"Another board member, the only one who reported actually reading one of the books
from the series all the way through, testified that the books would create problems in the
school and could potentially lead to anarchy."
This bothered me for several reasons. Having read the Harry Potter books, and survived
my adolescence without aspiring to anarchy, it seems a ridiculous assumption to say the
books could directly influence children to act out. If her reasoning were to be applied to
all literature, most grade school required readings would need to be recalled. Call of the
Wild might encourage children to run away and live in the forest, and the effects of
Tom Sawyer are probably too appalling to consider.
What bothered me more though, was that throughout the entire ordeal, only 1 board
member had even finished a Harry Potter book. This level of small minded assumptions is
what leads to prejudices we deal with everyday, and yet, when it is explicitly occurring in an
official event, it is still not recognized as improper conduct. Without reading the books,
there is absolutely no way to understand the content being argued over. This same mindset
is what can lead to genocide, terrorism, and other unjust and immoral systems.
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