So, Gwinnett County officials got Su Ellen Bray, a retired school administrator from nearby DeKalb County, to preside over a hearing on the mother's appeal. Ms. Bray backed her recommendation of "strongly" in favor of retention with 10 reasons:
1. The complainant (as with most overzealous folks who favor censoring something*) has not read any "Harry Potter" book in its entirety;
2. The books are popular, highly praised and encourage kids to read;
3. The books depict good vs. evil, and good wins;
4. The characters don't endorse the Wicca religion;
5. Kids who read the books are old enough to understand the difference between reality and fantasy;
6. Some of the complainant's objections take parts of the books out of context (another habit of zealots who want to tilt the scale to their side*);
7. There's no reason to assume children become abnormal just because they read the books;
8. Removing the books would set a precedent because two other school system media review panels have ruled the series should stay;
9. Teachers never required the complainant's children to read the stories;
10. To remove the series based upon the complainant's objections "would open this very fine school system to ridicule by many of its citizens as well as citizens of the nation." (Dare I say Great Britain, Harry's homeland, and most of the rest of the world as well?*)
(*My own additional commentary.)
Why in the world this would even require a vote by the board is beyond me. We are supposed to be the Nation where rule of the majority is the law of the land. To have any school district, or just one school, run scurrying from a solitary woman's ludicrous and borderline loony-toon call for censorship of any book is plainly and simply WRONG!
Well, this mother has warned the school board that if she doesn't get her way, she's taking this fight to Atlanta and the state capitol.
Thankfully, common sense won out and the Gwinnett County school board unanimously decided to keep young Master Harry and his Hogwarts Academy pals in class.
One board member whose family enjoys the books, Carole Boyce, said, "At the very heart of this matter is censorship. Our students do understand the difference between fact and fiction. Let's let those who want to read the 'Harry Potter' books have the opportunity to do so."
In response to the vote, the complainant, a former missionary (which explains all we need to know about why she tied up the school district for virtually an entire year), stated: "God is alive and well and He says it (witchcraft) is an abomination. How can we say it is good reading material?"
I'm sorry, the precise chapter and verse denouncing "witchcraft" escapes me. The good sisters at Catholic school never said it was wrong to watch "Bewitched" every week (I stopped voluntarily when Darren #2 came along).
I can't help but feel sorry for the indigenous youngsters upon whose feet this woman forcibly nailed sandals - and her own children, who are either social outcasts or will in a few years be at extreme odds with their parents.
This kind of tripe goes on because we've got the minority-approved** King George who some folks, if you ask less than one-third of the population, will actually say is a good leader. Or is it we're stuck with George because people get away with this kind of addle-brained tripe?
** It's not the minority folks of color or nationality I'm referring to here.
Either way, I shouldn't be this surprised that one person can stymie an entire school system.
Before I close, let me share one of the better "Simple George's Stories."
A couple of three months ago, while King George was speechifying about what progress had been made in the ruination of Iraq, he blathered on about the city of Tal Afar. Now, we all know Fearless Leader has never been with 100 kilometers of the place, but he was so proud to brag on its success.
The U.S. and Iraq troops had fought the enemy, that unknown quantity that keeps changing with the blowing sands, back and forth over this city of some 200,000 folks. Well, our side had finally won, taken over the city and moved in, lock, stock and barrel. We were rebuilding buildings that had been blown up and making new friends, barbequin' and just having a good ol' time there.
1. The complainant (as with most overzealous folks who favor censoring something*) has not read any "Harry Potter" book in its entirety;
2. The books are popular, highly praised and encourage kids to read;
3. The books depict good vs. evil, and good wins;
4. The characters don't endorse the Wicca religion;
5. Kids who read the books are old enough to understand the difference between reality and fantasy;
6. Some of the complainant's objections take parts of the books out of context (another habit of zealots who want to tilt the scale to their side*);
7. There's no reason to assume children become abnormal just because they read the books;
8. Removing the books would set a precedent because two other school system media review panels have ruled the series should stay;
9. Teachers never required the complainant's children to read the stories;
10. To remove the series based upon the complainant's objections "would open this very fine school system to ridicule by many of its citizens as well as citizens of the nation." (Dare I say Great Britain, Harry's homeland, and most of the rest of the world as well?*)
(*My own additional commentary.)
Why in the world this would even require a vote by the board is beyond me. We are supposed to be the Nation where rule of the majority is the law of the land. To have any school district, or just one school, run scurrying from a solitary woman's ludicrous and borderline loony-toon call for censorship of any book is plainly and simply WRONG!
Thankfully, common sense won out and the Gwinnett County school board unanimously decided to keep young Master Harry and his Hogwarts Academy pals in class.
One board member whose family enjoys the books, Carole Boyce, said, "At the very heart of this matter is censorship. Our students do understand the difference between fact and fiction. Let's let those who want to read the 'Harry Potter' books have the opportunity to do so."
In response to the vote, the complainant, a former missionary (which explains all we need to know about why she tied up the school district for virtually an entire year), stated: "God is alive and well and He says it (witchcraft) is an abomination. How can we say it is good reading material?"
I'm sorry, the precise chapter and verse denouncing "witchcraft" escapes me. The good sisters at Catholic school never said it was wrong to watch "Bewitched" every week (I stopped voluntarily when Darren #2 came along).
I can't help but feel sorry for the indigenous youngsters upon whose feet this woman forcibly nailed sandals - and her own children, who are either social outcasts or will in a few years be at extreme odds with their parents.
This kind of tripe goes on because we've got the minority-approved** King George who some folks, if you ask less than one-third of the population, will actually say is a good leader. Or is it we're stuck with George because people get away with this kind of addle-brained tripe?
** It's not the minority folks of color or nationality I'm referring to here.
Either way, I shouldn't be this surprised that one person can stymie an entire school system.
Before I close, let me share one of the better "Simple George's Stories."
A couple of three months ago, while King George was speechifying about what progress had been made in the ruination of Iraq, he blathered on about the city of Tal Afar. Now, we all know Fearless Leader has never been with 100 kilometers of the place, but he was so proud to brag on its success.
The U.S. and Iraq troops had fought the enemy, that unknown quantity that keeps changing with the blowing sands, back and forth over this city of some 200,000 folks. Well, our side had finally won, taken over the city and moved in, lock, stock and barrel. We were rebuilding buildings that had been blown up and making new friends, barbequin' and just having a good ol' time there.
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