Posted on 10/04/2006 6:54:36 AM PDT by SmoothTalker
"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 is 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.""
Ping!
I agree. The issue about the public libraries and Spanish literature, is unrelated to this Ga. woman’s quest to remove a book from the police enforced, compulsory, government school.
Perhaps, the motivation of the writer was to portray Georgians as backward hicks as well.
Seriously...why do dingbats think a book is going to have that kind of influence? Its a BOOK, for goodness sakes!
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The Bible is only a “BOOK”. Look at its influence.
Yes, I agree.
Presumably this old thread is resurrected in light of the gnoofball's lawsuit's failure.
Double Bingo!
Wonder if the bible is allowed in this library.
Huh? School libraries make choices all the time as to which books to offer and which not to. I don't agree with this lady, but she has the right to try to get the books removed if she wants. Has nothing to do with 'big government.'
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The fundamental problem underlying all of these hundreds of curriculum and policy issues is:
Government schools and the First Amendment are utterly and completely and irredeemably INCOMPATIBLE. The two can not coexist! It is axiomatic.
Why should this woman be forced by the government into the position of having to fight for her religious beliefs? If education were completely privatized the entire issue of how the government chooses literature for children would be moot.
The question here is does any government on any level have the right to force ( by threat of armed police action) children into its indoctrination centers and then fill them with ideas that undermine the traditions taught at home?
As Aquinasfan pointed out in message #76, and Texas Shutterbug in #37, the Harry Potter books do have religious consequences for all the children in the school whether or a child reads them.
All the children are abuzz with Harry Potter. These books, as well as the school book covers, lunch boxes, book bags, pencils, toys, and action figures brought into the police enforced compulsory school desensitize children to witchcraft, and many parents do not want their young children’s curiosity piqued in this manner. Who is the government to force children into a semi-prisonlike school that does exactly that?
Solution: Begin the process of privatizing universal K-12 education.
( By the way, I love the Potter books. Eragon and Eldest too.)
Uh, okay. But that has nothing to do with this woman, so why did you say, “She sounds like a typical big-government conservative.”
Huh? School libraries make choices all the time as to which books to offer and which not to.
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And those choices and exclusions are **never** religiously, culturally, or politically neutral.
No matter what the government does, the government through its compulsory, police enforced, governemnt schools will establish the religion, culture, and politics of some, and trash that of others.
If our Founding Fathers were alive today and could see the harm to freedom our police enforced, compulsory, government kiddie prisons have wrought, they would have written into the federal and all state constitutions:
Complete separation of SCHOOL and state.
Yep. That's why I wondered if the library had the bible available to the kids.
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I didn’t say the above.
I believe you quoted JillValentine ( post #7) in your message #87
Yep. That’s why I wondered if the library had the bible available to the kids.
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Likely not.
And,,,if they do, it is hidden under the librarian’s desk and you need special permission to get access.
I agree with you both. First, that a citizen has the right to petition government, no matter how nutty she is.
Second, that we shouldn’t have government run education.
Oh, right. Sorry.
Harry Potter is Wiccan?
That’s not possible, there isn’t one single fat ugly lesbian female character in any of these books.
Oh, I don’t know. I’d imagine they consider text books and the like OK - as long as they don’t discuss evolution or cosmology or geology or ...
“This woman’s attempt to ban HP won’t succeed, but her effort is commendable.”
I suppose, if you find idiocy commendable.
Delores Umbridge?
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