Wizrocklopedia

Wrock 4 Equality!

Dinahsaur

One of the greatest things about Wizard Rock, in my opinion, is how often it is used as a rallying point for some good cause or other. One of my favorite examples to cite to outsiders is Wizard Rock the Vote, a Harry Potter Alliance campaign to sign up new voters and encourage everyone to vote in the 2008 Presidential Election.

I am so excited to share with everyone that Wizard Rock the Vote is back for a second round in the form of Wrock 4 Equality! Harry and the Potters and Draco and the Malfoys are teaming up at this event and will be performing live at the event in Portland, Maine – performances that will be streamed live through ustream.

The most exciting thing about Wrock 4 Equality is the fact that anyone in the world can participate!

You read that right! This is a massive, global event being organized by the HPA in conjunction with MassEquality in a concerted effort to encourage Maine voters to protect marriage equality in their state. So how can we help if we’re not in Portland, Maine? Through phone banking!

So read more details at the Wrock 4 Equality page and set aside time this October 24th to work together with Wizard Rock fans and Gay Rights Activists all over the world to make a difference!

Remember: Dumbledore wants YOU to Wizard Rock the Vote!!!!

, ,

Dinahsaur

Co-Senior Editor of the Wizrocklopedia, founder and writer of the Daily Wrocket, and dedicated Wizard Rock fan of the ages.

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32 responses to “Wrock 4 Equality!”

  1. Helen Myrtle Dyes Her Hair Avatar
    Helen Myrtle Dyes Her Hair

    :DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD yay!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply
  2. LunasCeiling Avatar
    LunasCeiling

    This is wonderful! I’ll see what I might be able to do here in the “other Portland.”

    Reply
  3. WizardRockDA Avatar
    WizardRockDA

    While I certainly support the premise, I’m not really sure I can get behind the method.

    I mean, I live in VA. I don’t want people in Maine telling me what state-level policies I should vote on here, and I can’t see people in Maine wanting people from other states, much less other countries, telling them what state-level policies they should vote on in THEIR state.

    Helping the people who are actually IN Maine organize a door-to-door or phone campaign is great. But I don’t think its the place of people who aren’t in or at least relatively close to Maine to be telling Maine what Maine’s state policies for Maine should be.

    Also, I really don’t understand how we pick our battles sometimes. A few days or weeks ago, the news was making a huge deal about the possibility of allowing gays to openly serve in the US military, something that affects the ENTIRE COUNTRY. We sit silent on that one.

    But we’re trying to organize an international effort over a policy that only affects a single state a few weeks later?

    Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to see Maine go the way of California. But at the same time, I feel state policy at the state level should only be decided by the people in the state it effects. Whether I agree or disagree with any given policy in any given state should be irrelevant to that state if I’m not a citizen of that state.

    Reply
  4. WizardRockDA Avatar
    WizardRockDA

    Just to clarify: I think Marriage Equality should be protected at the national level, but until it is, and as long its being decided at the state level, those decisions belong to each individual state.

    Reply
  5. Freya Avatar
    Freya

    A few comments.

    1) Bobby, you think people in a state should only hear the opinions of people in that state to make their decision? In the U.S., it can hardly be said that one state’s laws do not influence another’s. Therefore, I believe that it is EVERYONE’S business what laws are passed, regardless of whether it will affect your specific day to day life.

    2) “Also, I really don’t understand how we pick our battles sometimes. A few days or weeks ago, the news was making a huge deal about the possibility of allowing gays to openly serve in the US military, something that affects the ENTIRE COUNTRY. We sit silent on that one.”
    Well, I’m sure if there was going to be an election soon that dealt with this issue, the HPA would certainly get behind it. Prop 1 will be voted on in November. This makes it a much more pressing issue, time-wise. And although I’m sure the HPA is all for allowing gays to serve in the military, their general fight for gay rights has always focused on marriage equality.

    (I hope this comes across as a valid opinion and not an attack! I promise it is not meant that way.)

    Reply
  6. Paul Avatar
    Paul

    There is absolutely no question that state politics affect national politics, which in turn affect global politics. It all starts at a local level. As more states grant equal marriage, this leads to a national consciousness of the issue. We will eventually come to a time when this issue is addressed on a national level, but until that point, there are small battles to be fought and Maine is the focal point for Marriage Equality over the next month. This is a huge opportunity for the people (of Maine) to support Marriage Equality and send a message to the entire nation, especially after the Prop 8 setback in California last November.

    Having out-of-staters contact Maine residents only lets the Maine residents know how much their vote means – not just to the people in their communities, but to people across the country. I think this is a hugely positive approach to tackling this issue.

    Reply
  7. WizardRockDA Avatar
    WizardRockDA

    Ok, first of all, Dinah made a very good point to me over AIM, saying that this has been months in the planning, but that the potential repeal of don’t-ask-don’t-tell came up suddenly and unexpectedly. I didn’t know that. This is the first I’ve ever heard of an attempt to repeal same-sex marriage rights in Maine, so to the best of my knowledge, this was something that just came up as well. So I retract my complaint/argument about picking battles.

    Secondly, its not that I think people in a state should only hear the opinions of people in that state, but there’s a difference between making people aware of our opinions and making unsolicited phone calls saying they should vote a particular way. It’s that particular method of phone-banking people bothers me. There are other, less obtrusive ways to make our opinions known. Making unsolicited personal phone calls across state lines telling people to vote a certain way on a state law…well, it just feels *dirty* to me.

    It’s one thing to get a phone call from your Senator, Congressperson, Governor, or one of their offices, etc. asking you to vote with the people they elected on certain candidate or issue. It makes sense for state level political parties to call people in their state encouraging them to vote with their party. Those are unsolicited, but are at least relatively reasonable.

    Its even more perfectly natural to get a call from an organization you’re affiliated with in some way asking you to vote with the organization’s platform, but those ARE solicited calls, since you’re affiliated with the organization in some way.

    Canvasing, fliers, signs, advertisements, rallies, internet campaigns…all of that stuff, I have no problem with, whether or not its a state law at your level. Those methods accomplish the goal of making people aware that this is an important issue to the whole nation without directly telling them they should vote a specific way. Unsolicited political phone calls, on the other hand, are intrusive, annoying, and almost always involve telling the person how they should vote rather than unobtrusively exposing them to the issue and letting them think for themselves. Spam phone calls basically fall into the same category as spam e-mail, only the phone calls are worse, since they’re more in-your-face.

    End rant. 😛

    Reply
  8. Ashley Avatar
    Ashley

    Okay, could someone fill me in on the whole Prop 8 issue in California. I’m in Australia, so I haven’t heard about it.

    Also, I think DA has something of a point about the phone calls. They do sound a bit intrusive, if it is what he says it is. I know changing it now, considering how much planning has been done beforehand, would be more than a little inconvenient. I’m just saying he *maybe* has a point.

    Why not a rally or internet campaign, like mentioned? Why did you chose phone calls? Just curious.

    Reply
  9. Freya Avatar
    Freya

    “Unsolicited political phone calls, on the other hand, are intrusive, annoying, and almost always involve telling the person how they should vote rather than unobtrusively exposing them to the issue and letting them think for themselves. Spam phone calls basically fall into the same category as spam e-mail, only the phone calls are worse, since they’re more in-your-face.”

    Well, if you really want to get technical, they’re not unsolicited. They are directed only at registered voters (at least, from what I understand about political calls in general). Also, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have caller ID these days. I always know when it’s a solicitor calling, and I choose whether or not to answer the phone.

    And I don’t think it’s wrong to try and have people see your point of view, especially when yours includes tolerance and equality for all human beings. “But that’s just like, [my] opinion, man.”

    Reply
  10. Freya Avatar
    Freya

    @Ashley Prop 8 was a referendum put to the people of CA last November about whether or not to allow gay marriage. Voters voted to NOT allow gay marriages, which came as a surprise to a lot of people..

    Reply
  11. Marauder Avatar
    Marauder

    The caller ID thing raises another issue – how effective is this likely to be, given caller ID? I wouldn’t think most people would pick up the phone, regardless of their views on gay marriage. What is this going to come up as on caller ID, anyway?

    I disagree that the fact that the calls are only directed at registered voters means they’re not unsolicited. People sign up to vote so they can vote, not so they can have every conceivable political action group call them.

    I support gay marriage 100%, but on the whole I don’t like the idea of wizard rock as a movement being used to support controversial issues; I think there’s way too much potential there for wizard rock to move from being a fun activity and community to it being synanymous with a certain set of political views. Everyone can hopefully agree that bullying and genocide are bad and voting is good, but whether we like it or not, gay marriage is controversial. I don’t want people who don’t support it – or who don’t know if they support it – to feel as though wizard rock isn’t a place where they’d be welcome, and I don’t want there to be a point where HP Alliance = wizard rock = an expectation that everyone will agree on controversial issues. If individual bands have songs supporting gay marriage, or anything else, I don’t care. Heck, I have a whole album called Slash Bash (that’s “bash” as in “party”, not “bash” as in “insult”) and a song that mentions Dumbledore wishing he could marry Elphias Doge. I just want “wizard rocker” to mean “wizard rocker” and not have political implications behind it.

    Of course, HP Alliance can do whatever it wants and not everyone has to belong to HP Alliance. But it is a dominating force, and I don’t want it to inadvertently dominate certain people away from wrock. I don’t want the day to come when people feel like they aren’t welcome or have to hide what they really think or would lose friends and fans if they said what they really thought.

    Reply
  12. Paul Avatar
    Paul

    Kudos to all who have already made eloquent posts on this topic.

    1) Yes, these phone calls are unsolicited. However, they are not meant to be persuasive calls or conversations. They are simply reminders to registered voters that then should be sure to make it to the polls to vote on Prop 1 on November 3rd. I am sure that the first people on the call list are people who are either members of Equality Maine or the Human Rights Coalition, and from there, we’ll probably move through lists of historically progressive voters. This is a well-designed, time-tested, and effective system of increasing voter turnout. The only thing more effective is canvassing: going door-to-door and reminding people to vote. We will also be doing this in Portland on Oct 24th.

    2) To Marauder, who doesn’t like the idea of wizard rock being used to support controversial issues, don’t worry. Plenty of wizard rock bands are surely content to let others fight the difficult battles. But hey, Harry and the Potters are true Gryffindors, so we’ll wear our heart on our sleeves and we’ll do our part to stand up for the rights of the persecuted. Art, music, and literature are alive with political and social overtones. Some artists simply choose to be more forthright about their convictions, and I always think that is admirable.

    3) Let me completely disagree with anyone who implies that doing nothing is better, or “less intrusive,” than doing something. Get real! This is real life! People’s CIVIL RIGHTS have somehow been put up for popular vote. While this is both exasperating and ridiculous, I am fully sure that action is a better course than inaction, and doing ANYTHING is better than doing nothing. It is reasonable to believe that all of these “sanctity of marriage” laws will eventually be struck down by the courts as unconstitutional (simply because they represent the will of a majority dictating the rights of a minority), but WHY WAIT for that when we have a tremendous opportunity to show our country, and the world, a fine gesture of tolerance and prove that Americans still believe in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? This is the civil rights battle of our generation, and I am freaking pumped to be a part of it!

    Reply
  13. Marauder Avatar
    Marauder

    Paul: I didn’t say I didn’t like the idea of wizard rock being used to support controversial issues, I said I didn’t like the idea of wizard rock *as a movement* being used to support controversial issues. As in, I don’t want the definition of “wizard rocker” to be “a performer/artist who creates music about the Harry Potter series and believes A, B and C about D, E and F.”

    Reply
  14. Grace Avatar
    Grace

    “To Marauder, who doesn’t like the idea of wizard rock being used to support controversial issues, don’t worry. Plenty of wizard rock bands are surely content to let others fight the difficult battles. But hey, Harry and the Potters are true Gryffindors, so we’ll wear our heart on our sleeves and we’ll do our part to stand up for the rights of the persecuted.”

    Ouch. That’s the kind of “Gryffindor” attitude that makes me sick.

    Glad to see conversation on this topic.

    Reply
  15. Paul Avatar
    Paul

    Fair enough. You definitely bring up good points. But wizard rock, as a movement, will always be primarily cultural. And while that only naturally intertwines with social and political issues, I don’t think we’re in any jeopardy of reaching some unequivocal stereotype of a wizard rocker. It’s music and entertainment, first and foremost.

    While the HP Alliance is certainly supported and actively promoted by many wizard rockers, the majority of its members and volunteers are simply Harry Potter fans. The reason the HPA has developed so much clout within the fan community is because they put a lot of thought and consideration into crafting campaigns that really speak to the heart of the social and political ideals put forth by the books themselves. And while gay marriage is definitely a controversial issue, I really believe that the HP books preach a clear message of tolerance and love, and campaigns like this only serve to reinforce that message in the muggle world.

    Reply
  16. Maggie Avatar
    Maggie

    A lively discussion! And an important one on many levels. Just to add my humble two knuts:

    1) Bobby, your point about state issues being best left to locals is well taken. I’m inclined to agree, because I appreciate the idea of states being sovereign over their own business (ie, how to distribute money, etc) but…. this is a little different.

    No matter how one feels about gay marriage, it’s going to be a strong opinion. Very few people are on the fence, in my experience; you either support it or you don’t. However, I can’t justify saying that this is only a Maine issue. If everyone just concerned themselves with local things and blithely let other states/nations do things that you felt were morally wrong, then we’d all be like ostriches, hiding our heads in the sand (I like ostriches. They’re cute and they run funny. But I don’t want to be one). For example, international issues like peace and justice aren’t just “that country’s” problem. Apartheid wasn’t just South Africa’s problem; the whole world rallied around the cause, and rightly so. Similarly, any issue that deals with a moral question automatically becomes the property of any human person, regardless of their state/nation of residence, because we are one human family.

    That said, I wonder how a Maine resident would feel about a Californian or Iowan or Texan or New Yorker calling them? I don’t live in Maine, so I don’t know. If an out-of-state person called me, I probably wouldn’t mind, actually, but I can’t speak for anyone else. From how Paul described the phone banking, it wasn’t necessarily a “go and vote this specific way” sort of thing, but a “go and vote. Your opinion matters.” (Is that correct Paul? Please correct me if I’m wrong). And that sort of phone banking is splendid. If the goal is democracy and to make sure everyone’s voice is heard, the encouraging voter turnout is a hugely important thing.

    2) Marauder, I’m actually really glad you raised this point. It’s something that has long tickled my noodle, and I actually know of one anecdotal case (a friend of mine) who doesn’t support wrock even though she loves Harry Potter precisely because she sees wrock as having a specific political agenda. Now, as Paul and others have pointed out, that’s not necessarily the case with every band, and to be clear, the agenda she was thinking of is mostly HPA-based. But, the close relationships between HPA members/founders and the wrock community means that sometimes they will overlap. That’s okay, I think- it happens in Muggle music all the time (ie, lots of artists held concerts to support Barack Obama’s campaign, and people still bought their music whether or not they voted for him). We need to be careful, though classifying all wrockers or their fans with the same coat of paint. Individual bands may support various political movements, and they’re certainly free to use their talents, energies, and fan bases to do so, but we need to be careful and not make it sound like *all* wrock bands or wrock fans think the same way. Pluralism = good!

    I found myself nodding my head while reading most of these comments, agreeing with many conflicting views! This, of course, reminded me of a West Wing moment I can’t help but quote:
    Toby: “I agree with Josh and I agree with C.J. and I agree with Sam. And you know how that makes me crazy.”

    Isn’t is fabulous, though, that we can all talk about these things and agree and disagree in a kind, civil, polite, and respectful way? That makes me so hopeful. Well done, everyone. Well done.

    Reply
  17. Marauder Avatar
    Marauder

    I hope it’s always primarily cultural.

    As for “letting others fight the difficult battles,” you *never* know what difficult battles other people might be fighting. Maybe their own metaphorical S.P.E.W.s, dementors, boggarts, dragons, Death Eaters, Dursleys and Houses of Black feel like more than they can cope with at the moment. Maybe they’re fighting a different battle that’s equally as worthy as yours. Maybe they’re even fighting your battle, but with a different strategy. It’s easy to assume that everyone who’s not doing what you do is less brave or strong than you are, but it’s not fair.

    Thanks for acknowledging my points.

    Reply
  18. Marauder Avatar
    Marauder

    Maggie: Thanks. 😀 I just know how hard it is to feel as though you’re the only one with a particular opinion, or like people wouldn’t like you if they knew how you felt about something. And I wouldn’t want anyone to feel like that, even if I disagree with them.

    Reply
  19. Whompy Avatar
    Whompy

    Being a wizard rocker doesn’t require you to be political or apolitical. We’re real people with real thoughts and opinions, and our being (semi-)public figures gives us an opportunity to reach people. We can take that opportunity and run with it or we can cower behind our stage persona and choose not to get involved for fear of isolating fans. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: I don’t care if my stance on gay marriage costs me record sales. If people choose not to support my music because I support gay marriage, that’s their choice. And it’s my choice not to lose sleep over it.

    We’re citizens like anyone else, and we have a responsibility as citizens to vote, to get involved in local and national politics, to use our right to free speech to affect change.

    I’ve enjoyed reading this entire debate and I don’t think anyone’s made any bad points. I love that this community is open to talking about this stuff in an intelligent, respectful manner.

    As for whether or not wizard rock is likely to merge with the HPA to form some kind of massive progressive alliance: I doubt it. Lots of bands get involved with the HPA because they agree with the HPA’s campaigns and want to help out. But even in cases like my current tour where an HPA fundraising campaign has been worked into its structure, it’s not like Justin and I are trying to indoctrinate people. We play our music and we have fun, and for ten minutes during intermission an HPA representative talks about their local chapter and offers a sign-up sheet for anyone who might want to get involved. We’ve notified our fans via extensive blogs that these shows serve as a fundraiser for the HPA, so they can choose not to attend if they don’t want their money to go to that organization.

    At a recent show in Texas, the entire room cheered and clapped and showed support when we talked about Wrock 4 Equality. These aren’t people who had just been indoctrinated. These are people who probably feel pretty isolated living in a place where equal marriage is a distant possibility and were excited to have a safe place to voice their support for the cause.

    Reply
  20. Marauder Avatar
    Marauder

    I don’t think anyone’s accused anyone else of trying to indoctrinate people.

    Paul and Whompy: Between “letting others fight the difficult battles”, “true Gryffindors” and “we can cower behind our stage persona and choose not to get involved for fear of isolating fans”, I’m kind of getting the impression that you both feel as though bands that aren’t involved in some type of activism are weaklings, wimps, cowards, et cetera. And that’s exactly the sort of thing I’m worried about; I don’t want there to be an attitude within wizard rock along the lines of, “Why aren’t you doing it? What’s wrong with you?”

    Whompy: I appreciate that you tell fans ahead of time about the fundraiser aspect. As to losing fans, let’s be honest – I could be wrong, but I kind of doubt you’ve ever really expected to, at least not on any noticeable level. It’s a lot easier to declare you’re not going to let something stop you when the odds of that something happening are around 1%. If you were, say, a fifteen-year-old whose band page had 600 hits and you held an opinion contrary to the one every one else seemed to be voicing, that would probably be an entirely different story. Especially if you kept reading that people with your viewpoint were akin to fictional villains. Would you feel as though wizard rock was a fun community where you could be yourself? Heck, if you were in your current situation and you held an opinion that a sizeable number of your fans were sure to vehemently disagree with, would you feel as though you could freely voice it without losing fans and friends?

    Reply
  21. WizardRockDA Avatar
    WizardRockDA

    RE: Paul–“However, they are not meant to be persuasive calls or conversations. They are simply reminders to registered voters that then should be sure to make it to the polls to vote on Prop 1 on November 3rd.”

    The HPA article wasn’t clear on that part. I had the distinct impression they were meant to be persuasive.

    RE: Paul–“Let me completely disagree with anyone who implies that doing nothing is better, or “less intrusive,” than doing something. Get real!”

    I never said that I advocated doing nothing. I said I was uncomfortable specifically with making unsolicited phone calls. There are plenty of other ways to campaign for marriage equality. I love that you’re doing a concert for this and I totally support the idea of canvasing. I’d be out there with you if I didn’t live half way across the country and had a means of getting there.

    There were a few more comments I wanted to respond to, but I’m going to have to come back to them when I have more time to focus on it.

    Reply
  22. Whompy Avatar
    Whompy

    Marauder: Maybe that came out the wrong way. I don’t have a problem with people being apolitical or being political and choosing to keep their views private. Whatever; to each his/her own. I guess the statement applies more to those of us who want to use our voice to affect change. Some choose to use it and others don’t. Even among those who choose to use it, there are those who do it in a balls-to-the-wall fashion and others who do it in a very polite, sugar-coated fashion. I’m not passing judgment on anyone, I’m simply making an observation that some are more outspoken than others. In the case of someone like me who has a lot of strong political beliefs and a true desire to express them, I believe it would be cowardly to choose to stay silent for fear of isolating fans. I’ve had people tell me that I shouldn’t use my supposed status as a wizard rocker to promote a political agenda. I disagree with that notion.

    As for whether or not I’ve expected to lose fans — on the issue of equal marriage, I’ve definitely lost fans because of my support of the issue. When Rowling announced that Dumbledore is gay, I posted a couple of blogs on the issue. The blogs received roughly 2,600 views over the course of a couple days and most of the comments were positive. A handful were negative and a few of those people stated that they were disowning their love of Harry Potter and wizard rock, including my band. I’ve had people contact me personally to let me know they could no longer support my band because of my social activism. And at least one person has commented on the Wizrocklopedia that they stopped listening to my band because of my social activism. I’m not saying that fans are staging a mass exodus or anything, but for every one person who actually lets me know that they’re no longer a fan because of politics, I’m sure there are ten more who don’t bother letting me know.

    As for the likening of certain political agendas to fictional villains — I dunno. I don’t think genocide is a legitimate political agenda, so I don’t see any problem with drawing a comparison between the Sudanese government and Voldemort. The consolidation of the media does lead to the propagation of certain political ideologies, so I don’t see the problem with drawing a comparison between media consolidation and the events of Deathly Hallows. Etc. I think most people in this community are intelligent enough to understand an analogy, even if they don’t necessarily agree with it.

    Reply
  23. Marauder Avatar
    Marauder

    Whompy: Oh, I can definitely understand likening people involved in genocide to HP villains – I was saying that it would be rough for a regular person to hear people who shared their views equated to HP villains. Hopefully wizard rock isn’t attracting the genocidal! I just don’t think much good comes from, say, likening people who don’t support gay marriage to the Dursleys or something. Or “Republicans for Voldemort” bumper stickers, or things along those lines.

    I’m sure you have lost some fans and probably more than you know about, but, as you say, it’s not anything close to a mass exodus. You’ve never had to seriously consider that something you said might mean losing half your fans within weeks, or that fellow wrockers whom you like despite disagreeing with them on an issue might refuse to speak to you again.

    Thanks for clarifications. 🙂

    Reply
  24. Dinahsaur Avatar
    Dinahsaur

    That’s a generally good point, Marauder. In regular situations, the HP analogies won’t ring strongly unless the person listening happens to be a Harry Potter fan. However, I don’t believe any part of the canvassing in this case is asking us to make those analogies. It’s asking for the canvassing to occur and there will be a training in how to do the door-to-door at the event itself. I’m not 100% clear on if that training will be streamed live or not, but I hope it is!

    Reply
  25. Helen Myrtle Dyes Her Hair Avatar
    Helen Myrtle Dyes Her Hair

    Can someone tell me what’s going on? I’m 11, as I have stated 10000 times before, and I don’t speak polotics. :(. I only said… Yelld YAY! Before because the only part I read was “Anyone in the world can participate!” So now you know.
    Bai!
    H.
    (H is my nickname, not some sort of weirdo codename.)

    Reply
  26. Freya Avatar
    Freya

    You know, I have a friend who cosplays as Voldemort and is a Republican and just loves her “Republicans for Voldemort” bumper sticker in a seriously non-ironic way.

    Plus, it’s a joke. There are plenty of insulting bumper stickers out there for just about any group you can think of. I understand that being in the minority opinion may be off-putting to some people, but you can either 1) not let that get in the way of enjoying wizard rock or, 2) in addition to being a part of this community, find like-minded individuals elsewhere to discuss politics.

    As much as we like our community to be a happy and accepting one (LOVE and LOLLIPOPS!), we don’t all have to agree for that to happen. Enjoy each other, the music, and if the politics really annoy you, do something to counteract what the HPA is doing. For every campaign they announce, I guarantee there are 10 more groups that want the opposite and are working towards that.

    Reply
  27. Marauder Avatar
    Marauder

    Freya: Hee about your friend. 🙂

    Lots of things are jokes, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing insulting about them. Voldemort’s flat-out evil, and seeing as there are a lot of people in wrock who seem to take their HP/real-world comparisons pretty seriously, I don’t think it works to argue, well, people really mean it when they say people committing genocide are like Death Eaters and Gitmo prisoners are like Sirius Black and people who don’t believe in global warming are like Seamus not believing Harry – but Republicans for Voldemort, oh, THAT’S a joke. I’m not a Republican – I don’t have a political party – but when people *go out of their way* to compare Republicans to Death Eaters and in some cases actually spend money so their vehicle can do so, how do you expect Republicans to just not let it get in the way of their enjoyment of wizard rock? If it were “Gays for Voldemort” or “Gays for Grindelwald” or something, would you expect gay people to just take it as a joke?

    I’m sure Republicans don’t want to discuss politics in wizard rock. The thing is, no one’s *discussing* politics – people are comparing Republicans to genocidal murderers. That’s insulting, period. People don’t have to agree to get along, but they have to not insult each other to get along. If someone compared you to a genocidal murderer from HP and seemed pretty darn serious every time they made a comparison between the real world and the world of Harry Potter, would you just laugh it off? If Republicans are supposed to take it as a joke, should we just condone every insulting “joke” against any group and tell them hey, if they don’t think it’s funny, that’s their problem?

    Reply
  28. WizardRockDA Avatar
    WizardRockDA

    Very beautifully stated Freya.

    I absolutely love the activism in the fandom and the Wizard Rock community. One of the biggest problems in this country (in my opinion) is that far too many people are too apathetic about what’s going on in their country and with the government. Corruption thrives the most when the people are ignorant of and/or apathetic to it.

    I was feeling fairly unpopular voting for McCain amidst a sea of “Whichever-House for Obama” icons last year. But I loved the concept of it and the enthusiasm everyone had. I declined an invitation to the Facebook group for Wizards for Obama, politely and quietly explained my views on the election and why I was voting for McCain, and that was the end of it. I wasn’t ostracized by anyone for having a difference in political views.

    In any community, there’s always going to certain opinions that the majority of the community holds on certain issues. In this community, marriage equality is something the majority of us support. That doesn’t mean I think someone who doesn’t support marriage equality shouldn’t be a part of the community, but their views on that subject *will* be unpopular here, whether we’re actively campaigning for it or not.

    I don’t think that should exclude them from being involved in Wizard Rock or the wrock community though. Not everyone who’s opposed to marriage equality is a truly bigoted or bad person. I’ve known many people who oppose marriage equality who are good, well meaning people, but are simply misguided in their beliefs. They feel the same way about me *supporting* marriage equality. I know I’m not going to change their minds and they know they’re not going to change my mind, so we agree to disagree and move on.

    Its ok to have a differing viewpoint, so long as its expressed in a respectful and civilized fashion. Not everyone is going to agree on every issue. Some of us can get fairly passionate about our views from time to time, but in the end, we’re really a very accepting community. The important thing is, at the end of the day, we all still like each other and get along despite our differences. That’s a big part of what love and friendship are all about. That’s part of what it truly means to be a community.

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  29. Marauder Avatar
    Marauder

    WizardRockDA: I’m glad to hear that. As long as there’s no expectation that everyone will share the same political beliefs and as long as no one’s mean to anyone else, I’m happy. 😀

    I’m not quite sure if this phone banking thing is going to work, but I hope *something* works to defeat Prop 1. Prop 8 in California was so depressing.

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  30. Kathleen Avatar
    Kathleen

    This is the most amazing conversation (that I had no idea was going on until today).

    I’d like to add that as a wrock fan who really only got into the scene recently I was a bit put off by all the politics that seemed to go along with wizard rock. I didn’t support Obama and I felt like maybe this is a community that I won’t fit in since I don’t seem to share this common belief. I just wanted to be with people who liked Harry Potter. Since I’m an adult, I chose to simply look past it and of course I’m glad I did. I’ve made amazing friends and have found people (like Marauder and WizardRock DA here) who I seem to have more in common with politically, and even though that was never a goal of mine it’s always nice to know you aren’t alone.

    I can understand their point of view and I can understand Matt and Paul wanting to use their fame to bring to light issues that are important to them. The only thing I hope people remember is that putting others down or excluding them because they don’t share your viewpoint* is the exact opposite of what the HPA is trying to promote: equality, free speech, love and friendship.

    *to clarify: I’m not saying anyone here is putting anyone else down, I was just trying to make a point 🙂

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  31. Marauder Avatar
    Marauder

    Hi, Kathleen. 🙂 Yeah, I thought it was a little strange that, seemingly, *every* wrock band expressing an opinion about the 2008 presidential election supported Obama, without even just a few supporting McCain (or Hillary). It made me wonder if the ones not expressing an opinion were all non-Americans or apolitical, or if there were a few who supported someone else for president and just didn’t want to say so.

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  32. WizardRockDA Avatar
    WizardRockDA

    Well my band was on hiatus during most of 2008, including the election, but even if we weren’t, we wouldn’t have been expressing an opinion because we didn’t have a united opinion amongst our band members. I was for McCain and Jason was for Obama.

    And in keeping with the ever amusing tradition of Matt and Denni never agreeing on *anything*, the Cruciatus Curse was campaigning for McCain, if I remember correctly.

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