Harry Potter and Mrs. Mallory. You hit it on the head! I realized I was probably doing more harm to my kids by denying them the chance to read books and see movies that may introduce thinking that is different from what I have. Since then, we've bought 4 of the books and all the movies that are out. My 11 year old daughter pointed out to me that "it's all fake in the movie and the books are a good story". Key word, story! Outta the mouths of babes...
I enjoyed the AI posts today and will continue to follow AI with your persperctive. Hope I can find your book on Amazon!
Oh yeah, don't forget that with kids, they only act that way on days that end in a "Y".
John
Posted by: Home in AK | Thursday, January 18, 2007 at 05:03 PM
First of all "Abracabullshit" gave me a chuckle that I had been sorely needing all day. Thank you!
Secondly, I too was infuriated by the fight against Harry Potter in the GA state board of education and was glad to read that Mrs. Mallory was once again defeated.
Unfortunatley she intends to keep trying.
What galls me the most about the situation is that she has admitted to never having read the books she is so wuick to dub as "evil".
Blessings
Happy Holidays
Mama Kelly
Posted by: A Blog of Two Witches | Friday, December 15, 2006 at 05:28 PM