Book Banning: Harry Potter

[Groo]

* A hush falls over the room as Sybill Trelawny enters and reads this thread*

It will happen! Harry Potter will be banned

* her eyes begun to roll. she spoke in a harsh voice quite unlike her own*

Harry Potter will be banned the same day when George Bush makes an intelligent statement, when Coke and Pepsi go hand-in-hand, when Beckham concentrates only on football, and when Bill Gates borrows ten bucks from me

[Nobby]

lol thats good groo

[Enis Reilly]

My opinion is that's all hipocrisy!
I think that people should be offered the oportunity to read what they want. Of course that the book should have a classification, but I think that we basically should choose by ourselves...
Anyway, in Portugal, the last time a book was banned was yet during the fascist government (about 30 years ago), so you can see how things are here: basically, we have a democracy, and people are allowed to read, to watch (a movie, for instance), and to think and say what they want. And I think that's the way things should be.

[Spiritus_mae]

I'm from Portugal too.
Anyway, here, people say what ever they wanna say and sometimes people get offended. The fascism have passed but there are a large numbe of people that still have their mind and way of thinking/acting in the fascism time.

About the book banning, i'm against that. The only thing they could was to put a... how should i say it... rate it. I can accept that in this world there are people more sensitive than other, but they can't make other peoples mind, if you understand what I'm saying.

My first post

[Alice I]

Welcome to BandO Spiritus_mae
You are making yourself clear.
Book banning is a deplorable practice and I am saddened to think that there are still backward societies that allow that sort of practice.
In today's politically correct world putting a rating on a book may end up becoming a reality so so long as that does not translate into censorship. (?sp)

[Enis Reilly]

Spiritus_mae: I understand, and agree with your opinion. The first paragraph is quite wise.

And I'm glad to see another portuguese around here! Welcome!

[Evil Wizard Petting Zoo]

I think it is utterly ridiculus to even suggest to ban HP books. I have only met 1 person who doesn't like HP. My friend Amanda's mother hates them and now hates me because one night she stayed with me and we watched some HP movies and now Amanda really wants to get into it and read the books. But her mom is a crazy Baptist who doesn't like them.(No offence, I'm Baptist too! We can get nuts sometimes tho )
Personally, these people against HP are closedminded and have never opened a page of the books. I argued with Amanda's mom for hours about it. My point, I thought I made very well, was that how can you be against something that doesn't even exist? There's no such thing as witches and wizards! So how is it horrible? And I sooooo got her because all she could say in return was, "It just is!" So I've figured out a way to get Amanda to read HP without her mom knowing. We're sneeky!

Is JKR against the Church?? Is she athiest? I think I heard that somewhere but I didn't think it was true. If that is true then I could see those antiHP people's point.

[Jotomicron]

Even if she i against the Church, I don't think the books reflect it... and she may think whatever she wants!
I mean: I'm Catholic and I go to the church once a week, and everything. Yet, I can see many things in the Church that are not correct and should be replaced... So could JKR be! But HP books are fiction. Do they (whoever 'they' are...) ban scientific fiction that sometimes neglects God's existence? This is not a scientific series, but a fantasy one...

[Jotomicron]

Even if she i against the Church, I don't think the books reflect it... and she may think whatever she wants!
I mean: I'm Catholic and I go to the church once a week, and everything. Yet, I can see many things in the Church that are not correct and should be replaced... So could JKR be! But HP books are fiction. Do they (whoever 'they' are...) ban scientific fiction that sometimes neglects God's existence? This is not a scientific series, but a fantasy one... Yet, we fall in the same type of thing...

That's my point of view, anyway!

[Reverie Revenge]

Wow, such opinions!!! Have to buy them

[/quote] Besides, for the anti-Christian part, that's only good, I'm fed up with the way Church acts in my country.[/quote]
Phinea, I couldn't argee more!!! 8) BTW, I'm atheistic, rather Antichristic than religious No, offence, we can't all be
But being as bad, I still respect the advice: don't drive faster than your guarding angel can fly

Yet, I can see many things in the Church that are not correct and should be replaced... !

Joto, you're showing a real wide spirit, I like it!!! Respect!

the Dark propaganda: What's wrong with it? I have a virtual friend up to his eyes in the Dark Arts and he's one of most understanding, intelligent, liberal and civilised people, one of the unprotected species, attacked by primitive conformistic fachism.
People banning JKR are jealous of her fantasy, her dreams coming true

Groo, your prophecy rocks

[Groo]

Groo, your prophecy rocks

thanks reverie

i am not christian, so maybe i am not well-informed about the Church, but i fail to see how the books are anti-Christian. can somebody explain?

also even if the books areanti-Christian, who the hell are these guys to ask for banning it?

[Alice I]

Groo,
The books are NOT anti-christian. The only objection that the religious fanatics have is that witchcraft is talked about which they feel that it is heathen or pagan and against the morals and laws of God.
Basically it's a load of dung.

There will always be narrowminded, uptight, need to get a life people out there who will rally against things like the HP series, prayer in school, and classic books like Catcher in the Rye and Animal Farm. But we must not let these few warped and frustrated indivuals ruin things for the rest of us. We must keep that kind of mentality out of places of power ie: governing bodies, legislature, courts, school systems etc...

This is an uphill battle that every person in the world should fight because the people who want to ban or burn books are out there;
and if they had their way THEY would be running things. What a cr*p world it would be then.

[Groo]

Exactly

there must have been hundreds of books before this one about magic. but these guys knew that opposing HP would give them publicity and thats what they are after

we just have to show them our tongue and move on. everyone in the world cannot be to our liking

[pallas artemis]

Most of the people who want to ban HP haven't read it. They assume, which according to a friend of mine is "the mother of all !@$# ups", that because the books are set in a school of witchcraft and wizardry that the majority of the book is teaching witchcraft and wizardry. But its not, the only spells said are latin, I believe, and they're simply commands.

It's stupidity pure and simple

[Phinea Rogue]

i am not christian, so maybe i am not well-informed about the Church, but i fail to see how the books are anti-Christian. can somebody explain?

Neither am I a Christian, but my country is getting more and more religious and I actually study at a university which is supposed to be Christian (an atheist at Christian uni, figure that...) and the reasons for books being anti-Christian are as follows (they are not MY reasons, I don't thing them anti-Christian):
1. all that witchcraft and stuff, it's dark magic according to them
2. Halloween is more important than Christmas
3. Christmas is celebrated without remembering Christ and his birth
and some other reasons, I can't remember them all. I know, it's stupid.