JK Rowling denied top US honour

[tkioz]

mmm was Bush the president of the US or of back water Africa nation that changes it name every other week? Because honestly the more of this stuff that comes out the harder it is to tell.

 

[rossatdi]

Or you know, you all can continue discussing the fact that she was not worthy of the award in the first place.

Well I think that was the obvious point of debate!

After all which is more unusual?

1) Bush administration pandering to the moronic right wing fuck bags from the bible belt and his own 'born again' Christianity.

~or~

2) A British author of twee childrens' books being given the highest order that the US President is able to bestow.

 

[IAmWright777]

However the kids that read them would have read something else if the series wasn't made, does that make sense? If you are going to read, you are going to read.

Not neccesarily. Harry Potter was heavily hyped and generally everyone was made aware of it. When series get that famous, people who do not normally read often find themselves reading them.
An example? Twilight!

Well, true. Though I can not say I like your Twilight example. Good point though.

 

[chenry]

The Kennedy thing is stupid, yes. But Rowling? Big deal. She wrote a bunch of books that weren't exactly world changing. So PFT. Whatever.

 

[Naheal]

I'm not going to comment on whether she deserved the award or not, since that's my opinion, but I was under the impression that it was not illegal to practice whatever practices/religious beliefs you want in America (barring those that incite you to rape, pillage, and/or murder). Would there be as much of an uproar if she were 'promoting' some other practice?

Technically, you'd be correct in this assessment, but consider some of the things that have been placed in that some folks say that "Freedom of religion also means freedom from religion" which is true, but is taken too far to an extreme. We're supposed to be a tolerant nation, but, currently, if someone were to pray to Allah, what kind of reaction do you think we'd see? There's also the accusations that Obama may have been muslim which, while amusing, could have ended up being damning in his race should it have been true.

 

[ae86gamer]

1-I don't really think that she deserves an award.

2-The people who think that her books 'encourage witchcraft' are idiots whose opinions should not matter.

 

[PhiMed]

As far as her having her award "taken away", did she really? She didn't meet the criteria for the award anyway. You listed a description of the qualifications for the award, and she doesn't meet a single one of them.

Well she was denied the honour. The specifics entailed in that statement is never mentioned in the source so we can only speculate what "taken away" means here.

You do raise a valid point though, just because it was reported by the media does not make it the truth. Somehow though, there is this lingering suspicion in my mind about the what if....what if it is true?.

Can someone be preposterous enough to claim witchcraft?. I wouldn't put it past anyone I met on the street let alone a politician.

I think there's an important distinction between "was denied" and "did not receive". The second phrase is undeniable, but as for the first...

Based on the criteria for the award that you snipped, she should not have been considered for the award in the first place. She fails to meet a single stipulation for candidacy. If the stated reasons for her removal from consideration are true, then this is a story. Otherwise, this is comparable to someone not receiving a Nobel Prize for science based on their work feeding the needy on the West Bank. Sure, what they did was admirable, but the award is completely unrelated to their endeavors.

While the claim that our former president gave creedence to charges of condoning witchcraft is certainly disturbing, it feels remarkably like piling on an administration that has enough legitimate and demonstrable criticisms that could be levied against it as it is. Unless hard evidence is put forward that this is true, I'll continue to view this as an attempt to profit from otherwise well-earned intense anti-Bush sentiment.

 

[Ironic]

I might be the only one in saying this but, so what? Her books aren't that good *opinion here*, the films are OK but not stellar.

I agree. They aren't BRILLIANT books, but as far as originality goes, its quite good in my opinion, what with all the "encouraging a generation to read yada yada yada".

What surprises me though, is that these witchcraft fearing politicians STILL haven't spotted the "GIGANTIC METAPHOR FOR CHRIST" Harry Potter is.

Spoiler: Proof

Seriously, the last chapter of the last book pretty much alludes him to Christ perfectly. Harry dies to save all his friends in the magical castle-house-school at the hands of Voldemort, who basically is so like "Satan" you couldn't get more satanic, and then LIVES ON AFTERWARDS, IS RESURRECTED AND DEFEATS "SATAN" WITH FREAKING COMPASSION.

I'm not christian, just the whole thing reeks of the Bible.

 

[Trotgar]

I don't really like Rowlings books, they are quite mediocre in my opinion (though they draw the readers quite well) but the reason for the denial is just idiotic.

 

[Et3rnalLegend64]

It's really idiotic. "Encouraging witchcraft"? She was only out to write a story, which she did, and we liked it.

"The award acknowledges contributions to US national interest, world peace or cultural endeavours."

Why does it have to be about politics? Books and politics seems like a messy combination to me, plus the fact that they're denying her the award for such a flimsy reason. "I accuse you of teaching our kids sorcery, and that doesn't help America in any way. Never mind that your book single-handedly got a whole bunch of people, kids and adults, to actually read for once in our increasingly illiterate country." Bullshit.

 

[Joshimodo]

She doesn't deserve it because she wrote ONE good book. Then spammed sequels.

 

[cleverlymadeup]

well since her spells were all done in latin, that would explain why Bush suspended the Writ of Habeas Corpus cause he must have thought it was a bill about witchcraft

How many people laughed nervously about that because it's just too close to being believable?

yeah but doesn't make it any less funny and possibly true, i'm sure more than one conservative person thought that after reading Harry Potter and seeing all the spells in it

 

[Eatspeeple]

k' then, in line with this, ban all wizard themed things, WoW, harry potter, pegge (TALKING ANIMALS) Witch hunts being discussed in school, and all electrical goods. Make blackhawk down mandatory reading. There, that out to do away with that nasty fictional magic!

 

[Nuke_em_05]

On-topic (or rather, what the OP wants to hear:
Man, denied over sorcery in the content? That's horrible!

However, that's ignoring background, context, the whole story, and Matt Latimer's bias.

I know, I know, you don't want why she shouldn't, but here's the criteria for the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

"an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors."

No, she doesn't deserve it in the first place. It is actually relevant, because the claim of whichcraft being the only reason is just ridiculous, there were probably others. Just because Matt Latimer heard a few people say "sorcery" doesn't make it the only reason. His claim is pretty ambiguous to begin with.

But consider your source for one second, Matt Latimer, and his book. Matt Latimer was a fly on the wall, few whitehouse staff from his time there could probably pick him out of a line up. The man who hired him to the job explains the book best in the Wall Street Journal.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204488304574427293627179018.html?mod=djemEditorialPage

I just wouldn't go crying foul over his claims.

 

[Lord George]

Ahhh America land of freedom indeed, the freedom to be repressed by a vocal religious majority.

I liked Rowlings books and can't help but feel many people here rail against them simply because there "popular", the same thing seems to happen with Twilight. Oh well.

 

[chronobreak]

just another reason to hate america

Damn it now I lost faith in humani- oh it was just Bush

Never mind

It may be time for my annual sabbatical from The Escapist. What the hell is going on lately? If I see another troll contributing nothing to a thread besides slamming a guy who isn't even in office anymore, or the country the man represents, I'm going to flip.

And Ted Kennedy? Seriously? Yeah, he totally deserved one for crashing his car and leaving a woman to die. The man was hardly the saint that everyone is remembering him as.

As far as Teddy, let's look at some of the good the man did in his lifetime. The man served in our armed forces, was a vocal supporter of women and gay rights, got the Americans with Disabilities Act passed, increased the minimum wage, and was a champion of health care reform. I don't think anyone said the man was a saint, but are any of us?

 

[cleverlymadeup]

And Ted Kennedy? Seriously? Yeah, he totally deserved one for crashing his car and leaving a woman to die. The man was hardly the saint that everyone is remembering him as.

As far as Teddy, let's look at some of the good the man did in his lifetime. The man served in our armed forces, was a vocal supporter of women and gay rights, got the Americans with Disabilities Act passed, increased the minimum wage, and was a champion of health care reform. I don't think anyone said the man was a saint, but are any of us?

not so sure about the ADA part, mostly cause of what it considers a "disability" like not being able to do simple math and other stupid things.

there is also the fact that he's the Kennedy that lived

 

[Kajin]

The Kennedy thing is stupid, yes. But Rowling? Big deal. She wrote a bunch of books that weren't exactly world changing. So PFT. Whatever.

Funny, a chorus of cheers from happy children 'round the world that arises every time the next installment of the potter series is announced seems kind of like a pretty significant change to me, especially for one person.

J.K. Rowling may not have the best series in the world, but it's still a pretty decent read. People are making the excuse that children will just read something else if harry potter didn't come along. You know what? There were times where I'd look around and people I never thought would even be capable of reading were sitting quietly in a corner reading one of Rowling's books.

She may not deserve the award, but to denounce her as trivial or unimportant has got to be an act of sheer unyielding determination to remain ignorant.

Off Topic:
Anything that inspires people to read is a good thing. The spelling errors in this thread alone make me laugh.

 

[Hitman 43]

Haven't heard much about Rowling after the 7th Harry Potter book was released.

That series is great.