[HPforGrownups] Arguing with the clueless

[Dave Hardenbrook]

No: HPFGUIDX 29067

At 11:02 AM 11/11/01 -0600, Peg Kerr wrote:
>I was having a conversation at work about the HP books with a coworker
>who is a part-time missionary.

First, let me ask, is your friend the kind of "missionary" that does
charity work, or the kind of "missionary" who is out to convert the
world into her way of thinking?  If the latter, then I think it's useless
to argue with her, because in her mind it's her job to "save" (i.e. convert)
other people, not vice versa.

>In this latest conversation she said again that the books were Satanist,
>esp. because of the scene at the graveyard where "somebody uses flesh,
>blood and bone in a spell" (of course, she still hasn't read them).

If she won't read the books, if she's heard from some "higher authority"
( "the Archbishop or Lady Catherine DeBourgh" :) ) that the books are
evil and that's good enough for her, then she's not going to listen to your
arguments.  Her prejudices are solidified.  You can't argue with blind,
unequivocal  acceptance of authority.

>It occurred to me later that I could have argued, "To say that the HP
>books are Satanist is like saying that The Lord of the Rings advocates
>lobbing nuclear bombs at people because Sam and Frodo travel through a
>blasted barren wilderness at the end of that book."  Is this a useful
>analogy?

Has she read Lord of the Rings?  If so, you might ask her why
those books are okay and Harry isn't.




                         -- Dave