[HPforGrownups] Re: If I were you....

Thu Sep 13 19:48:34 UTC 2001

No: HPFGUIDX 26085

All I can say is :-) Let's be friends.  Sorry if I came on too strong
<<hug>> it wasn't meant to be personal. I just think JKR would be
betraying children all over the world who have suffered from terrorism,
racism etc. if she didn't keep both the dark and light sides of the
Potterverse "real." I wanted to make the point that HP isn't just an
American or British phenomenon - children in the less "free world" enjoy
it too. And some of those kids (even the American inner city ones I see
every day) don't have any innocence left to lose. I just hope Jo keeps it
going just the way it has been. It has been such a useful talking tool in
classrooms to really discuss the nature of evil, racism, and war with
kids. I hope she keeps on goin' strong. 
Robyn, thrilled to hear that five of this country's bravest - firemen,
were just pulled alive from the rubble after being trapped for so many
hours. 
PS - sorry for posting twice - I just felt the dialogue on this had to
continue, and felt I needed to apologize publicly. 

On Thu, 13 Sep 2001 19:40:10 -0000 fourfuries at aol.com writes:
> --- In HPforGrownups at y..., Herald Talia <heraldtalia at j...> wrote:
> > 
> > On Thu, 13 Sep 2001 13:14:11 -0000 fourfuries at a... writes:
> > > --- In HPforGrownups at y..., heidi.h.tandy.c92 at a... wrote:
> 
> > When you are not in the affected part of the world, terrorism
> > seems remote and surreal. You hear a statistic - 30 people dead in 
> a
> > bombing - and it kind of rolls over your head. You don't think of 
> 10
> > teddy bears that will never be hugged again, ten parents who come  
> 
> > home to empty houses. You don't think of 20 children who will 
> never 
> > have someone to call "Mom" or "Dad" again. You don't think of the  
> 
> > individuality of these people - of the lives torn asunder. 
> > 	But when you actually live in the country where terrorism 
> is 
> > a threat, it's different. It affects you. JKR clearly already made 
> 
> > her choice. I'm speaking as an American who has heard about        
> 
> > bombings in GB, but also as a Jew with relatives in Israel. 
>  
> 
>   Please, beloved friend, let us not start measuring who best 
> relates 
> to the pain of these tragedies.  Right now, the whole world is 
> united 
> in empathy.  Caring is not the province of any one nation, or people 
> 
> or even of just the survivors of similar horrors.
>   I agree that people in other parts of the world are more 
> sensitized 
> to the risks of sudden, irrational violence stemming for socio 
> political groups.  I do not think it means that the rest of the 
> world 
> is necessarily more sensitive.
>   I think that one's emotional reaction is an individual 
> perspective.
> Some people cried from the very first report.  I didn't cry until 7 
> hours into the ordeal, when I realized how woefully unprepared my 
> country is to fight this kind of terrorism.
> 
> > Your innocence has been lost, and you're very lucky to have had 
> it. 
> > Other people, in other parts of the world are not so lucky. 
> 
>   As for lost innocense, I wasn't being personal.  I was speaking 
> for 
> a nation that occassionally forgets that love, honor, justice and 
> freedom must be fought for in every generation.  For the reasons 
> stated above, I will not recite the events that brought an end to my 
> 
> innocense, but it wasn't this experience.
>   I, like many others, have been wondering how long it would be 
> before such evil found its way to american shores, before the 
> average 
> american had to face the reality that while we may be invincible, we 
> 
> are not untouchable.  I await with much anticipation how the Land of 
> 
> the Free will react to this assault on its very person.
> 
> > I think JKR realizes this.  I ...hope she doesn't alter...her 
> books.
> > They are meaningful only if they reflect real suffering, and real
> > redemption...The world became a slightly scarier place on Tuesday. 
>  
> > We need more art, more literature, more writing, to help us cope. 
> 
> I now and from the beginning have agreed with you, that JKR need 
> change nothing for my taste; I urge you find no quarrel with me.  We 
> 
> are on the same team, playing from a new playbook, but out to win 
> the 
> same game.  If the world is a bit scarier, then the people of the 
> United States are now a bit wiser, more mature, and better able to 
> handle it.
> 
> 
> 4FR Convinced of the Indomitabilty of the Human Spirit.
> 
> 
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