Dumbledore's "infatuation"(Was: Rowling says Dumbledore is gay)

[Carol]

Susan wrote:
> 
> Carol, I too am interested in Christian themes (as a former Roman 
Catholic)......
> 
> I am very impatient with the idea that we should treat intolerance 
and bigotry respectfully...

Carol responds:

For me, it boils down to this. Freedom of speech includes the right to
be wrong. Judge not that ye be not judged applies to everyone, on both
sides or all sides of any debate. That includes people who think that
homosexuality is, say, unnatural (I think they're mostly concerned
about male homosexuality because it involves anal sex, but I'm not
sure). I'm just saying that true tolerance includes allowing those
whose opinions offend us to have their say without being labeled as
bigots. They, on the other hand, ought not to label those whose
lifestyles offend them as immoral or doomed to hell. I think we should
let everyone speak with no namecalling on either side. Civility,
courtesy, respect for others, whether we agree with their opinions or
condone their lifestyles or not. That's all I'm asking. It does no
good to call someone a bigot. He'll simply think that the other person
is a bigot for rejecting his religious or political views.

Let's consider Draco, for example. If Harry had called him a bigot,
would he have changed Draco's mind? Did intolerance for Slytherin as a
house make Slytherin more tolerant? Clearly not. There has to be some
other answer. I wonder if reason and logic could have persuaded him
when he first came to Hogwarts, along with the undeniable fact that
certain Muggle-born students could do magic as well as he could.
Judging him for his values, in contrast, had no effect whatever.
>
Susan:
> Yet, I would like to respectfully reject your ideas...

Carol:
And I respectfully reject the suggestion that we should not tolerate
those who oppose us and allow them their say. Agree to disagree?
> 
Susan:
> As I posted on the main list (and it's interesting that I've had not
one single response to my post), it is clear (retrospectively) that DD
was in love with GG.....yes, JKR says "infatuation" in the last 
interview....
> 
> I find it interesting..that you, who keeps saying that JKR's 
interviews are not relevant..SEIZES on the word infatuation...and 
then runs with it.....

Carol responds:

I was responding to Pippin's idea that love and infatuation are the
same thing. And I do think that infatuation, whether JKR used the term
or not, is closer than love to what we see in the books.

And I'm still concerned that a remark made by JKR in an interview is
controlling the list. Both lists, in fact. I'd really rather see us
thinking and interpreting for ourselves.

Of course, prejudice is a major theme or motif in the HP books. That's
been obvious since the first conversation between harry and Draco in
SS/PS, and more so since the introduction of new terminology (Squib,
Muggle-born, Pure-blood, "Mudblood") in CoS (I can't recall whether
"Half-Blood was introduced in that book or later). But DD's sexuality
(who knew that he was a sexual being? He's over 100; we thought till
he became Wizard of the Month that he was 150) is a non-issue or a
side issue. At best, it throws light on DD's reasons for hesitating to
go after Grindelwald. But if the HP books are about tolerance for
homosexuality, I'll eat the Sorting Hat. They're about, among other
things, the equality of Muggle-borns and the right to humane treatment
of House-Elves. And DH, at least, is about death and the afterlife and
forgiveness and redemption--primarily Christian themes that predate
political correctness and modern conceptions of tolerance by millennia.

Carol, who is *not* a fundamentalist but believes absolutely in their
right to be heard, just as she believes in the right of gay rights
activists to be heard, so long as neither side engages in namecalling
or other hurtful or disrespectful behavior

P.S. List Elves, I hope I'm not stepping out of my place here by
requesting tolerance for all opinions, even those that we profoundly
and emphatically disagree with. I'm responding to a post that was
addressed specifically to me.