I saw a person I've known for nearly 30 years last holiday season. He and his wife have a 9-year old daughter. I asked this child if she liked "Harry Potter" as she was an avid reader. She whispered to me that she was "not allowed" to do so due to their religious beliefs (Christian).
This man was a good friend of mine at one point - in fact, he introduced me to his daughter as one of his best friends. So I challenged him on his views of "Potter". I didn't care if they supported "Potter" or not - clearly J.K. Rowling and WB have enough $$. I just wanted to know why he was against it. He claimed that he didn't want his daughter reading "Potter" and summoning demons or getting an interest in witchcraft!
In a series of e-mails later, I wrote saying how this view was like going back several centuries. He had not read a word of the books. He had not seen any movies. But he passed judgment.
As a parent, it's his right to say he doesn't want his daughter exposed to "Potter" because of his religious beliefs. It's sad that a parent inflicts their own beliefs on a child, but this is how religion spreads. Still, it is his right. What is WRONG here, though, is that he was passing judgment on something he knew nothing about. He condemned a book and a fun topic out of fear.
This is exactly what these people in MA are doing. I guarantee you that they never even heard of the book, let alone read it, before their child mentioned something. But out of fear, out of their supposed "faith", they are condemning it - and now they are suing the school.
I am very sad for this country.
It shames me to think that people are so closed-minded that they will resort to suing each other or protecting their children from children's novels. These aren't graphic sexual books or movies or video games - they are simple fun novels about life and imagination.
What is even worse, is that my friend and his wife fully supported the "Chronicles of Narnia" because it has a VERY VERY weak symbolic reference to the Resurrection of Jesus. Yes, a character comes back to life - just like Jesus - but not because of some faith in God. In fact, God is never mentioned.
Rowling clearly was inspired by Tolkein and Lewis. Just like "Chronicles", "Potter" has magic, unicorns, evil witches, good magic, elves, etc. Both books deal with children fighting evil, resisting temptation and self-sacrifice for the better good. I see more similarities between "Potter" and "Chronicles" than I do "Chronicles" and the Bible. Yet "Potter" is bad in the fundamentalist world, but "Chronicles" is good, because a lion uses "ancient magic" to come back to life - the same "ancient magic" that saved Harry Potter's life (i.e., love and self-sacrifice).
Likewise, this "King and King" book deals with love and marriage. The series promotes the family. This isn't a book on "how to be gay", rather, it's about showing different types of love and families. Yet, these "Christians" attack it. In their "Christian" manner, they are now suing. If they win, what will they do with the proceeds? My experience has shown that Fundamentalists donate the least to charities - almost to the point of snobbishness.
But I digress. Clearly this world is in shambles. If we were more accepting, there'd be no war. But alas, my friend, who is also a Republican (incorrectly claiming how Clinton slashed benefits to the military, while Bush has done far worse) helped create this world. I hope he's happy with it.
I'm not - I hope to change it more.