ADMIN: Discussions vs. Inflammations

[John Walton]

No: HPFGUIDX 20045

Haggridd said:

> Penny, I know that you have a thankless and an almost impossible
> task, but I think that you did not act impartially in this matter.
> JKR did not write a slash fic, and anyone who sees such in the books
> is indulging in wishful thinking, at best. Why is Joe's response any
> more inflammatory than the twisting of the HP canon into something it
> was never intended to be?

As a Moderator, I must jump in here in defence of Penny's decision (which
all we Moderators agree with and support completely).

Haggridd, in answer to your question, Joe's response is inflammatory
because, without ANY reference to the HP books, he condemned (condamned, in
fact) homosexuals, saying "Still, I'll be damned if I'd ever
put something in front of my kid that validates that kind of lifestyle and
tries to portray it as normal.  The little joke that was played on this
group was nothing short of sick", and calling the gay lifestyle
"less-than-wholesome".

This is clearly unacceptable in a group of such a diverse membership in the
twenty-first century. Women have the vote, black people are no longer
property, and gay people aren't freaks. Learn to live with it.

Haggridd, you compare Joe's remarks with people "twisting" the HP canon. I
wouldn't use the word "twisted" because of all the baggage attached to it,
but the difference is that reading things that may not be there into the HP
canon is *about HP*. Condemning gay people (or black people, people with
blue eyes, Jewish people, Polish people, or any people) is NOT and will not
be acceptable in this forum. Discussion about homosexuality's morality is
not appropriate unless JKR brings it up in the canon. Discussion about
characters' sexuality, however, is fine as long as it's canon-based and not
inflammatory or offensive (so no "Gay People Are Evil" or "All Christian
Moralists Are Evil"). This has been the group's position for as long as I
have been a Moderator and will likely remain so, based on the feedback we've
been getting from group members.

I hope this helps to explain the Mods' position. As always, our objective is
to provide a friendly, positive forum for mature discussion of the Harry
Potter books and phenomenon, where ALL people, regardless of any defining
characteristic they might have, feel welcome. Bigotry, however, is not
welcome here. If anyone has constructive suggestions which would help us to
Moderate better for you, please don't hesitate to drop us a line at
hpforgrownups-owner at yahoogroups.com!

--John, Moderator Team
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John Walton -- john at walton.to

Current...
Movie: Shrek. 11/10!
CD: Shrek Soundtrack ::grin::
Song: "Hallelujah": Rufus Wainwright (from Shrek soundtrack)
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