Mother loses bid to ban Harry Potter books
By deargoodbye
@deargoodbye (761)
United States
December 15, 2006 2:00pm CST
Mother loses bid to ban Harry Potter books
Georgia mom vows appeal after Board of Education rejected request
Updated: 2:40 p.m. ET Dec 14, 2006
ATLANTA - The Georgia Board of Education voted Thursday to uphold a local school board’s decision to leave Harry Potter books on library shelves despite a mother’s objections.
The board members voted without discussion to back the Gwinnett County school board’s decision to deny Laura Mallory’s request to remove the best-selling books.
Mallory, who has three children in elementary school, has worked for more than a year to ban the books from Gwinnett schools, claiming the popular fiction series is an attempt to indoctrinate children in witchcraft.
“It’s mainstreaming witchcraft in a subtle and deceptive manner, in a children-friendly format,” said Mallory, who is considering a legal challenge of the board’s ruling. “The kind of stuff in these books — murder and greed and violence. Why do they have to read them in school?”
Gwinnett school officials have argued that the books are good tools to encourage children to read and to spark creativity and imagination. Banning all books with references to witchcraft would mean classics such as “Macbeth” and “Cinderella” would have to go, they said.
J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books, published by London-based Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, have been challenged 115 times since 2000, making them the most challenged texts of the 21st Century, according to the American Library Association.
The challenges most often claim that the series encourages children to question adult authority and promotes witchcraft, said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the deputy director for the association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16204853/
What do you guys think of this? Personally I think it's bullshit but that's just me!
7 people like this
51 responses
@thewatchlist (653)
• United States
15 Dec 06
When I heard about this it reminded me of the knuckle heads here that made up signs and protested the movie at the local theater. They were protesting based on nonsense they had heard at their church.
I don't like Harry Potter, but I really don't like idiots who don't know what they are screaming about. We had someone right a letter to the editor about how Harry Potter boiled babies and all this other silliness. It's from a chain letter that was going around the internet at the time. The funny part is that the lady didn't realize that all the evils mentioned in her Harry Potter message were actually stories from the bible (including the people boiling and eating babies).
@sirensanssmile (3764)
• Netherlands
16 Dec 06
Can't this lady just ban HER OWN children from reading them? Why does she think she has the right to decide what OTHER children can and can not read? Is she the mother to the whole school?
I can not stand people that think they have the right to control what other people can and can not see according to their own feelings about it. They just want to ban everything.
1 person likes this
@wyrdsister (584)
• Canada
15 Dec 06
Oh for heaven's sake. The'll try and ban Harry Potter books but probably encourage their children to read the more gruesome parts of the Bible. I still fail to see how Harry Potter stories are somehow luring children into witchcraft. Harry Potter isn't like a real witch at all! ;) Maybe the luring is far to subtle for me. ;)
Yep, I call bullsh*t on all those lawsuits as well. Can't they just be happy that their children can read and are interested in the written word??
~Wyrdsister
@eagleye (8)
• United States
16 Dec 06
Seems like enough time has past since the Harry books came out but hey, I did"t let my kids read them. I heard the interview with the author of the books and she said"I wrote these books to encourage kids to practice witchcraft". I believed her since she is the author. Maybe after years of these books being read and movies being watched we might have a statistic on how many kids were encouraged?
1 person likes this
@sbeauty (5865)
• United States
16 Dec 06
Don't you just hate people like this woman who wants to make decisions for everyone? It's fine if she wants to prohibit her own kids from reading the books, but I'm glad the Board didn't let her make the decision for all parents.
Personally I think Harry Potter is the best thing that's hit the literature market for a long time. It is not a manual for witchcraft. It is wonderful fantasy. Instead of keeping children from reading these books, parents should help teach them to distinguish between real and fantasy. The books are nothing but stories to children unless adults give them more sinister ideas. It's these adults, like the woman in the article, who are causing the children more harm than anything else. Let's ban her from being a parent or a US citizen and see how she likes banning!
1 person likes this
@thatcrazyqbanita (3312)
• United States
16 Dec 06
what they should do is ban people like her from living. what a sick and twisted being. no literature should ever be banned, that's why we live in a democracy
@nicky35 (747)
•
16 Dec 06
she is a fruit loop,the world is full of murder and greed and violence and like it or not,our kids will fin out soon enough.harry potter is brilliant and kids love it.she obviously hasnt got enough to think about to keep her mind occupied,does she think witchcraft is real and the kids are all going to be corrupted.what a dingbat
1 person likes this
@rosesulz (32)
• Canada
16 Dec 06
I was told that Harry Potter books were evil and would lead children to witchcraft and the dark arts. I was not one for them until I decided to watch one of the movies with my husband at home. To my surprise I didn't find it evil at all, I don't think it will lead anyone to witchcraft or the dark arts per se. As a matter of fact I started reading the series myself and find that they are excellent reading for young and old. I do not think it's any different in literary means to the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe or Lord of the Rings. I've read all of these and find each one fascinating in their own right!
1 person likes this
@deargoodbye (761)
• United States
16 Dec 06
I'm glad you took the time to check it for yourself before you came to a conclusion on how "evil" the books/movies are!
1 person likes this
@linepau1 (188)
• Canada
16 Dec 06
Harry Potter has always been a book and a series of books that has encouraged my friends to read. Banning them is such a bad idea. As the article says, it encourages creativity and imagination. It's a learning experience and a better pass time than video games (no matter how much fun they are).
Rowling is Wiccan, and although it's associated with witch craft of the "black" and "evil" kind, wicca is no such thing if used properly. It would be further looked down upon if it were so horrible. It's nothing but an old rep that won't go away. If she's teaching anything, it is how to keep an open mind.
Freedom of speech, the right to learn, the right to read what we so wish to read. Where is all of that? If Harry is no longer acceptable then remove books such as To Kill a Mocking bird (excuse my spelling of Mocking if it is wrong), MacBeth, Lord of the Rings, and Chronicles of Narnia from our libraries as well. The last two are by Christian Authors but include just as much Fantasy and Witch Craft. Why are we so acceptive of them? To kill a mocking bird was a novel study I done in grade nine. The story repeatedly uses the "N" word, as well as a rape trial. Grade 9 novel study? My goodness that can't be right if Harry is so bad.
Excuse my huge response. This topic always gets me.
2 people like this
@malcido (422)
• United States
16 Dec 06
People have been trying to ban books that they don't understand for hundreds of years, it's very sad. Unfortunately most of the people who are so against HP have never read a single book in the series.
It's especially sad for their children; the parents are not teaching them to discern for themselves, but rather to act without gathering knowledge and understanding.
1 person likes this
@cloud9 (176)
• Philippines
16 Dec 06
Every book consists of conflicts, which would lead to the moral of the story and HP have good lessons to teach even to adults who read the book. I think that the witchcraft part of the story is a great way for children to develop their creativity and imagination. It's good that they did not ban the books because if they did, then they should also ban movies, cartoons and other children's books since all of these contain violence as well. That mother should just forbid her own children not to read the books and shouldn't think that she's helping other parents by continuing the case.
@sherie (66)
• United States
16 Dec 06
People who have nothing better to do than trying to ban a wonderfully entertaining book really need to take a look at what's missing in their own life. First off, this woman needs to do some serious reasearch on what witchcraft REALLY is, because she obviously hasn't got a clue. Witchcraft is NOT evil, it's NOT bad, and it has absolutely nothing to do with Satanism, the devil, or any other rediculous christian scare tactics. I'm just really sick of all the misinformation out there, not just about Harry Potter, but about witchcraft and my fellow witches as well!
@cblackink (969)
• United States
16 Dec 06
Having never read any of the Harry Potter books myself, I don't have a strong opinion about them. What I do have an opinion about is if you believe that your child can read a book and be brainwashed into a certain way of behaving or thinking. If your child reads a book and then suddenly begins to either "question adult authority" or "turn to witchcraft", what does that say about you as a parent? I realize this may offend some visitors, but I believe there must be an inherent weakness in the relationship between a parent and child if the child can be this easily influenced. Aren't parents supposed to be instilling moral values in their children in the first place? Many people so like to point the finger at things outside themselves as the cause of their problems. I don't believe in that.
@pinklilly (3443)
• Australia
16 Dec 06
Crazy women.... I love Harry Potter I am currently reading the books in the series and my friends son is 10 and has read the books and seen the movies and he has no intentions of learning which craft.... mmm some people have to kick up a fuss over nothing.....
Glad she lost her battle to get rid of the books...
@mfrancq (1806)
• United States
16 Dec 06
Okay seriously, the books are not promoting murder, greed, and violence. Every book has a very good lesson to be learned in them. I don't understand where that came from. And they are very good at helping our children develop creativity and stretching their imagination. I think some people are just totally bored with their lives so they need to spark up some drama just to keep themselves entertained. This is completely ridiculous. And those poor kids of hers are probally completely embrarassed. You know the kids must be giving them a hard time about it.
1 person likes this
@Yabba79 (48)
• United States
16 Dec 06
This is so sad. What next? The Cat in the Hat will be banned because he may be effeminate. These are people with entirely too much time on their hands and not enough brain matter in their heads. It is a work of fiction. Harry Potter is not real and someone should explain this to her.
I wonder if she has asked certain networks to ban cartoons which contain very deep references to the mystical arts. She probably watches those cartoons with her kids and has no idea what she is seeing! lol
1 person likes this
@jess_meow (229)
• United States
16 Dec 06
I commend her for standing up for what she believed was right, but to ban a book which whole central message is good vs. evil and using the powers given to you for good? That's just ridiculous.
1 person likes this
@stripedmama (12)
• United States
16 Dec 06
i think it's utterly absurd. ridiculous!! glad she lost, can you imaigne what would have happend if she had won? mayn, many great works would have been proposed for removal.
1 person likes this
@sleepingbeauty (159)
• United States
16 Dec 06
harry potter is awesome and should never be banned!!
1 person likes this
@amitavroy (4819)
• India
16 Dec 06
how sick
she cant control her child that does not mean that the world cant read the books
actually she should be banned
not the book
its a nice book
specially the childrens like it
so why ban it
and reading books is always good
bt that does not mean that you dnt read you school books
1 person likes this
@Celanith (2327)
• United States
16 Dec 06
I think that she should have left well enough alone. If she wants to forbid her kids from reading them while they are under her roof and authority is one thing. But to tell the whole school and other people what to read or not was wrong. I personally do not think much of those books and would not encourage my grandkids to read them. The author did say in an interview she wanted kids to practice witchcraft and she believes in it herself. I think some kids can read the books and have no problem others may not understand them. It depends on the maturity level and their upbringing. This mom is not going to keep her kids from reading those books if they want to really read them. There is local libraries and probably friends of the kids who have them. The more she tries to stop them, the more curious they will be and want to read the books. It is not her right to censor others readership either.
@Kaorin (756)
• Australia
16 Dec 06
Banning books is the first step to the loss of freedom. Books should be available to all, whether people think they're good, bad, or anything inbetween. I think free knowledge is imperitive in a democratic society. I can't believe people actually invest their time, money and dedication to a cause like this; a cause to censor books that offend THEM to the wider community.
It's shameful. If I were her offspring, I would be ashamed. Not about the ridiculous claims that an innocent book series like Harry Potter is trying to indoctrinate children to witchcraft, but that she is trying to BAN BOOKS because of her own personal opinion.
I mean really people. If you don't like Harry Potter, you don't have to read it. Doesn't mean everyone else shouldn't have the right to.
1 person likes this
@nennen1975 (30)
• Philippines
16 Dec 06
I like reading the harry potter series. I don't think it indoctrinates us in withcraft and challenging adults authority. It all depends on the reader. What we like about the book is the challenges harry has to face and the courage he shows in standing up to his problems. I guess its different in our country the Philippines where we have been raised on stories of witches and monsters in our countryside. That's why harry potter is just another great book for us to read. Hey, at least we're learning another language from the beook. :)
1 person likes this
