When Harry Met Laura
Wednesday, October 4th, 2006 5:21 pm by Neal |
| Laura Mallory, of Loganville, Ga., holds up a brochure for a summer camp for learning the art of witchcraft. (AP Photo/John Amis) |
Busybody Laura Mallory is nothing if not hard-headed and determined, but most fanatics are. We initially wrote about this woman here and concluded:
Laura Mallory is an intolerant, religious fanatic for this reason: She doesn’t want the Harry Potter novels pulled from the school libraries because her children might read them; she wants them pulled because your children might read them. Laura considers it her duty to ensure that your children are only exposed to the correct religious views as defined by…her!
Laura Mallory and her nutjob supporters understand that government schools are the perfect environment for imposing their beliefs on unsuspecting others. They are correct about the venue: government schools indoctrinate the most vunerable citizens — children — with pro-government, socialist propaganda. It is no surprise that folks like Laura seek to use this mind-control machine for their own, nefarious purposes.
While I’m tempted to condemn Laura’s actions for yet-again reinforcing the stereotype of Georgians as back-woods, knuckle-dragging, snake-juggling Neanderthals, I am instead going to thank her. Thanks for such a clear-cut demonstration on why parents should never turn their kids over to the government to be educated. Examples like this really help get across the point that the government can no more “educate†children than it can enforce immigration laws, reform Social Security, or save parasites from a Hurricane. That the Gwinnett County school system would even contemplate censoring these novels proves my point.
Well, Laura was at it again yesterday, urging the BOE in Gwinnett County, Georgia, to ban the “evil” Harry Potter books. Here are the details, Harry Potter Books Considered Again in Gwinnett:
ATLANTA (AP) A Gwinnett County woman begged the hearing officer for the state Board of Education Tuesday to remove Harry Potter books from county school library shelves.
Laura Mallory of Loganville called the popular fiction series an “evil” attempt to indoctrinate children in the Wicca religion.
An attorney representing the Gwinnett County Board of Education said that the books do not support any particular religion but rather teach children about universal themes of friendship and overcoming adversity.
Wiccans consider themselves witches, pagans or neo-pagans, and say their religion is based on respect for the earth, nature and the cycle of the seasons.
Attorney Victoria Sweeny says if schools removed all books containing references to witches, they would have to ban mainstays such as “Cinderella” and “MacBeth.”
But Laura Mallory, who has four children, says the series is harmful to children who cannot tell reality from fantasy and try to cast spells on classmates. She first contacted her son’s school, J.C. Magill Elementary, to object to the books last summer.
The hearing officer presiding over the appeal will make a recommendation to the state board which is scheduled to rule on the case at its meeting in December.
Mallory is appealing after the school board ruled in favor of the books in May.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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