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-Short Attention Span Theater-
Georgia mom seeks Harry Potter ban
2006-10-04
ATLANTA — A suburban county that sparked a public outcry when its libraries temporarily eliminated funding for Spanish-language fiction is now being asked to ban Harry Potter books from its schools. Laura Mallory, a mother of four, told a hearing officer for the Gwinnett County Board of Education on Tuesday that the popular fiction series are an "evil" attempt to indoctrinate children in the Wicca religion.

Board of Education attorney Victoria Sweeny said that if schools were to remove all books containing reference to witches, they would have to ban "Macbeth" and "Cinderella." "There's a mountain of evidence for keeping Harry Potter," she said, adding that the books don't support any particular religion but present instead universal themes of friendship and overcoming adversity.
Posted by:Fred

#20  Or do you want to argue that High Noon promotes capitulation to gangs?
Posted by: Frank G   2006-10-04 23:10  

#19  she has no point - the witchcraft angle of Harry Potter provides a setting for real human qualities, like good and evil and teenage insecurities....same as Star Wars was a western set in space to demonstrate the same qualities westerns showed. Only a thinly-focussed mind would not get that enough to start a public brou-haha. She deserves ridicule and public estrangement. Future spot for her in Kansas
Posted by: Frank G   2006-10-04 23:09  

#18  Are Bibles allowed in said schools? If not, she has a point.
Posted by: Jackal   2006-10-04 22:55  

#17  Actually, living in Gwinnett County myself, I'm like Besoeker and find her grit inspiring. And, as a Christian, I may think the books are evil, but I haven't read them myself, so I'll withhold judgement. But, I suspect the timing in this, because she's already been before the Board earlier this year, and local news was reporting it as her going before the State Board of Ed. Could it be that the State Board "o.k.'d" a hearing at this time to slander the conservative Christians? Sorry, but I just question almost everything that's posted in the MSM within a month of the elections.
Posted by: BA   2006-10-04 21:36  

#16  Forgive me for being a tax payer in Gwinnett County. This woman is a loon, she and the crazies protesting at funerals, are the reason that people like Rosie (pig) O'donnell feel comfortable equating Christian Fanatics to Muslim Fanatics. I recognize that our fanatics (Christian) are usually just annoying, but this is an example of blind religious fervor gone wild. I got to listen to an interview with her, and she made me wonder if we went to the same church !?! Everytime I think prayer in school is a good idea, one of these folks opens their mouth.
Posted by: Raider Ray   2006-10-04 20:37  

#15  LOL on the Phantom comment.
Posted by: lotp   2006-10-04 20:31  

#14  Yep, she has a right to her opinions no matter how dumb. Making an ass of oneself publicly has been a time honored tradition in these here great 50 states for a long time and I'm all for tradition. I never read any of the "Potter" stuff though I've seen the movies which I've enjoyed. I have read most of the C.S. Lewis stuff (who himself was a committed christian) and it speaks of magic, good vs. evil, etc. - a lot like the Potter themes.

Why she's at it, she should try to ban all the Star Wars movies because her kids might want to pursue becoming Dark Lords of the Sith or some shit. Although, I would definitely support her in banning Star Wars I: the phantom menace, because that movie did suck.
Posted by: Broadhead6   2006-10-04 20:27  

#13  Seems a little dumb to me, but she has the right to be heard. The board of ed probably wet themselves trying not to burst out in laughter.
Posted by: 49 Pan   2006-10-04 18:32  

#12  Nothing wrong with the odd book burning banning. Somewhere in the Bible it allows one to snatch out an eye and use it as a football. It's all there, the pages are thin, but easily searched.
Posted by: Shipman   2006-10-04 18:27  

#11  There's grit and standing for what you believe in...and then there's just being plain stupid. This woman is just plain stupid.
Posted by: AllahHateMe   2006-10-04 15:21  

#10  Well said Dr. Steve. Man or woman, one has to be a bit jittery to raise four kids these days. Soccer mom duty in Gwinnett County is no picnic either.
Posted by: Besoeker   2006-10-04 14:26  

#9  Laura is an idiot, but she has the right to be an idiot, and to be a public idiot ...
Posted by: Steve White   2006-10-04 14:23  

#8  Okay. Sure. Why not.
It's not like I'll remember her name ten minutes from now...
Posted by: tu3031   2006-10-04 13:57  

#7  For phuechs sake, she's a mother of FOUR and has a right to petition the Board over anything she damn well pleases. I'll give her a hand for standing for what she believes in. It's oftentimes not popular but it's a bit of a southern tradition. She's got grit! Attacking Harry Potter (not reading), Wicca-wingnuts, Macbeth and Cindyrella are a damn site less harmful that the targets of many of these moonbats of late. What say you?
Posted by: Besoeker   2006-10-04 13:55  

#6  Well, Laura, I think they should ban houndstooth sportcoats for women.
Everybody knows THEY ARE THE MARK OF SATAN!!!
Posted by: tu3031   2006-10-04 13:41  

#5  Good points in the article. I'm gonna go rip the books from my kids' hands and sit them down in front of the TV right now.

Idiots. This sort of thing is just ammo for leftocrats to bash Christians.
Posted by: Iblis   2006-10-04 13:39  

#4  I must be a bad Christian because I love all the Harry Potter books and my son will have the whole collection when he gets old enough to read. :)
Posted by: djohn66   2006-10-04 13:31  

#3  ...My ex - a rabidly fanatic christian - went off on the Harry Potter books once, claiming the same weird 'conspiracy' thingie. My attitude then was the same as it is now - ANYTHING that gets kids away from their PCs and video games is a good thing.
I just thought though that maybe the right graphic for this one is the 'Aw, not this S*it again!' guy...:)

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2006-10-04 13:09  

#2  Lord knows we have to ban Harry Potter. After all it has inspired kids to actually open a book and read. God knows what will happen if they start to do that.

Ditto on the asshats
Posted by: Cheaderhead   2006-10-04 10:41  

#1  Ban the Chronicles of Narnia while you are at it. It has a witch. And magic.

Freaken' asshats.
Posted by: DarthVader   2006-10-04 10:17  

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