Some folks seem to have their white cotton undies in a bunch over J.K. Rowling dropping the bit of inside info that Albus Dumbledore, Wizard extraordinaire, wisest of the wise, architect of Voldemort's ultimate demise, was gay.

So what if he was?  Actually, this makes perfect sense.  The fact that Dumbledore had a crush on the evil Grindelwald explains a lot about why Albus did the things he did as a young man, and more particularly the things he didn't do, the things he missed, due to his distraction.

Why shouldn't Dumbledore be gay?  Unless you are a bigot (such as a fringe evangelical or a liberal politician) who believes that "homosexual" and "pedophile" are synonymous, how can this aspect of Dumbledore's personality have any affect on the rest?  Dumbledore is still Dumbledore.

I just finished reading a column by a writer I greatly admire, suggesting that Rowling said this about her main character to appeal to the politically correct establishment, so as to lift herself up from being merely the author of a wildly successful series to being an "important" author.  The columnist also admitted that he hasn't read the Harry Potter books.

Don't bet heavy when you're not in you're field, Ben.

No one who has read the Harry Potter books can doubt that J.K. Rowling is an important author.  She doesn't need the approval of any mainstream establishment.  Her books are masterpieces of non-political correctness.  In fact, to the Liberal establishment, they're down right subversive.  The Harry Potter story is packed with subtext that refutes political correctness, from her obvious distrust of (and distaste for) centralized government, leaving your fate in the hands of the 'experts' and trusting what you learn from the main stream media.

"That makes me sound a lot cooler than I was," Ron mumbled.

"Stuff like that always sounds cooler than it really was," said Harry.  "I've been trying to tell you that for years."

Great literature is supposed to teach us about the human condition.  Despite being set in an imaginary world of more-than-simply-humans, the Harry Potter saga has a lot to say about us.  If, in addition to all the other worthy of being needlepointed onto a cushion lessons, Rowling has added the idea that homosexuality is only as important a facet of a person's character as that person chooses to make it, I say good.

As my Mom said when she finished the The Deathly Hallows; "J.K. Rowling deserves to be the richest woman on Earth."