Muggle Practices/Religion/Weasley practices

[feetmadeofclay]

No: HPFGUIDX 79192

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "lziner" <lziner at y...> wrote:

> 
> Perhaps you misunderstood - Harry Potter books are the most banned 
> books in the US.  Certain religious sects feel they are about 
> witchcraft etc promote santanism etc.  I meant, to imagine if she 
> added pagan holidays as well... mugglenet a few weeks ago posted a 
> book burning involving Harry Potter books.  My point was that by 
> leaving Christian holidays in the books - JKR provides a counter-
> point (although unecessarily) to the belief that HP books promote 
> witchcraft and evil.  
> 
> I still believe that the sole purpose 
> of JKR including holidays are for time frame and familiarity 
(earlier 
> post)
> 
> lziner

Well the only reason they are so banned is because they are so 
popular.  Diana Wynne Jones' books are no different except that 
millions of kids aren't mad for Howl.  (That is just the ladies)

It provides a platform for fundamentalist Christians to speak about 
what they fear is a dangerous irreligious part of modern culture.  
The fact that we pay any mind to it, is what makes the view 
powerful.  But in reality it is an view not held by majority of 
people/parents in America - as evidenced by America's very good sales 
of HP. 

 Also the reason they are the most banned is because lots of books 
considered innapropriate (or in this case anti Christian) are simply 
not stocked in many school or local libraries, but not necessarily 
banned either.  They are simply not bought and not considered at 
all.  HP was bought and then removed and its being so popular makes 
the difference.  When at 16 I asked for a copy of Lady Chatterly's 
Lover (having it recommended by a friend) my school librarian turned 
whiter than chalk and simply said they didn't have it.  Was it 
banned?  I don't think exactly so - and thus it doesn't get listed 
amongst the banned books.  They didn't have a copy of the science 
book I wanted either and that most certainly was not scandalous.   

That being said I don't think Rowling ever thought her books would be 
banned or innapropriate for Christian children.  I don't think that 
is why she put in Christmas.  If fundemntalists hate Harry Potter 
when the kids celebrate Christmas, IMHO making the kids celebrate 
Samhain or such would not likely alienate those that don't hate HP. 
We would merely have encorporated it into the idea that Wizard 
culture was different.  

I don't disagree about using the holidays as time keepers. It is very 
much the way kids mark time.  Birthdays to Christmas to easter to 
summer holidays.  However, what necessarily follows from having these 
kids celebrate Christmas on mass (in a segregated society) is that 
majority are most likely also Christian in some way.  Especially 
since the celebrate it in much the same way Muggles do.   

The media wanted to make a story out of HP and it let a minority take 
centre stage because they were more fussy about what their children 
read.  Nothing more than something to sell newspapers.  The book 
burnings are nothing more than something that will motivate the media 
to pay attention to what Christian fundamentalists want their 
children to read.  

Those kids aren't likely to read the dozen or so things I read as a 
child.  I simply think the focus is on HP because it is so popular.  
Reporting every book burning only gives these people power. They are 
extremists.  Why not focus on getting those kids a good science 
education or something.  We should have another monkey trial.  The 
focus on HP is silly on both sides.

I don't know why they make such a fuss - What they don't like about 
the books is clearly obvious from info on the back cover. The books 
are about a boy who goes to a wizard school.  Just censor their own 
children's reading - why bother everyone else with their views?

Golly