HP & the Bible; Abanes Discussions

[meboriqua at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 17608


> 
> We should not give this guy a forum for his views.  Right-wing 
> extremists already have way too many places to spout their bigotry.  
> I say ignore him, do NOT respond to his posts, or better yet, toss 
> him off the list.
> 
> 
>       ^
>      / \
>     /   \       Joywitch M. Curmudgeon
>    /     \
> __/       \__


Hey all -

Whoa, did I miss one hell of a discussion today!  I just want to 
express gratitude to everyone for defending and respecting the diverse 
religions and cultures represented at this site. 

 While I do not think Abanes is a bad person who is out to get us all 
to convert, I am extremely uncomfortable with his constant comparisons 
of Harry to the Bible.  Yes, Christmas and godparents have a Christian 
base, but I couldn't care less.  I mentioned before that I am Jewish, 
and believe me, I've heard my share of nasty comments directed at my 
religion (basketball player Ward being the most recent), but that 
doesn't stop me from being 61% obsessed with HP and kind of wishing I 
had a legal guardian like Sirius Black.  It certainly doesn't stop me 
from wishing with all of my might that I could live in his world.

Joywitch M. Curmudgeon, I agree with you about avoiding getting into 
ugly exchanges with someone whose motives are unclear on this site.  
Perhaps if I actually met Abanes and sat down with him to tell him 
about how many millions of kids love reading again because of HP, or 
how many kids are giving writing a shot because of HP, or even talk to 
him about my days volunteering at the Simon Wiesenthal Center here in 
New York, I could form a more accurate opinion of him and his book, 
but until then, I'll just read these posts and respond to the ones 
that are really about Harry Potter and why we all love him so much.

--jenny from ravenclaw*****************************