A public school in San Franscico was taking their eight year old students on visits to various local neighborhoods.

All went fine until the day they did the field trip to the Castro - at which point the parents went apeshit.

Because, you know, living in San Francisco there is no way in hell those kids ever saw a gay person before.

http://jezebel.com/#!5789318/kids-take-a-field-trip-to-the-castro-parents-freak-out-about-homosexuality

Many parents are simply ignorant. My sister use to teach Harry Potter to a 7th grade class. She had parents opt out of the book on religious grounds. I was a bit surprised. I asked some friends who are teachers today (long time since book 1) if they had any issues and they said that every year at least one or more parents opt out and they all cite religious reasons as the book teaches witchcraft.

My mother was the opposite. She introduced us to her gay co-workers, her black friends (a rarity for the south over 40 years ago) and she always said the churches teach ignorance as opposed to the true meaning of Christ's teachings. I was pretty lucky and if Harry Potter was out when I was a kid, I know I'd be one of the one reading it and mom would have dressed me up as Dumbadorf for Halloween.

Many parents are simply ignorant. My sister use to teach Harry Potter to a 7th grade class. She had parents opt out of the book on religious grounds. I was a bit surprised. I asked some friends who are teachers today (long time since book 1) if they had any issues and they said that every year at least one or more parents opt out and they all cite religious reasons as the book teaches witchcraft.

My mother was the opposite. She introduced us to her gay co-workers, her black friends (a rarity for the south over 40 years ago) and she always said the churches teach ignorance as opposed to the true meaning of Christ's teachings. I was pretty lucky and if Harry Potter was out when I was a kid, I know I'd be one of the one reading it and mom would have dressed me up as Dumbadorf for Halloween.

Wow, your mom is pretty progressive.

I heard a lot about the whole Harry Potter brou-ha-ha, for years now. There are a couple of scenes about it in that documentary Jesus Camp, too. I just don't get it. A kabillion people read those books, and it isn't like we all became witches and warlocks.

To say nothing of the fact that Harry is essentially a Christ character.

He even dies for the sins of Hogwarts before becoming brought back to life.