Why Rowling should not have outed DD

[Tonks]

The problem with having a character, any character, but especially
DD, gay is multifaceted. (Now I am going to play the devils advocate
here so don’t start calling me names. I personally do not think that
being gay is a sin, or a personal choice. On the other hand, I don’t
think that it is just one more of many ‘normal’ ways to live. But if
someone is gay and wants to marry in the Church, I am OK with that.
I don’t believe in promiscuous sexual activity for either straights
or gays.)

Here are the reasons why even if Rowling thought of DD as gay, and
did not put that fact in the books, that she should have taken that
thought to her grave and never told the readers.

1. It is not considered, even in this permissive day and age, as
a ‘norm’ of our (U.S) society. (The average American is much more
conservative than the majority of the people on this list, and there
is nothing wrong with that. It is their right to believe what that
want to believe.) And in many societies around the world
homosexuality is still a very taboo subject. I understand that
Rowlings said the books were about tolerance, but they are far more
than that. As I have said before, it serves no constructive purpose
to introduce such as heated topic into such a popular book that
appears to have the purpose to entertain, not educate. It does
educate, but in a covert manner. Rowling’s use of a school motto in
the “never tickle a sleeping dragon”, indicates that she is well
aware of the covert messages that she has slipped into the books.
Problem is she has not listened to her own advice. Now she had
ticked the dragon and wonders why it is shooting fire at her. And
yes, I am saying that she should not have stirred the waters. It is
not going to change the mind of the people who are opposed to
homosexuality. That is not the way to go about changing attitudes.
And it will blind people who are opposed to homosexuality to
receiving any of the other, even more important, teaching in the
books which were teaching given by DD. This I think is very tragic.

2. Most people read the books primary to be entertained. Rowling
telling the world that there is a gay person in the books, after the
fact, changes the story and the nature of the books. This fact alone
makes people angry. And then telling them on top of this that the
books are about tolerance and this is one more aspect of it, is
just over the top for many people who do not share her world view.

3. I always looked at the WW in the book as being about like the
1950. It was a conservative time before a 50% divorce rate, when
families were a mother, father and kids unless something tragic
happened to a parent as in Neville’s case. I understand that most of
the folks on this list are under 30 and don’t remember a time when
things were very different than they are today. The WW had it
problems, some of which mirrored our own, but still in many ways it
was a place to go to escape from the RW. People do not want the
place that they go to for escape to suddenly have the same problems
and issues that the RW does. And I think that is another reason why
some people are upset with the idea of a gay character in the books.

In summary: The outing of DD serves no useful purpose. It will not
change the minds of those who have opposing views. It will ruin the
books for those people and their children and grandchildren who will
now probably never be allowed to read it. These people will no
longer listen to the wonderful teachings of the world’s greatest
wizard because they will be blinded by their shock, anger, hurt and
disgust for what DD now represents to them. If Rowlings only
mission was to promote tolerance for gays that would be one thing,
but she is doing much more and now she has destroyed what I think is
her primary mission. The gay issue is a minor one in comparison to
the other teachings in the books. And these teachings were give by
DD. She has now discredited him to a large segment of the world.
This is a serious problem and goes far beyond the gay issue. She
should have left that issue for others. It was not the primary
mission of her books, and if it was it should have been IN the
books. The fact that it wasn’t in the books is proof enough that she
had a different purpose in mind when she wrote them. All in all,
the outing of DD was a senseless, tragic thing to do. These books
are not just for the minority of us who are liberals, it is for the
masses and they my friends are mostly conservative. And just when
the Religious right could have opened their minds to the books
because of the Christian themes, she gave them more reason to ban
them. Way to go Rowling!!

Tonks_op