should harry potter and other offensive media be banned?

Question

Hi, To all other Wiccan/Pagans.
Every day when i go to high school. i hear that almost every pagan and wiccan alike are being harassed by christian peers and other aitheist youth. Because of the false information they pick up in the Media. i think to prevent any bullying and harassement to Wiccan teens and Adults alike. The following Media should be banned.

Harry potter(i somewhat like these books. but these books are giving false information to the Youth.)
Charmed(I love this show. but it is using our wiccan symbols and and pagan lingo to make this show good)
Hocus Pocus( I absolutely do NOT like this movie. It is very offensive to my religion and it gives others the wrong idea that witches worship the devil)
Sabrina the teenage witch( i dont like this one either. all wiccans sould kno why noone likes this show.)

Harry potter at the most should be banned. perspective. but in my perspective its making fun of wicca. and it promotes bullying and harassment to pagan

look i understand u dont agree to this. but think about it. I lost my job because because I'm a witch. ive been harassed and teased by students teachers and staff because of who Iam. Not just me, so are all my pagan friends. We can't tell school officials whats happening because they wont do anything about it. We cant tell our families because they're christians and they'll never understand. where did these lies about pagans come from? if not the media

Answer 1

I think you need to get a thicker skin, as the saying goes. Pagans and Wiccans aren't made fun of because of Harry Potter. They're made fun of because there are people in the world ignorant enough to associate Harry Potter and other such works (which are fiction and never make any mention of any particular religion, or religion at all really) with paganism and negativity. Don't blame the books and media, blame the morons that twist said books and media around to mean something that they don't. I like the Harry Potter books, and I have nothing against Pagans or Wiccans. Enjoyable books and media such as Harry Potter shouldn't be banned because some people just insist on using the books as an excuse to bash a certain religion.

Answer 2

No. Banning is never the answer. It's true that people get harrassed, but everyone gets harrassed because of their religion. It just depends on where you live, and how you decide to represent it, and how the person doing the harrassing decides to approach. If they ask an innocent question, and the other person gets really offended and acts like an idiot instead of answering calmly, it can make the asker think that what they asked is true.


I am Wiccan, and I see nothing wrong with the Harry Potter books. They're good books,(A little predictable though..) and they do not promote the bullying of pagans, nor does it make fun of wicca. J.K Rowling has even said that.

The story is your classic good vs evil. No where in the books do they mention gods or goddesses, whether in a good or bad way. The only thing it really makes fun of is divination.

Charmed does at least show that there is a different between the Charmed One's and other witches who practice it as a religion. The only thing is that they're a bit out of touch from reality, considering that every week a new baddy shows up to kill them. I don't know about you, but my potions don't come out looking completely clear and a nice red or green color, and they don't explode if I drop them, either.

They're works of fiction. If we start banning books because some people are ignorant about what they speak, then we may as well ban everything, and I think that would make for a pretty dull world, don't you?

Instead of banning something, why not start an ezine, or something? Something like the "Watchtower" that Jehovah's Witnesses read and hand out. Explain how the pagan religions work, answer all those offensive questions in a calm, logical way.

Don't ban information, make more available.

Answer 3

The problem with the idea of banning things that are offensive is that EVERYTHING is offensive to someone. If you don't like a book ,don't read it. If you don't like a t.v show or movie don't watch it. If you don't like a song, don't listen to it. But DON'T make that choice for someone else. I agree that the items you mentioned give innacurate protrayals in one way or another. However, inaccuracies aside, they do portray the subject in a positive light (accept for Hocus Pocus of course). As an example, in charmed the was a bit in the first season (like the 3rd or so episode) where Piper was having concerns about the impact of being a witch with regard to religion. She found that it wasn't a problem. the whole point of it was to dispell the diea of witches being satanic and evil and was well done. The same can be said for both Sabrina and Harry Potter; whatever else, they DO portray the subject in a positive light. Such things ARE a tep in the right direction and are paving the way for things of a more accurate nature. As a priest of the Asatru religion I welcome ANYTHING that protrays magic and paganism in a positive light as a step toward the time when it will no longe BE an issue. Efforts to ban such thinga are, in truth, doing more benefit to our enemies than anything else and, believe me, the don't NEED any help with that.

As for the harrassment and bullying that was going on LONG gefore any of these things came out. I had a friend who, when they were in highschool in the early 90's (beofre Charmed, Harry Potter or Sabrina) who was attacked and beaten up by members of an organization called the Fellowship of Christian Atheletes, becasue she was a Wiccan. The school refused to even acknowledge the incident because of the nature of the religions involved. So unitl we stand up and be counted things like that will continue.

Answer 4

You forgot The Craft as well.

Ok, you can't burn things that offend you, nor ban it. If you did this, some smart Christian would say they can ban your Pagan Newsletter, because it is media that offends their own religion. The Da Vinci Code would get the chop, the sight of a mosque, and how about Halloween?

Too often people respond negatively to attack. People getting the wrong idea about your religion? Go positive! Hold a bake sale or whatever it is americans do, how about a booth at your county fair: "Hi, I'm a Wiccan. I'm selling cakes. Ask me a Question!"

I'm a media student, and I know that it's easier than ever for people to get their voice out there. Make a short, a small film or documentary piece with your friend's home camcorder. Paint your religion is a positive light.

Harry Potter pisses off christians a lot as well because it breaks the cardinal rule that the protagonists must not use magic to combat magic. The books you get your spells out of, the coven you attend or the Handfasting you may one day take when you get married are all protected by the same law that protects these books. Every religion's had bad press in one form or a nother. Don't lash out, throw a positive image out there.

Answer 5

If you are Wiccan, as you say you are, you would not be sinking to the same level as some Christians who want the same thing.

You are also mistaken in thinking that all Wiccans practice Witchcraft; they don't, and some will take offense to being called Witches.

First off, while Harry Potter involves Witchcraft, it does not promote it in a bad light and has nothing to do with Wicca, nor is it giving false information to our youth. It portrays magic as overcoming evil, surely that is a good way to show it? And, just how does it promote bullying? It has an evil Professor Snape (although I don't think he's that evil), which reassures kids that they aren't the only ones who have bad teachers! It has rich kids picking on poorer kids, and elements of racial abuse - ie - 'Mudblood' vs 'Pureblood', which happens all the time in society.

Charmed is a fictional show with fictional spells and fictional powers, and while it is often seen as quoting the word Wicca, it has nothing to do with the real religion.

Hocus Pocus, also has nothing to do with Wicca, as it was based on evil Witches of the Christian persecution days - Devil worshippers, not to mention that it was fiction. And if you watched the film closely, it also shows Winny - Bette Midler referring to the young girl as a neophyte white witch, indicating that Witches can be good or bad.

Sabrina is even more fictional and is not portrayed in a bad light at all!! They are good Witches with freaky powers, and once again, have nothing to do with Wicca.

Did I mention that they are all fiction???

The media will never get things 100% right about Paganism and Wicca, and it messes up pretty well about most other things going on in the world as it is, so why would religion ever be any different?

If you are strong in your beliefs, things like this shouldn't affect you. If they do, then I would sumise that you are feeling rather vulnerable in your choice of religion, and you need to re-evaluate why you are even Wiccan if petty things like this bother you.

BB
)O(

Additional - to the person above me, Harry Potter is NOT already banned! Where the hell did you get that idea from??? She is writing the final book 7 as we speak!!! Not to mention the fifth film is being released on july 13th! And I personally can't wait for it! Where do you live? The back end of nowhere??? I was picked on at school for being Wiccan, and so I know what it is like. It is just something you just have to rise above.

Answer 6

No, that's just ridiculous.

First, there has been "magic" - fantasy magic - portrayed in folk tales and stories for centuries. We should be happy that we're not always portrayed as old hags with warts and cackles and evil intentions.

And frankly, I don't think that the hysteria over Harry Potter needs to be fanned by US.

I am completely opposed to the banning of ANY books for any reason. And anyone who is silly enough to think that "Charmed" or "The Craft" are documentaries rather than fiction will only be more certain that there are "dark secrets" in such things if they are banned. They'll be sure we're trying to hide something.

You're overreacting. A sense of perspective is almost indistinguishable from a sense of humor. Try to cultivate that.

Answer 7

Harry Potter is a fictional book about friendship, love, teenage angst and the fight between good and bad.. Many religious people object to the inclusion of magic... No I do not agree... The Harry Potter Books have gotten children interested in reading.. They are marvelous books all three of my children (ages 19, 17 and 10) are chomping at the bit waiting for Friday night so we can pick up the 7th book..

Answer 8

As a Pagan mother of 4 young witches. i can easily relate to what you are saying. My 14 year old daughter, who just started high school. was constantly teased and bullied because she is a witch. every day Liz comes home crying, because rumors are spread around that she uses dead cats in her potions. some call her a lunatic. ever since her peers have discovered what she is. Liz had lost alot of friends. many people fear her and many people preach to her.
I agree with u for one reason: media.
where do you think this false information came from

That dosent mean that harry potter or other offensive media be banned. they should be locked away until people learn to respect us witches.

and by the way: lets stop this nonsense. harry potter is already banned. The author is not writing anymore books. and no more movies. if there were any movies after the goblet of fire. they would have released it by now. because pagans are filing lawsuitsthe books publisher for offensive material.

and there is a reason charmed already showed its last episode.same reason i mentioned above

Answer 9

Ban books/movies/tv shows because they portray pagans...to protect pagans? That makes no sense.
It's up to the "harrassed" pagans to educate the mis-informed about what their religion is really about.
I like Harry Potter. But I know the difference between fiction and reality. Many don't.

Answer 10

People love magic. You don't have to be wiccan to know that movies and shows about magic are going to sell.
Taking Harry Potter off the shelves and out of the theaters is such a dumb idea. Harry Potter is not just about the magic, its about friendship, bravery, and love. I'm sorry you are unable to see that. If you deny these kids this series of movies, you're denying them their imaginations and removing a character that they all look up to.
The people that misjudge wicca are stupid, I agree with you there. But just because a bunch of ignorant dumb@sses are uneducated about your religion, doesn't mean you have to remove one of the greatest kids movie epic of all time! If you don't like the movies or the shows, then there are two buttons on your remote, one of them turns it off....and the other....changes the station!