Holy hell, it's been a bad week...

[Cancer]

First TV-Links gets shut down and now this?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071021/ap_en_ot/books_potter_dumbledore

Of all the things she could've possibly done with the character... I mean c'mon, GAY? Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against gay people. I don't think it was the right way to go with the character though... Although I do think homosexuallity immoral and unnatural. Those are just my views, don't get all pissed off about them.

[Master_Ian]

I had my speculations, but o well at least he wasn't a petifile.

[CHRIST]

She should not have said anything, there was no reason to bring it up and cause all this drama, just leave it be as him being a kick ass wizard.

[Grejo]

i saw dumbledore as a loving grandpa kinda guy. not a take it in the pooper guy.

[Rdaug27]

Oh well at least they have a gay actor playing the part in the movie :D You'll never know how disappointed I was when I found out Magneto and Gandolf was gay, even though he announced it in like 1988. J/K. The man is one fine damn actor. I wonder if he knew Dumbledor to be gay before he took the role.

[Zabka]

Dumbledore is played by a different person than Magneto/Gandalf. The latter was Ian McKellen. The former was originally played by Richard Harris (also in Gladiator, Unforgiven, etc.) who was straight and then passed on. Then he was played by Michael Gambon who is also straight (or at least married with a child).

From reading the books, it seems wholly plausible that Dumbledore was gay--when reading the last book, it seemed like it was a possibility. It also is irrelevant to his power as a wizard, his ability as a teacher, or even his relationship with Harry. It is simply part of the character make-up by the author who fleshes out her characters in her mind a bit more fully than is revealed in the stories--as good writers do.

Dumbledore's sexual orientation adds an interesting twist to the whole cannon, I believe,and is significant since Harry Potter is a huge pop culture phenomenon, and to have its most venerable figure being gay is really interesting.

Cancer--what you write is simply inconsistent. Within two sentences you write that you have nothing against gay people, but then you decide they are immoral and unnatural. Sounds like something against them to me. You are entitled to your opinion, and I find that such opinions don't change without personal growth through maturation and experience. So I won't tell you otherwise. But don't fool yourself into believing your views are not homophobic and potentially hateful. When I was in high school, I was driving to a leadership camp with another kid from my school who proclaimed he just hoped he didn't have to room with a black guy. He said the same thing : I don't have anything against them. I just don't want to have to hear them talk or smell them. He then argued with me that he wasn't racist.

People are going to have their views. But without much exposure to people of other races, sexual orientations, etc, it is hard to have an informed opinion. I am betting your exposure has been limited.

[Rdaug27]

Richard Harris passed away after the second Harry Potter Movie. For some reason I thought Sir Ian took up the role after that, but I was mistaken. Sorry bout that. Shows how much of an HP fan I am.

[Zabka]

RDaug--

Have you ever seen the HBO show "Extras"? It stars Ricky Gervais who created the British version of "The Office". In Extras, he plays a struggling actor who makes due by being an extra on movies. There is a hilarious one with the kid who plays Harry Potter. There is also another one where he is in a play directed by Ian McKellen. It's funny because the role he has in the play is gay, but he can't bring himself to play it gay in front of some of his old school friends who came to see the show and are homophobic. He tries to balance between not offending Ian McKellen and not having his old friends think he is gay. Really good show.

[Rdaug27]

No HBO for me :( Damn stuff is too expensive. Hell I barely get by with the ninety dollars a month basic cable/internet, no extra channels for me Sounds like a good show though.

[Kamui]

First TV-Links gets shut down and now this?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071021/ap_en_ot/books_potter_dumbledore

Of all the things she could've possibly done with the character... I mean c'mon, GAY? Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against gay people. I don't think it was the right way to go with the character though... Although I do think homosexuallity immoral and unnatural. Those are just my views, don't get all pissed off about them.

If hes gay,then hes gay :D.People seem to get touchy about people being gay or whatever.Thats the problem with this world,human beings bitch and whine over or petty issues like for example this one.

[Rdaug27]

I can agree with that Kamui. Growing up in a small town, your perception of the world is narrowed greatly. I am proof of that in a lot of ways. I used to think badly of gay people, but have realized there are a lot of other things to be concerned about.

Hell I can't get laid either way so....:(:p I had to add that in ;)

[Zabka]

I grew up in a pretty homophobic environment too. Then when I went away to college, I met a number of gay people in an environment where they could either choose to be flamboyant, or simply be normal (but gay). Seeing a broad spectrum of them and knowing a number of gay people helped me get past my irrational homophobia. When I would go back home to visit during holidays and some friends (who were also away to college, but a more conservative one) would tell gay jokes, they couldn't understand why I would find it at all offensive. Interestingly, when I would hang out with them years later, they too had grown to see the narrowness of their viewpoint previously.

I still catch myself with homophobic reactions and jokes at times. It's disappointing to see in myself as an avowed anti-racist.

[Cancer]

Zabka, please excuse how unclear I was. I mean I don't have anything against gay PEOPLE. What I do find unnatural and immoral is homosexuallity itself. I probably still sound stupid... But I view homosexuallity as a sin, and it's just the same as something like, say, having pre-marital sex. I have friends, who obviously wouldn't be married, who have sex all the time, that doesn't mean I'm not friends with them. So just because I hate homosexuallity, doesn't mean I hate homosexuals. Basically hate the sin not the sinner.

[Zabka]

Cancer,

You certainly aren't alone in those sentiments. Many people share those same feelings. As I said before, everyone is entitled to their own opinions and often times those opinions will change with life experience. It's just when those opinions lead to hateful behavior that it becomes an issue in my eyes.

Your philosophy is a very difficult one to carry out, I will note since it is often difficult to separate the abstract concept of homosexuality from people who are gay. However, if you are able to really make that distinction, that is great. It took me a long time to get there when I espoused the same philosophy.

[Cancer]

Well here's the distinction I've made. Gay, is homosexual but accepting it as something that can't be changed and something that there's nothing wrong with. Homosexual, is a sin like ones that we all commit, but can be changed and trying to change it.