Ashley's Very Non-Politically Correct Tirade

The other day, I got online and was greeted by the headline, "Albus Dumbledore is gay." I clicked on the article and read about how J.K. Rowling had told an audience who asked who Dumbledore's true love was that he was gay. The article went on to say that on most of the fan sites, people were saying that they always knew this and were so glad that she had admitted it.

I have a couple of things to say about this.

The first is: What book was I reading because I didn’t get that at all. I love the Harry Potter books. We own all 7 of them and I've read all of them at least twice. I am so impressed with J.K. Rowling and the world that she created. I've always loved Dumbledore's personality. In fact, I have really disliked the new Dumbledore in the movies. He kind of ruins it for me, but that's another story. I must not be too good at "getting" things when I read a book. I have a hard time seeing things that aren't there. If the page says they went to Diagon Alley, then they went to Diagon Alley...I don't try to look between the lines. So, I was completely caught off guard by this declaration. I just don't understand what hinted that he was gay. My gay-dar must be in the shop!

I have always had a problem with not "getting" the point of a book. I hated reading when I was a kid. I especially hated my 10th grade English class. We read a TON of short stories that year. One of them that I liked when I first read it was The Rocking Horse Winner. I have no idea who wrote it...that was too long ago. It was about a little boy who would rock on his rocking horse when things were bad. I related to this because I used to go to the horse pasture when I needed to cheer up. This all came crashing down when I went to class to discuss the short story. This story was not in fact about a boy riding his rocking horse. It was about something much more - disturbing? I won't go into it because it still really bugs me. But, needless to say, What short story was I reading because I didn't see that!

I was somewhat vindicated when I took a children's literature course in college. My professor was this really cool ex-kindergarten teacher who could remember EVERYTHING about EVERY book he ever read - kind of reminded me of Brent's mom. I wish I could do that. I have a hard time remember what the book was about a week later. Anyway, my professor was really big on not telling you what you should think the book was about. He felt that any interpretation was ok. As long as you read the book, he was happy. He even told us of an interview he had ready with Natalie Babbitt, the author of Tuck Everlasting. (Would you choose to live forever?) The interviewer was asking her about the man in the yellow suit. He wanted to know what exactly the yellow suit meant. Was it because the man was a coward? Was he color blind, what? Ms. Babbitt replied that she needed a color with two syllables and no one wears purple. People had read all this into the color of the man's suit. And she hadn't thought about any of that when she was writing the book. It still makes me smile!

The second thing that bugs me about this whole revelation is – WHAT DOES IT MATTER? Does it matter that Dumbledore is gay? Not to me. But, I never wondered either. To me, Dumbledore’s job is to help Harry fulfill his destiny. Nothing more. I never thought, “Hmm, I wonder what Dumbledore’s back story is.” That’s just not how I read books. And, apparently, Gay Right’s Activists are saying that this is a HUGE step towards being accepted. So, basically, now that we, as the general public, have been tricked into liking a gay person, we will now accept your lifestyle? That’s not how I read books either.

Let me just say this, I don’t want this to be some big political discussion. If I learned anything from my Grandpa it is to not argue with anyone about their basic beliefs. He always did and you learned early on that you should just keep your mouth shut. It’s too emotional for most people. I was just so amazed at the reaction this revelation caused that I had to share. I will say this, as I get older, I get more and more conservative. That’s as far as I’m going to go.

Am I going to throw away all my Harry Potter books and never speak his name again? No. I still love the books. I don’t really think it matters. I’m just going to go about reading my books and seeing the words how they are written on the page and not trying to read anything else into them.