Breaking News -- CNN

[joywitch999]

Original Yahoo! HPFG Header:
No: HPFGUIDX C3246
From: joywitch999
Subject: Re: Breaking News -- CNN
Reply To: [Yahoo! #3239] Re: Breaking News -- CNN
Date: 7/3/00 2:40 pm  (ET)

>>>>Are we expected to believe that someone who works in a bookshop
would not know the significance of Harry Potter books?

I can believe it. Remember, although the Harry Potter books have sold
over 10 million copies in the U.S., there are over 275 million people
in this country. The vast majority of people here in the U.S. do
not read very much. According to surveys, there are many millions of
people in the U.S. who have never read a book in their lives and dont
read newspapers. 20 to 25% of the adults in the U.S. are functionally
illiterate -- which means they can read things like STOP signs but can
not read well enough to understand a job application form. There is a
very low unemployment rate now in the U.S., especially in the Washington
DC area, and so only very low-skilled workers are generally applying
for low-paying jobs, such as in bookstores. I live in DC; my local video
store has an illiterate clerk who can not read the movie titles; my local
Warner Brothers store has several clerks who had never heard of Harry
Potter when I asked when they would start stocking the HP merchandise --
so I have no trouble believing that my local bookstore employs people
who have no idea what Harry Potter is all about!

The U.S. may be the richest and most powerful country in the world, and
many Americans also believe it is the greatest (whatever that means) but
the fact is we have the highest poverty rates among developed nations,
the worst medical care and health statistics for poor people, and the
worst literacy rates. We have tremendous wealth in this country, but we
use it to buy cell phones and massage therapy for our dogs and perfume
rather than bother to educate our children or feed the hungry. And when
something like Harry Potter comes along which is actually getting children
to read, we have right-wing, book-burning lunatics who are opposed to it!

[Sorry for the rant; I know I am probably preaching to the converted --
I think everyone here loves books and reading and is aware of the many
problems in the world -- but sometimes I get so FURIOUS!!!!!!]