Dumbledore now Fabulous; Rowling Lulzy

So it turns out that Dumbledore is gay! Now, at this point in time, there is an epic list of things I could say. I could start breaking out the gay jokes, or wax poetic on societal tolerance and such. But really, many other people will say more eloquent and informed things than I could ever manage.

I'm a big fan of the Harry Potter series, and I even had a little twinge in the back of my mind about the history of the character and his sexual orientation, but dismissed it in the assumption that Rowling would never be so bold as to make one of the primary characters of one of the most popular book series of all time gay.

But she did. It's not spelled out in the book, but it is clearly implied. She said it plain and simple to a bunch of fans: Yep, Dumbledore is gay.

She was asked by one young fan whether Dumbledore finds "true love."

"Dumbledore is gay," the author responded to gasps and applause.

She then explained that Dumbledore was smitten with rival Gellert Grindelwald, whom he defeated long ago in a battle between good and bad wizards. "Falling in love can blind us to an extent," Rowling said of Dumbledore's feelings, adding that Dumbledore was "horribly, terribly let down."

Dumbledore's love, she observed, was his "great tragedy."

"Oh, my god," Rowling concluded with a laugh, "the fan fiction."

This is, in a word, Awesome. You know why? Because very rarely does any person in this world get the chance to tweak the sensibilities of so many people and provoke such a dialogue in one little moment.

Think about how ridiculously popular these books are, and how many children of this new upcoming generation will be familiar with the characters. This is one of those major consciousness raising moments that only comes along once in a great while. It doesn't matter whether people tolerate or disapprove of the "gay lifestyle" or whatever, this one little statement has now elevated the entire topic to a much broader audience than ever before.

It's really an astonishingly lulzy moment. Personally, I think this is pretty awesome. I can scarcely think of anything that should be more of a non-issue than gay rights; who gives a crap what other people do in their own bedrooms? What harm is done by allowing two men or two women be together? Well, I digress, I could blather on about this issue for pages upon pages, and that would probably get really boring.

Well, whatever, the point is, this is one of those fascinating litle moments where practically an entire generation gets a little awareness ear-flick about a major social issue. So much drama, so little time to keep up with it and laugh at the nonsense. :)