US$1.032 (Dobby rant)

The BBQ Pit
1

Two weeks ago, I received a large statue of Dobby, a promo item for the retail release of the second H. Potter flick.

So I got lucky and had Dobby in my home for a few days. He’s just so darn cute, I was happy to have him around. And then I got the phone call.

I hadda bring Dobby back to work. Argh. It seems my boss got an email from the home office… Okay, no problem. I knew I was lucky to bring Dobby home, and I wasn’t sure if I could keep him, so no worries about returning him, right?

Then I saw this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3321582783&category=790
Fuck!
The deal is, we are suposta send Dobby to the local elementary school that claims it has had the most students read a new book. Whoopdy-shit. Said school gets Dobby, for display in the library.

Every library needs a Dobby statue. That’s just cool, ya know?

I had no idea that Dobby was worth so much. I hope the folks who end up with him do the right thing. I’m fairly sure he’s gonna end up either damaged beyond recognition, or yoinked by a school employee.

I’m not saying that I would have donated more than a thousand dollars to the local school system. It’s just frustrating to see a collectible like this sent straight to the proverbial wood-chipper. In a town that is well-known for going whacko over books.

http://216.239.53.100/search?q=cache:odaX-LzjolIC:archive.aclu.org/news/n062095a.html+Weslaco+private+parts&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
Gah,

I just want my Dobby back.

2

(note to self-- you’re going to regret this when you wake up)

Okay I fucked up one of the urls in my OP, here’s the guts of it:

ACLU of Texas Fights Censorship Of Howard Stern’s “Private Parts” in Weslaco, Texas
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 20, 1995

HOUSTON – The ACLU of Texas today filed suit against the City of Weslaco for violating the constitutional rights of former librarian, Pan Antonelli, in the City’s attempt to censor Howard Stern’s autobiography “Private Parts.”

San Antonio attorney Marynell Maloney filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court, Rio Grande Division, on behalf of the ACLU of Texas and its client Antonelli. The complaint alleges that the City of Weslaco and the City Commissioners violated Antonelli’s constitutional rights by firing her for ordering books, found objectional by the commissioners, and for speaking to the press. The City also violated Antonelli’s right to due process by summarily firing her, the ACLU lawsuit said.

Antonelli was hired in 1992 as the librarian for the Weslaco Public Library. Part of her job consisted of purchasing books for the library. The ACLU said that attempts to censor purchased books began in September 1993 with citizen requests that the Star Trek and Dragon Lance series be removed from library shelves. The Library Board voted to keep the Star Trek series, but it removed the Dragon Lance books.

In January 1994, a citizen requested that “Private Parts” be removed. The Library Board decided to put the book on reserve. “Private Parts,” however, spent little time on the reserve shelf, the ACLU said, because of a long waiting list to check out the book.

The ACLU said that the City Commissioners were not satisfied with the Library Board action. They unanimously voted to remove “Private Parts” from the library and also admonished Antonelli not to make similar mistakes again.

Then, according to the ACLU’s complaint, a reporter from a local newspaper asked Antonelli about the book’s removal. The librarian explained the facts about the book’s purchase and removal. Antonelli’s supervisor informed her that the Commissioners were upset the newspaper story. In August 1994, Antonelli was told she could quit or she would be fired. The following day, the ACLU said, a replacement arrived to fill her position.
Yes, I’m drunk. :wink:

3

Not quite as cool as the statue…but you could get a Dobbybobble head if it makes you feel any better. I kind of want the Fluffy one myself.

4

I have to admit, at first I had no clue what you were talking about.

But it seems to be this:

Your company received a Dobby statuette. You took it home. You were not allowed to take it home as it was intended for a School Library. You don’t think it is right to send it to a School Library because they’ll possibly destroy it, as they may consider it an ‘evil’ statuette from an ‘evil’ book/movie.

Is this right?

5

Guano, he just wants his toy.

Not that I’m without sympathy. When I was in grade 1, sometime in May or June, our teacher told us about an offer from the company that made Snak-Paks (little cans of pudding, I forget the brand name. The product might not even have been called Snak-Paks…). Anyway, the point is, if you sent in 100 labels from these pudding cans, you got a calculator. This was in 1977, and a calculator was a big deal. So we all got our parents to buy Snak-Paks for us, and when the 100 labels had been amassed, the teacher sealed them up in an envelope with the order form and said, “Wonderful! Next year’s class will love it!” Because it wouldn’t arrive in the mail before school was out, y’see.

What?! I ate six cans of chocolate glop so next year’s class could have a calculator? Spend your own money on a fucking calculator if you want one so bad! Crimeny!

6

I think the point of the “Private Parts” story is to show that the good folks of Weslaco don’t really appreciate books and Darth Nader’s afraid that that lack of respect for literature will lead to the Dobby statue being vandalized or stolen.

7

Oh my.

You’d think I wouldn’t be able to operate a computer when I’m that loopy.

Uh, nevermind.