USS Clueless is not new in observing that one of the benefits of a free society is that the “horse laugh test” (can you listen to something without bursting into one?) is a usable mechanism for determining whether someone or their their ideas are, ah, worth listening to. But he points out some good examples today from the Left (see the previous entry) and the Right (folks getting up in arms over Harry Potter and the Threat of Satanism Taking Over Our Tots).
The Potter books top the banned book listing for 2000, compiled by the American Library Association. Some have called for the books to be banned from public school libraries, claiming stories about witches and wizards violate church-state separation. Others have staged book burnings or circulated phony reports that claim the novels inspired thousands of children to join satanic cults.
A Kansas library recently canceled a reading of the books due to complaints about magical content. Some children in Jacksonville, Fla., must now present parental permission slips to read the books at school libraries.
“Satan is up to his old tricks again and the main focus is the children of the world,” wrote Jon Watkins, a Baptist activist. “The whole purpose of these (Potter) books is to desensitize readers and introduce them to the occult.”
Next up, “Activist Groups Claim Winnie the Pooh Causing Obsesity in Children.”