Initially, I had mixed feelings about JKR's revelation, specifically because I feared that type of reaction. As a small-town librarian who has seen these books change lives firsthand, I didn't want one more excuse for ignorant parents to rip it from their children's fingers. And never mind the parents... in the current social climate (at least here in the rural areas) many kids are already conditioned enough to stay away from the story on their own, based on what really is just a character factoid.

But in the end, it is Jo's story to tell, and all she did was offer clarification following a point blank question. To me, it makes the story that much richer, but I just knew that the public would act like this, because I'm surrounded by that kind of thinking every single day, and it makes me want to scream with frustration. You're right, Peg, it's impossible to respond on any kind of reasonable level, because the hatred is so visceral, and still such a vast juggernaut. I pray that by the time my children are raising their own, that kind of thinking will no longer be considered "moral," but rather morally reprehensible--but for now, the idiots won't listen.