Dumbledore
Michael Gambon as Dumbledore

The rumors have been whispered before in hushed undertones. Even published on the great internet! The fans speculated. Now, Rowling has spoken. He was gay. Talking before a packed Carnegie Hall as part of her first US tour since 2000 she confirmed amidst both gasps and applause that the favorite headmaster of Hogwarts was indeed gay.

It seems that he greatly admired and was head over heals in love with rival Gellert Grindelwald, whom he had to face and defeat in a battle of good versus evil. Rowling added that “Falling in love can blind us to an extent,” and that Dumbledore was “horribly, terribly let down.”
She also observed that his great love was his “great tragedy.”

Now all this was reported on CNN, but what do I think about this whole matter?

Harry Potter is such a lovely story. It’s a heartwarming story of a boy orphaned as a baby and forced to live with relatives that despise him because he is different. It is a story of courage and character as Harry matures into a young adult in the face of all odds and succeeds in life. It’s a story of his inner battle with losing his parents and having no one to love him. His courage and determination in facing bullies and enemies alike inspired millions of young readers worldwide to face their own fears and challenges.

In a perfect world this would suffice, but what fun would there be in that? There has to be some controversy, so we had Christian groups urging their followers to stay away from the book. It encourages children to believe in witchcraft. I can imagine Rowling was not too pleased with that, after all tales of magic has been used throughout the ages to capture the imaginations of both youngsters and adults. So why pick on Rowling. They had to pick on someone and Rowling was the big name in the industry is my guess. So now a children’s book becomes a religious battle ground and in a battle you give it everything you got. Dumbledore turning out to be gay is just another point to piss off the church.

What do you think?