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JK Rowling lost out on US medal over Harry Potter 'witchcraft'

Rrose Selavy

Stranded in Sub-Atomica
Rrose Selavy
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Sep 11, 2004
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Not sure where to post this, but anyway...

A memoir by George W Bush's former speechwriter claims that Bush administration officials objected to giving JK Rowling a presidential medal of freedom on the grounds that her Harry Potter books "encouraged witchcraft".
According to the liberal American blog Think Progress, Matt Latimer's Speech-Less: Tales of a White House Survivor reveals how politicised the medal, which is America's highest civilian honour, became during the Bush administration.
Latimer, whose memoir was published last week by Crown in the US, says that the "narrow thinking" of "people in the White House" led them "to actually object to giving the author JK Rowling a presidential medal because the Harry Potter books encouraged witchcraft".
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/sep/29/harry-potter-rowling-medal
 
I'm speechless. Well, not really; but I am shocked.

J.K. Rowling's books have been a tremendous part of the resurgence in kids wanting to actually READ a book instead of watching a cartoon or playing a video game; we may actually have some smarter kids graduating soon as a result of the book industry becoming revitalized. Her books, albeit not singlehandedly, but close to, reenergized what was, IMO, a stagnating industry. Rowling's characters emphasize strength of character and how important it is to do the right thing at all times; how is that a bad thing?

I tell you what, I have always had major issues with anyone who has ever said her books promoted witchcraft; in the first place, whomever says that knows NOTHING about the actual practice of witchcraft or Wicca, as both religions are EXTREMELY different from the magic portrayed in Rowling's books, and in the second place, it merely showcases how small-minded and bigoted some people can be. Who cares if the books DO promote "witchcraft"; number one, we're supposed to encourage freedom of religion in this country, and number two, the books encourage people to PUT DOWN the video game controller and actually LEARN something for once! I hope President Obama overturns that decision; if anyone deserves a medal, it is J.K. Rowling. Granted, I'm not a hundred percent positive she deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom, but she does deserve a medal, IMO.
 
Personally, I don't know which is worse: That the Bush Administration wouldn't give Ms. Rowlings the medal, or that the Bush Administration believed that witchcraft is real!
 
Rrose Selavy said:
A memoir by George W Bush's former speechwriter claims that Bush administration officials objected to giving JK Rowling a presidential medal of freedom on the grounds that her Harry Potter books "encouraged witchcraft".
According to the liberal American blog Think Progress, Matt Latimer's Speech-Less: Tales of a White House Survivor reveals how politicised the medal, which is America's highest civilian honour, became during the Bush administration.
Latimer, whose memoir was published last week by Crown in the US, says that the "narrow thinking" of "people in the White House" led them "to actually object to giving the author JK Rowling a presidential medal because the Harry Potter books encouraged witchcraft".
Click to expand...
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This just goes to show you W. and crowd don't even know their own religion.

She shouldn't be forbidden the medal because her books encourage witchcraft. She should be forbidden the medal, and her books should be forbidden, outright, because they portray witchcraft, an actually-existing and evil craft (so says The Bible itself -- God's actual Word), as something positive.


Get it right, doofs! :mad:
 
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Mark A. Siefert said:
Personally, I don't know which is worse: That the Bush Administration wouldn't give Ms. Rowlings the medal, or that the Bush Administration believed that witchcraft is real!
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Both.
 
JK Rowling lost out on US medal over Harry Potter 'witchcraft'

I suspect she's crying all the way to the bank. ;)
 
Beerina said:
This just goes to show you W. and crowd don't even know their own religion.

She shouldn't be forbidden the medal because her books encourage witchcraft. She should be forbidden the medal, and her books should be forbidden, outright, because they portray witchcraft, an actually-existing and evil craft (so says The Bible itself -- God's actual Word), as something positive.


Get it right, doofs! :mad:
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I actually think that Rowling took on this attitude (I know it's not you, but the general attitude) at the beginning of the 6th book in the chapter on the two ministers. In it, the muggle prime minister gets exasperated and tells Fudge, "But you can do magic!" Fudge and Scrimjour look at him, almost with pity, and tell him, "Yes, but the other side can do magic, too."

I think this was Rowling's way of pointing out that magic in the books is just a tool that can be used for good or evil. In that respect, it is like saying that both cops and robbers carry guns. It isn't guns that is evil, it is how you use them, and criticizing her books because they have magic and witchcraft in them makes as much sense as criticizing a random detective story because it has guns in it.

That statement, "The other side can do magic, too" seems to be a direct response to those complaining about the witchcraft in the books.
 
So a Liberal Blog takes the recollection of a single former White House staffer as Gospel, and you "Critical Thinkers" accept it and bow to the East (or North, I dunno)
 
rwguinn said:
So a Liberal Blog takes the recollection of a single former White House staffer as Gospel, and you "Critical Thinkers" accept it and bow to the East (or North, I dunno)
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Why would she need a medal? She's got all that gold in Gringots socked away, and she's a Brit who'll get (or got) an award from the Queen for her contribution to British letters or some such. As to critical thinking on this forum, when Geo W Bush arises as a topic, that's been dead in the water since before I got here.

DR
 
I don't know if this is true.

IF it is, the point is not about Rowling or her works. It's about Bush.
 
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MG1962 said:
Subject matter aside, why would she be considered anyway. If you look through the list of previous winners, volume sales are hardly a critera

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidential_Medal_of_Freedom_recipients
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Most likely because, as I said, her books are largely responsible for the resurgence in reading in the younger generation. They aren't SOLELY responsible, mind you, but they are a big part of it.

But as I said, while I do think she deserves some sort of award for that, I don't know if the Presidential Medal of Freedom is necessarily the right one to give her.
 
MG1962 said:
Subject matter aside, why would she be considered anyway. If you look through the list of previous winners, volume sales are hardly a critera http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidential_Medal_of_Freedom_recipients
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Did someone suggest that they are? Or should be?

From the publication of her first book it has been evident that she has singlehandedly increased young peoples' interest in reading perhaps more than any author in history. Certainly she did so at a time when there was a dire need for such an impetus.

I think that speaks for something.

The Bush White House found sufficient merit in the contributions of Doris Day and Charlton Heston to honor them with an award. Do you think that their contributions to society were of greater significance?

If she had never been considered then I doubt that there would be any meaningful dispute. If it is true that she was considered, and rejected because of the prejudices of lunatic fringe groups then it speaks quite badly of the value systems used by Bush to make his decisions.
 
The way I heard it, Rowling would have won the gong, but Hillary Clinton cast a spell on the medal committee, because she didn't want people getting antsy about witches before the Democratic Convention.
 
It's possible the White House didn't actually believe in witchcraft, but were sensitive to the feelings of voters who do. Which is just as stupid.
 
quadraginta said:
Did someone suggest that they are? Or should be?

From the publication of her first book it has been evident that she has singlehandedly increased young peoples' interest in reading perhaps more than any author in history. Certainly she did so at a time when there was a dire need for such an impetus.
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I am not disputing that. Just looking through the list of former winners, there is a definate bias to literary prose rather than to popularity

The Bush White House found sufficient merit in the contributions of Doris Day and Charlton Heston to honor them with an award. Do you think that their contributions to society were of greater significance?
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Who knows, I didn't look through the actors because we are discussing authors. A very different animal I am sure you would agree. As an observation the fact that Day and Heston were both American probably helped their cause.

If she had never been considered then I doubt that there would be any meaningful dispute. If it is true that she was considered, and rejected because of the prejudices of lunatic fringe groups then it speaks quite badly of the value systems used by Bush to make his decisions.
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Given we only have a blog to go on, I wonder how much of the claim is even true to begin with
 
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