In which we stretch an analogy a little ...

[blamebrampton]

I was talking with a lovely young person earlier today about her idea for an hp_religion fest. Despite the fact that I am a godless heathen, I find religion endlessly fascinating and think that it works very well as a lens through which to view the Potterverse (obviously, since the author was consciously constructing a Christian allegory in parts).

Thinking about this, I had an epiphany of sorts, which relates strongly to the current brouhaha* on mpreg among my fandom friends.

My atheism does not affect the religiosity of some of my friends. Their beliefs do not affect my atheism. I would consider it the height of rudeness to tell them they cannot believe in their sundry gods, and they, after a cursory effort to convert me in a few cases, do not tell me that I must believe in one of their religions.

Some of them do believe that I am going to hell. Some of them believe that I am missing some basic truth of the universe. I believe that they believe in something a bit basically odd. Every now and then I have one of those conversations that goes: 'But how can you believe there's nothing?' 'How can you believe in something that is obviously an anthropological artefact?' 'No seriously, nothing? How?!'

However, in both cases, it doesn't matter. My lack of belief, my friends' beliefs, they are things that are important to US, not things that we need each other to adopt. The things that unite us, that bind us, are far deeper and more important.

Similarly, I think that there are lots of things in fandom that we take very very personally, but they are important to us as individuals, and when we try to make the personal public, it's just a recipe for disaster.

One of my friends loves mpreg because it soothes her soul, one of them loves it because it allows her to investigate whole new ideas in stories. I think it's fairly daft because I think stories about babies and pregnancy are essentially daft, just as I don't like avocado and am the least romantic person in the world. It doesn't matter! I leave more avocado for pushdragon ! My mpreg atheism does not weaken anyone's mpreg faith! It's exactly the same as the way that gay marriage doesn't weaken straight marriages.

Anyway, heathen_archive , come back! Maggie and Liz, chins up! And everyone else, like what you like, even if it's not me ;-)


* It's certainly more than a kerfuffle, but not yet a schism, and too personal to some to be considered wank.

Comments

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

VERY nicely put. Except that now I want pineapple juice.

[angelofcaffeine.livejournal.com]

Lol! Thank you for being so considerate. XD It's going to be a difficult job to keep the wank from overflowing.

I shall make sure to remember to name you as the "official slapping spoon".

[goddessriss.livejournal.com]

Gosh, what a lot of fuss over nothing the MPREG thing was! Live and let live is my motto. I like talking politics, Mr Riss doesn't. He likes science-things, I'd rather have my head in a book. I love HP fandom, all of it, I even read het on occasion; some of my flist are Bandom-crazy and I'll never understand why. There's room for everyone and their points of view, if only they'd just rub along.

In other news, my elder son (aged 8) spent half of his £2 pocket money on a gift for me this week, for no particular reason other than he knew I would like it. A set of HP mini-figures, Harry, Draco and Buckbeak! Such a well brought-up, thoughtful boy... ;-)

[shadowclub.livejournal.com]

I really like the idea of hp_religion_fest. I recently wrote an essay about how believing in science can be construed as a religion and I think for the potterverse, the same sort of theory/idea could be applied to magic. Ah, now I'm hoping it'll work out as I would totally participte!

MPreg done write makes my souls sing for whatever reason-- I think because I'm fascinated by the concept of why it would happen.

'I find myself having to endlessly explain that, especially to our American cousins.'

[wemyss.livejournal.com]

Speak slowly, speak loudly, and use Very Simple Words.

[jamie2109.livejournal.com]

Toddlers are like little people really. ;p

Except when they get like this icon...

[curia-regis.livejournal.com]

*blink* There was a kerfluffle about mpreg?

I think people care too much about what other people like. I personally love mpreg (but female pregnancy squicks me out so much!) but I'm not going to go around trying to convince somebody that it's teh awesomeness.

I think a hp_religion_fest would be interesting, although I don't think I know enough about religion to write for it!

[emerald-dragon8.livejournal.com]

Brammers, you make me feel so out of the loop! I have no idea what the mpreg kerfuffle is about! I'm too bogged down in pretending to finish my severusbigbang.

I personally have no problems with mpreg because I am baby-crazy (yes, at my age. Alarming, isn't it? I think it's because a few of my friends are having babies and my mother worked in childcare so I've always been around kids). But anyway, most of it is poorly written so I don't tend to read it that often. If someone writes good mpreg, though, they are granted my eternal devotion. I like seeing characters with kids, even if they're adopted/foster/godchildren/from another marriage. Doesn't have to be mpreg!

Anyhoo, thanks for this post, I wish all of fandom thought more like you! It just seems so commonsense to not try and force your beliefs on other people but...well. We all know that doesn't always work out. :)

I'm with you on the avocado, too. Hate the stuff. One of my friends makes her kids (see? I'm surrounded by children) avocado, carrot, tuna and pasta bakes and I cannot bear to look at the stuff!

[emerald-dragon8.livejournal.com]

OH HI THERE. :)

Haha if I get pregnant you're going to refuse to be around me aren't you?

[curia-regis.livejournal.com]

I'd be good so long as you don't give me a blow by blow description of your pregnancy. *g*

[emerald-dragon8.livejournal.com]

Hehe I think I could refrain. :) When I have kids I'll have to make sure you and I can still have time to go for drinks and talk about ghost porn vs inferi porn and traumatise the people of Civic one by one. :)

[sherryillk.livejournal.com]

Since I have no idea what you were talking about (still don't except it's about mpreg? maybe?), I went to FW to see if they had anything. Which they didn't. So that's a good thing, right? It wasn't big enough to get on FW but if it resulted in people leaving the fandom, that's not cool...

[timeasmymeasure.livejournal.com]

hp_religion fest?
Oh shit.
*grabs popcorn*

Personally I'd love to see it happen, the fic/art coming through there should be extremely fascinating and I always love seeing the different aspects of wizarding culture explored- especially all the things we'd assume exist but has never been referenced directly in canon.

That being said, oh fandom.
The potential for, there's no other word for it, wank is astronomical. But I believe it would be one of those worth it sort of astronomicals, yes?

[ldydark1.livejournal.com]

I like them young but obviously within legal age.
Good for you, enjoy the flirtation.
(I dislike the cougar word, it sounds derogatory
and I am not predisposed like that)

[mabonwitch.livejournal.com]

Mpreg? Reminds me of a story my girlfriend told me recently.

Two relatively well know queer authors were doing a book reading. One is telling a story about a gay man* and his transgender husband*.

Friend: I'm getting married soon, inviting the whole family from Russia. But, hm, I'm also inviting a few dear friends and that definitely includes GM*. And his husband- oh dear, what will uncle Alfred think of two men...And, goodness, TH* is pregnant! What will uncle Alfred think of a pregnant man?!

GM: Oh, don't worry, you're wedding is after his due date. He won't be pregnant! He'll be nursing.

Friend:...oh.

*Random identities have been changed to protect the innocent.

[calanthe-fics.livejournal.com]

Just goes to show I have my head in the sand. Who complained about the religion?

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Not head in sand at all, it was a teeny tiny complaint: just one World Cup commenter who said that they found it out of place, and that the intrusion of my personal beliefs was an odd authorial choice. They were actually quite polite, as were the people who said 'Hang on, Christmas, godsons et al sounds rather Christian, you know ...' and I was able to say 'I see your point, but I have to say that ...' in a reasonable way and that was that.

Which is why I have hope for sanity!

[vaysh11.livejournal.com]

Oh, I am absolutely sure it can work. BBS is a perfect example of it. I am thinking of outright pro-religion fics of a fundamental vein. Or fics like cura_regis' "Veiled Threats" that some people saw as glorifying veiled women in Islam.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I hate to mention this, but I really, really feel like buying a burqa so that I can go to work in my undies on hot days. A tent of airy linen could be just the thing!

[vaysh11.livejournal.com]

*grin*
You don't know how odd it is (or more likely, you do know!) to have winter approaching here and you (and many others on my flist) complaining about the hear. It's COLD here.

Re: 'I find myself having to endlessly explain that, especially to our American cousins.'

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Not wholly fair! Some of them write the New Yorker

Of course, one of them wrote Twilight ...

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Slapping spoon!

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

You need a border guard at the kitchen door!

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

AHAHAHAHAHA! Yes, that would be great!

I am convincing myself that I do not need to go to the Costume Museum in Bath, and that the world will not end if I miss the Natural History Museum, save that it is Darwin's sesquicentenary, and so I really have to keep the latter on the list.

The V&A and Museum of London, as well as the Wallace, Tate and Musee d'Orsay are firmly on the list! And the Vionnet exhibition in Paris.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Well said!