(Re: Harry Potter)
Witchcraft for kids. You have been conned by the hype. Not everything that encourages kids to read is a good idea. The anarchist's cookbook might encourage them to read, so your logic is faulty. This Satanism should not be encouraged in school; you are abusing your position of responsibility in guiding other people's children to something that is really dodgy.
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Actually I'd have no problem with my kid reading that (The Anarchist's Cookbook) as I wouldn't raise a kid who is wacked out of his/her skull and thus likely to even attempt trying to use it as an instruction manual. Of course I wouldn't hand it to a 7 year old, but if a 15 or so year old got it from the library and came home with it I'd like to think that I would've raised that kid properly so there would be no problem (again, of course, I'd take it away if I thought for a second the kid couldn't be trusted). It would also give me the opportunity to discuss the subject matter with the children which is something you should do with your children after reading Harry Potter if you have such a problem with it as they are going to be exposed to it at some point or another and you won't be there otherwise. Of course I would tell them it's just fiction and magic is not real where as a wacko like you would tell them that it's real and they will go to hell if they try to use actual witchcraft, but to each his own.
I'd rather have my kid read the Anarchist Cook Book than read the Bible and become a useless scripture spouting zombie with no greater goal in life than to infect other human beings with religious asshattery. The sad thing is, I think that the Bible has some very relevant and usefull stuff in it if taken in context but then again, common sense isn't.
There are more spectacular displays of witchcraft in the Bible than there are in Harry Potter.
I like how turning water into wine, multiplying fish and bread, and splitting the Red-fucking-Sea are "miracles, yet riding a broom is witchcraft.
Lucy, you have some splaining to do!
So...reading a fun little book (though not especially good) that teaches love, friendship, and hope while engaging in a little magical diversion is somehow worse than reading a not-so-fun and hard-to-follow book full of rape, incest, war, murder, and hate in the context of buying into some delusion of a sky-daddy who punishes you for not conforming?
And, yes, the Good Book(TM) is the latter of the two; I would recommend the Harry Potter series to children before that horrid book.
Somehow, I fail to see the moral high ground these people purport to preach from.
I've red Mein Kampf cover to cover and guess what ?? It didn't turn me into a Nazi. It might have if I hadn't also have read books by Jonathan Safran Foer or that book by that old jewish lady, you know the one.
Throughout that thread, Baron makes a lot of wild claims about 'witches,' most in the form of personal anecdotes, and of course has no sources to back up his imaginative (and in a couple of cases, obviously false) statements.
When called on this, of course, he uses a vague "I think it was in the news" excuse and never provides proof. He then makes some hint at a conspiracy theory before the end of the thread.
I read the anarchist's cookbook as a kid, and I've never blown anything up that did not require baking soda and vinegar.
However, being anarchist is the only moral position to take, so, I guess that reading the anarchist cookbook was somehow good for me.
So was reading the bible. Now, I read all of it, but I didn't marry multiple husbands, eat my afterbirth and children, or cut someone up in twelve pieces and send those pieces to the twelve tribes of Israel. Obviously, reading the bible hasn't caused us to actually FOLLOW it.
Although reading anarchist material is good for you. ;)
TheMissus: That's the whole point , you see. This evil woman comes forward with her "book" about "magic" and how wonderful it is, and how it's this big fun adventure, and leads children astray because MAGIC IS JUST A TOOL OF THE DEVIL .
Wow. Poe's right, I tried REALLY hard to exaggerate and be really snarky, and it still reads as genuine. O.O I KNOW I don't believe that stuff, but I'm ready to start tearing into myself for writing that.
Oh for the love of...
Baron, read the goddamn books before you condemn them. Their main concern is less about magic, and more about the potential each person holds, and the power of the choices one makes.
Wait, that's the thing, isn't it. No child should feel special, as only God can deem anyone as such. No one should feel any weight of a decision...the bible is used to make any and all decisions about your life for you.
Is he abusing?, give me a break. Since when is he FORCING people to read?, and have you read the book for that matter?. The analogy with the other book, which doesn't exist, is utterly a non-sequitur. Who is abusing his position of power to impose their beliefs into others?, some evangelicals with Bush?
Considering these books have little to do with the actual spells anyway; given that the -story- is about a boy who grows up and finds a family for himself- this makes no fickin' sense.
And -anything- that inspires a child to read is a good thing; just because the child is reading, doesn't mean they are acting on what had been read. Give a child enough to read, and they will be able to discern what is, and is not, good to act upon.
I read the Anarchist's Cookbook when I was younger. Don't remember much of it except some obsolete info (capt'n crunch whistle for free phone calls or such) as well as instructions for making thermite. Couldn't be arsed to even try some of the stuff in there. Given the abysmal reading and writing skills kids have anymore, I'd rather they read practically ANYTHING than rot in front of a TV or Xbox whilst texting their friends: "hay wut r u up 2 lol?" Holy Shiva that hurt my head to write.
I wouldn't let my kids read the Anarchist Cookbook, mainly because most of what's in there is unreliable garbage that shouldn't be touched by anyone with less expertise than a college chemistry major. On the other hand, some Loompanics books, assuming there were many left (Loompanics is out of business)... I'd say that's probably more reliable. Anyway, nothing beats a good founding in scientific thinking.
...
It is not so much the subject matter of why the schools want the children to read these books for, its because this series has actually GOTTEN children off their asses to read in the first place. And now that you see the children encouraged to read, you want to take that away and presumably replace it with the bible.
What does this say about the Bible?
If it was a good book, Like the Potter franchise, then children would be standing in lines to read it...so just admit it, you bully, your Bible sucks when it comes to quality literature.
Hey - watch it, buddy.
There is nothing wrong with the Anachist's Cookbook!! (Well, except that it's sadly outdated, now. LoL)
It is like Harry Potter, you git. Just because kids read it for fun, doesn't mean that they're actually going to do any of it.
Contrary to your opinion, most kids are not idiots. Nor are they that suggestible (I wish! Then I'd just have to write a "book of household rules" and they'd behave perfectly, right?
Moron, give kids some credit. Sheesh.
A child reads Harry Potter and decides to give magic a try. He finds a stick, waves it, recites the incantation from the book...and nothing happens. The child concludes that magic makes for a fun story, but it doesn't work in reality.
A child reads the bible and decides to give prayer a try. He gets down on his knees, utters an invocation to god/Jesus...and nothing happens. However, before the child can draw any conclusions, fundamentalists swoop in and tell him that he has to keep believing in the power of prayer despite his experiences or else he'll burn forever in hell because the loving god of the bible hates him for being a filthy sinner, despite the fact that he was born that way and can't help it.
The problem isn't with the child, the material he is reading or reality. The problem here is with you Baron.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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