Harry Potter Series turning millions of Children into Witches and Wiccans; DEMONSTRATIONS in the STREETS

Harry Potter and the assault on Christianity
Charles Moore
The Daily News
Halifax NS
23/07/07
www.hfxnews.ca

Ah, here we go.. Another freaked out, terrified, religious person lambasting the Harry Potter series.

First of all, the title of this article: ".... Assault on Christianity," implying very incorrectly that JK Rowling had it in her mind from the outset to use a series of children's books to bring down a world religion. Yeah, I'm sure that's exactly what she was thinking as she sat in that little cafe with her baby at her feet, scribbling away the first book.

Charles Moore, the writer of this article (that must have got by a dead editor) says, "Potter advocates, disingenuously, pooh-pooh any linkage of Harry-mania to increasing popularity of Wicca and other forms of paganism."

First of all, what is a "Potter Advocate?" In the last 10 years in all the reading, travelling, surfing I've done, and that of my three children and my spouse and all my friends, none of us has ever seen or heard of any "advocates," of Potter in the negative sense that Moore implies.

Yes there are millions and millions of avid readers who devour the series and yes, there are millions of book clubs that discuss the book and yes, there are probably millions of little impromptu groups that talk about the series, but "advocates?" Come on! Nobody is out there building 'churches' to Potter or establishing anything that could remotely be associated with advocacy (the act of pleading for, supporting, or recommending; active espousal). Mr. Moore does what every new journalist is cautioned repeatedly to NEVER do: write garbage, forget to provide any sources, references or proof of any kind, yet call made up assertions fact.

Charles Moore presents no proof, no references no statistics; nothing at all to substantiate his claims that the Potter series is seriously screwing up children. The article is seriously laughable, unsupported scaremongering.

Where are Moore's stats to show that the ranks of Wiccans are growing? What other forms of paganism does he refer to? Does Moore understand the fundamentals of his own religion enough to know just how much of it is pulled from those "pagan" foundations? Doesn't seem so.

Not including the recent release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, over 325 MILLION copies of books in the series had been sold in 65 languages. "Deathly Hallows" is set to have a 12 million copy initial release (Wikipedia has an extensive article on all aspects of the Potter series).

IF, as Moore postulates with no substantiation, the Potter series were as coercive and damaging as all that, wouldn't one be seeing some cultural shifts towards what Moore deems negative? Wouldn't we be seeing millions of little goths eating guts and gutting cats in cemeteries?

IF it were at all true that the Potter series entices or encourages children into the so-called black arts, then, given the astronomical sales of the books in this series, there would be very noticeable, international shifts in the numbers of said children coming to these alternate, OLD faith/belief structures.

As for the black arts, how is it that turning water into wine or turning two fish and 5 loaves of bread into food for 2000 or rising from death after three days doesn't qualify as magic?

Why? Because none of these things happened as reported. See? Made up stories have been around for ages! More likely, the party thrower was encouraged to bring out the wine casks and the sermon attendees decided that they actually did have a bit in their pockets to share -a la "Stone Soup" and, if the last thing actually happened, the guy was in a short term coma. And, is it not black arts (or simple story-telling) to get rid of a redundant character by making that character rise into the clouds, never to be seen again (Mary) or to have your main player come back as a ghost to reinforce his directives?

The thing about kids, and what this writer absolutely lacks, is kids have an ability to recognize a STORY, which is why children have to be indoctrinated over a long time, via force, lies, coercion and fear, to believe and accept that stories (read:religious crap of their parents) are anything more than just made up. Children recognize made up stuff pretty easily, whereas adults throughout history have used make believe as a means to control, subjugate, pervert and undermine populations.

There is not one shred of evidence that JK Rowling's Potter series has done much beyond provide an excellent reading experience for millions upon millions of people. This ridiculous fear that the Potter series might cause a huge, predatory cultural shift does come with a precedent, however; the judeo-christian bible is a prime example of writers with agendas cobbling together bits of fact and pieces of possibly (not probably) historical information and putting it forward as truth in order to impose social control.

With the Potter series, however, there is no intention to do that. I'm pretty much positive that JK Rowling does not have it as a goal to take over the world. I think she's busy with her family and a few interviews.

I almost guarantee Charles Moore has not read any of these books and also that he has never heard or read an interview with Rowling. Had he, he would know that a strong subtext of the Potter series is the sheep-like quality of most humans (especially those who are 'religious') to follow the masses, never question and live wretched lives. Wikipedia has great information on the subtexts of the Potter stories and not one of them has a thing to do with indoctrinating children into Wicca.

Moore's article simply highlights the "believers'" propensity to go running off at the mouth, spouting un-researched, unsubstantiated and instantly disprovable garbage. I will also guarantee that nearly any Potter fan old enough to read Moore's article would have as their first comment, "bollocks."

As to whether articles like Moore's should see the light of day, absolutely. Such drivel is exactly the ticket for revealing the truth about religion in all it's silliness. Moore states, "The Harry Potter phenomenon is, whether deliberately or obliviously, part of a broad cultural assault on Christianity, not at all unique in today's contemporary literature and the entertainment media, which are increasingly anti-Christian."

This is crap, full stop. Moore hasn't provided any support for this statement at all. In truth and verifiability so, among the most devastating forces on religions (their so-called 'leaders' included) is writers and articles like these that reveal how utterly ridiculous, false, contrived and pointless religion is. "...The books' heroes' defy adults , break rules, and exemplify bold courage in the face of oppressive authority. Their "subversive" attitudes refute rigid right wing dogma.... This is the right wing's worst nightmare, because right wingers see the world – especially morality – in stark, simplistic black and white."^{[37]" This is what is terrifying to the religious class; that people - particularly children - think and question and challenge.}

If christianity is THE TRUTH and THE WAY and THE LIGHT, how is it so very vulnerable to all these outside forces? It strikes me that adherents know the truth is not even close to what is presented and so must make every effort to challenge and fight anything that might shed light on the muddy, bloody trap that is religion.

Yes, thanks to Web 2.0, people are far more likely and able to broaden their understanding of religion and how it was established and why, how it is perpetuated and how all religions are so utterly perverted by their proponents. Intelligent people who've done their research (and only minimal research is necessary to reveal that religion is a scam) dismiss religion as negative, divisive and anachronistic. That is not attack or assault, Mr. Moore; it is reality.

Mr. Moore, go get yourself a comfortable chaise lounge, a nice tall drink and get yourself down to the beach, Harry Potter in hand. Spend the day in the sun reading this well-put-together series and then go on home. End of story. No agenda, no advocates, no black arts, subversion or chaos. Just a story. Period. Exactly what every kid who reads Potter knows.

BAD Grammar and Death of Democracy, All in One!

This is wrong. The following sentence is wrong on so many levels. Let deal with the grammar first. The error is one of accord - meaning a plural is accorded where a singular should have been.

"According to Russian legal experts, the greatest concern to the American people are the underlying provisions of this new law...."

If you say "the greatest concern...." you must realise that a concern is ONE THING. Therefore you cannot follow that clause with "...are the underlying provisions..." because you're referring to the concern, NOT to the provisions. You must use the singular reference here to have the correct accord with "the greatest concern," a single thing.

The sentence should read "...the greatest concern to the American people IS the underlying provisions...."

Actually, however, the greatest concern to the American public is that they have friggin' (OK, I edited that word) idiot psychopath for a vice president and a puppet for a president.

Here's why people in the US - and the world in general - should be concerned:

Bush Outlaws All War Protest In US

The short form is that it is now ILLEGAL to protest the Iraq 'war' (the US term for invasion).

From Digg

Nice. July 17th 2007. The death of democracy in the US. mark your calendars.

About the photo above: it is a compilation - a mosaic - made up of photos of ass holes. Appropriate.

Thanks to Joey Nichols. Read his blog here.

How the News Works

LIARS!

Cure? My backside!

I am convinced that the cancer industry is not only uninterested in finding a cure, but actively suppresses anything even remotely smelling of a cure. The bigger the whole "pink" campaign (an all similar others) becomes, the more it smacks of makin' money.

A cure for cancer would be an international crisis in terms of the health care industry. So many people would be out of work that there would be economic devastation.

Don't think so? Count up the number of people just working in areas related to cancer - docs, nurses, technical staff, lab staff, building staff, maintenance staff, auxiliary services (food, cleaning, suppliers) at just one hospital in your city .... now multiply that by every hospital in the world.

Now add in the international cancer research community and everything that's attached to that....

Now add in hospice services and all the staff and auxiliary services attached to that industry.

Now add in the cancer fund-raising industry internationally - all the people involved in that; advertisers, product suppliers, etc, etc....

Now add in the droning, wealthy, predatory machine that is Big Pharma. They're not supporting cures for anything bigger than a hang nail, believe me. They're NOT in the business of making themselves obsolete. They like you to be fat and sick. In fact, their product mix makes sure you are fat and sick. Get the picture? A cure for cancer would very probably put the entire world into a depression. Bad news.

Speaking of Michael Moore, I watched Fahrenheit 911 last night. I found out that the Bush, Cheney and Bin Ladin families are not only all really good, close friends, but that they share in three large, international businesses that have all profited HUGE from the war.

Fahrenheit proposes that there was a terrorist attack but I don't think so. I still know it was an inside, known about, planned for job. Regardless, the Cheney family, the Bush family and the Bin Ladin families all made zillions of dollars. Oh, and the Saudis own some 7% of the US.... Just watch it.

I seems that President GW Bush is a liar, a cheat, a scammer, and an idiot. He was illegally elected and should never have had the presidency. The optics make it look like his family was so involved in manipulating that election that it is stunning people in the US stand for it. Amazing actually. Really Amazing. How is it a country that purportedly contains the leaders of the free world allows this 'person' to be in charge? HOW IS IT? It looks very much like the US president is using the US and Afghanistan to stage a war for his and these two other families' personal gain. SICK!

Only my opinion - and possibly Michael Moore's - but that's what it looks like .

Consumerism SUCKS

Some of you who know me well will know how opposed I am to people blindly buying in to marketing campaigns without really analysing the product or its necessity to anyone's life.

Working in financial services, I am daily exposed to people who cannot say no to anything that is well-marketed - meaning marketed in such a way that these people think they 'need' such products. In 99% of cases, there's no 'need' at all. There's 'want' and 'entitlement' and 'image.'

Diamonds and the diamond trade are a case in point. The international perception that diamonds are rare is the result of a 80 year long marketing campaign by one company. The damage, death, poverty and war that has resulted from the De Beers campaign is more devastating than all recent wars combined due to the irreparable destruction of numerous cultures and countries, most of which are in Africa.

Click this story for a chronological expose of how YOU came to believe the hype about diamonds.

Now go be a rebel and start analysing every marketing campaign you're exposed to.

Oh, and go see SICKO while you're at it ... and 9/11: Fear and The Selling of the American Empire... and then apply the "art" of immoral and unethical manipulation to global warming....

Arghghg.. I feel a rant coming on.

Why?

Follow up to a previous blog.....

Why is this young man wearing 'civilian clothing?'

Because, he's accepting a diploma for his brother, Connor, who was killed by a DRUNK DRIVER.

Connor was 17, clean and sober, well loved by MANY, beloved friend of Mike Hagar and John Broadbent. Both Mike and John were injured in the same accident.

Mike has just been released from hospital, still can't stand, can barely speak and will be forever changed. John's physical damage is over but his mental anguish is forever.












Connor is gone. He begged the first person to come on the accident to please tell his parents the accident wasn't his fault, that he was being careful and that he was so sorry. Then he died in a stranger's arms.

The drunk? 25 years old; habitual offender; several previous offenses.
Alive? Yes.
Injured, No.
Likely to quit drinking and driving? No.
Likely to reoffend? Yes.
Prosecuted? No. Not for another year.
Jail? Probably.
Will any of that bring Connor back or make Mike whole or take away the awful, brutal, vivid memories John will always carry?

Nope.

This one is forever.

Whew! I feel GREAT: It's Someone Else's Job To Raise My Kids!

I have received this e-mail chain letter a few times recently. I really dislike chain mail because it is usually such bloody garbage, but this takes the cake.

READ it and then READ MY RESPONSE. It is long. You're going to be here a while so get a coffee - or a scotch: Laphroaigh Quarter Cask preferably.

Here's the chain mail:

Dear God:

Why didn't you save the school children at ?. ..

Moses Lake, Washington 2/2/96
Bethel, Alaska 2/19/97
Pearl, Mississippi 10/1/97
West Paducah, Kentucky 12/1/97
Stamp, Arkansas 12/15/97
Jonesboro, Arkansas 3/24/98
Edinboro, Pennsylvania 4/24/98
Fayetteville, Tennessee 5/19/98
Springfield, Oregon 5/21/98
Richmond, Virginia 6/15/98

Littleton, Colorado 4/20/99
Taber, Alberta, Canada 5/28/99
Conyers, Georgia 5/20/99
Deming, New Mexico 11/19/99
Fort Gibson, Oklahoma 12/6/99
Santee, California 3/ 5/01
El Cajon, California 3/22/01 and

Blacksburg, VA 4/16/07 ?

Sincerely,

Concerned Student
-----------------------------------------------------
Reply:

Dear Concerned Student:
Sorry,

I am not allowed in schools.

Sincerely,

God

----------------------------------------------------------

How did this get started?...

Let's see,
I think it started when Madeline Murray O'Hare complained
She didn't want any prayer in our schools.

And we said, OK.

Then, someone said you better not:
Read the Bible in school;
The Bible that says
"thou shalt not kill,
Thou shalt not steal,
And love your neighbors as yourself,"

And we said, OK...

Dr. Benjamin Spock said
We shouldn't spank our children
When they misbehaved
Because their little personalities
Would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem.

And we said,
An expert should know what he's talking about
So we won't spank them any more..

Then someone said
Teachers and principals better not
Discipline our children when they misbehave.
And the school administrators said
No faculty member in this school
Better touch a student when they misbehave
Because we don't want any bad publicity,
And we surely don't want to be sued.

And we accepted their reasoning...

Then someone said,
let's let our daughters have abortions if they want,
And they won't even have to tell their parents.

And we said, that's a grand idea.

Then some wise school board member said,
Since boys will be boys
And they're going to do it anyway,
let's give our sons all the condoms they want,
So they can have all the fun they desire,
And we won't have to tell their parents they got them at school.

And we said, that's another great idea...

Then some of our top elected officials said
It doesn't matter what we do in private as long as we do our jobs.

And we said,
It doesn't matter what anybody, including the President,
Does in private as long as we have jobs and the economy is good....

And someone else took that appreciation a step further
And published pictures of nude children
And then stepped further still by
Making them available on the Internet.

And we said, everyone's entitled to free speech....
And the entertainment industry said,
let's make TV shows and movies that promote
Profanity, violence and illicit sex...
And let's record music that encourages
Rape, drugs, murder, suicide, and satanic themes...

And we said,
it's just entertainment
And it has no adverse effect
And nobody takes it seriously anyway,
So go right ahead.

Now we're asking ourselves
Why our children have no conscience,
Why they don't know right from wrong,
And why it doesn't bother them to
Kill strangers, classmates or even themselves.

Undoubtedly,
If we thought about it long and hard enough,
We could figure it out.
I'm sure it has a great deal to do with...

"WE REAP WHAT WE SOW"

Why is it our children can not read a Bible in school, but can in Prison.

Points to consider:Here's what I think:

Why should religion be in schools when the family is responsible for the well-being and upbringing of children? Teachers educate – a one-dimensional, secular job; parents RAISE children; a holistic responsibility that allows for specific religious (or not) instruction.

If children are loved, cared for, appropriately directed and given whatever spiritual instruction at home, why should it ever be the responsibility of the school system or of any teacher to fill in or pinch hit for parents? Neither the teachers nor the system is responsible for the fundamentals; the family is. Teachers and schools are not babysitters or daycares, nor are they replacements for family or parents, regardless of how much some parents want that to be the case.

In respect to children who kill, their pain is so deep, so long-term and so profound that no teacher or school or system can do anything for those children. Those children are alienated first and foremost by and within their families and specifically by their parents, who are usually so focused on themselves, their own pursuits and the so-called rules and regulations that they forget their children are thinking, feeling humans. If the parents do not realize the deep crisis their one child is in, why ever would we expect teachers to notice one child in 30 or more?

No amount of prayer in schools will ever fix the pain of an alienated, depressed, desperate child. Prayer is NOT a replacement for an aware, humble, committed, loving parent. Too often people resort to prayer when they should be making a move.

As for spanking, the church position on this legitimizes abuse of children due to an incorrect interpretation of “spare the rod.” The “rod” is not a physical object. It is correctly interpreted as “STANDARD.” When correctly interpreted, there is NO direction to hit, beat, whip or physically abuse a child. Christian scripture also says “provoke not the child to anger.” Hitting, slapping, whipping, slagging, insulting or any such abuse is not discipline. It is abuse and indicates a parent out of control. Parents in control and who are skilled at providing standards for their children NEVER need resort to angering or striking their flesh and blood.

In no case should a teacher ever strike a student. There is no excuse for anyone, especially a professional, hitting a child. They certainly have the right to have the child leave the class, but in no circumstance does a teacher have the right to hit another person, even when that person is young and small. Hitting is an abuse of power; it is not discipline. It is an expression of anger and frustration on the part of an out-of-control adult and is no less painful or damaging than verbal abuse, which is also an abuse of power.

The point about abortion is very interesting. As you know, I am highly opposed to abortion. However, I am pro-choice. Choice must include everything a woman has in her arsenal to PREVENT pregnancy – pre-conception. I have no respect for those who play Russian Roulette with their bodies then choose to kill their pre-born offspring when the trigger goes off and they lose the game. That’s not choice. That’s abdication of right/responsibility.

Having said that, and I know the statistics very well, due to substantial research and face-to-face interviews with several doctors (including my previous OB-GYN) and two nurses who work in the field: unplanned pregnancies are more common with girls from religious families than in the general population. This is because religious families are very disinclined to discuss sex and related topics, are judgmental and are inclined to use fear tactics. Girls in those environments are at greater risk because they’re terrified to ask for information and disinclined to protect themselves. I have done specific research in this area due to my four years with the Calgary Pro-Life Association and via research for several published articles I wrote in the late 90s.

The reason girls in these environments don’t tell their parents anything is that they’re terrified to do so. That terror indicates a parental flaw, not a child’s flaw. If children are terrified of their parents and/or their parents reactions, what are they to do? The stay silent and hope they’re never found out.

Pre-marital sex is not the sole property of this generation. I personally know three couples of my parent's generation who engaged and were ‘caught’ due to unplanned pregnancies. Part of the reason the church is so anti pre-marital sex and so rabid about marriage is that both those allow for social control and management of economic resources (not relevant in our time, but relevant at the time when protecting the family assets was tantamount to preventing clan/tribal wars) by managing family lineages. It doesn’t work, however.

It is sexist to say ‘boys will be boys.” Males and females are equally likely to pursue. It may be distasteful to some, but the reality is people engage and no amount of religious fear mongering or threats of hell fire has ever or will ever change that. None of the three couples noted above was able to fight the biological imperative with fear of eternal damnation. It is better, if people are going to engage, that they be protected from diseases and pregnancy than they become sick or they have abortions (which are damaging to the woman’s body and obviously terminal for the unborn).

As for privacy, neither the government nor the church has any place in the bedrooms of people in free countries – or any country. This does not make incest or abuse or paedophilia right and the government should be expanding their efforts to go after abusers and perpetrators who use electronic resources. Where it comes to sexual practice though, what one person thinks is ok another thinks is abhorrent: there will never be consensus on what thing falls in which category.

As for practice or preference, Paedophilia is neither. It is a serious, incurable illness. If it were a sexual practice or true preference, the practice or preference could be altered or eliminated. Paedophilia is not curable and is by definition a chronic mental disorder. There will never be a cure, no matter what anyone says, barring chemical or actual castration (of males. Not sure what the cure would be for female paedophiles.)

As to those who make and/or consume child porn, too often those around them who are aware, are also silent. Someone always knows about the little girl or boy who disappears into that apartment…. As long as people make jokes about it and people continue to consume products designed to sexualize children, the environment will persist. We, as a society, tacitly allow the practice to exist. Don’t think so? Have you ever bought “toy” high heels or ‘toy’ makeup for a little girl; strongman suits for little boys – dress up clothing made to render a child into a parody of an adult? We are complicit, however innocently we participate.

I am absolutely opposed to institutionalized censorship. Too much wonderful literature and art has been banned due to people’s discomfort with subject matter and use of words. HOWEVER, I am absolutely for and actively engage in PERSONAL censorship. If something is abhorrent then do not buy, rent or use that thing. It is not for me to choose for you, but I will always act on MY right to choose for ME. If everyone who was opposed to a certain book or film or product or whatever just didn’t buy it themselves, the market for that item would seriously decrease. However, humans are curious beings; they often believe they are alone in their protest and therefore powerless to change anything. They are curious in the other sense too: one may heartily dislike the subject matter of book or film but is yet compelled to know what it is we opposed to. That is the dichotomy. Sadly, too often people are so obsessed with what everyone else is/might be doing, that they fail to monitor their own consumption.

Schools are and must remain, non-religious and non-denominational. People in the west are terrified by and opposed to Madrassas overseas (Pakistan, Afganistan, etc), but they completely fail to see the parallel between Madrassa and ‘religious’ schools. Only the semantics change; the foundations are exact. As such, no bible, torah, Q’uran belongs in any school. Those things belong at home, in the family, where the family can put their own stamp on that education. It strikes me as odd that people clearly disrespect teachers and schools (the items below indicated that very clearly) yet expect teachers to mete out something as personal and specific as religion.

The last point in the items below - "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW" - is true. Whenever people – parents in particular –get real about what and how they’ve sown, and when they quit blaming the establishment, the schools, the teachers, films, music, books, the ‘devil,’ and the water, and when PARENTS take PERSONAL responsibility first for their OWN behavior, only then will they be able to provide excellent examples, a solid foundation and appropriate guidance for their children. Only then will what we reap be wonderful, productive, respectful, loving, compassionate, self-assured children. Literal, rule-bound, non-thinking people raise literal, rule-bound, non-thinking and usually confused and angry kids.

Am I gloating?? Damn right. I live by what I write here. I have raised my children in an utterly open environment, where every question was met with an appropriate, honest, often researched answer. Have I been angry with my kids, yes. Have they been angry with me, yes. The greatest gift I have been able to give my children is the simple admission “I’m wrong, and I’m sorry.” Do I think I’m right about all this and that my way of raising children works? If the comments of my children’s friends, and the parents of those friends, the comments from teachers, employers and, in some cases complete strangers are any indication, yes, I’ve done a great job by controlling myself, not my kids; by being honest rather than hiding the truth; by being vulnerable and fallible and admitting it; by managing my anger and not taking it and my disappointments out on my children; and by NEVER blaming anyone else for failing to provide that which was my responsibility where it came to providing a solid standard for my children to live by.

The items in the chain e-mail may allow the reader to feel justified and righteous, but when looked at and considered, all except the last are statements that provide escape routes for people who would rather others do the jobs they should do themselves.

Friends

Over the weekend, last, an anonymous comment was left on my post, "A Short but True Story."

I knew almost instantly who the 'anonymous' poster is; a friend - a good friend.

My friend posted three simple lines, but the content of those lines was dense and rich with meaning and as welcome and comforting as a warm hug.

I met this friend by complete and utter accident and quite simply because I liked a photo I saw on line, not of this friend, whose existence I had no knowledge of at the time, but of their business. Absolutely random.

We have several things in common - events and incidents that are similar enough to have caused a bond.

Yes, my friend, I will write your story. I am blessed to know you and to be however small a part. I am so looking forward to flying over with my youngest angel and looking forward to her meeting you and all the angels who live with you.

What kind of Therapy would you prescribe?

I was reading today in Maclean's Magazine, June 4th edition, in the article "The Long Arm of Charles Taylor Versus the Law" about the legions of child soldiers in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Shocking and I can't even quantify how much.

Read the article and then consider where you live and the probability of your children being abducted by this or a similar madman...

If you live in Canada, the UK, the US or most of Europe and you are prone to complaining about your first-world lifestyle, do shut up.

But where did my mind go when reading parts of this article? To celebrities and rich people....

Getting therapy is a badge of honour in some communities - for rich chicks and bored housewives and people who are still angry at their parent's failings 20 years after the fact - and being in therapy for AGES is some badge of success.... I'm sure Paris Hilton will be so terribly traumatized by her 23 days inside that she'll be screwed for ever, despite the lush lifestyle she has....

But, for these kids, most of whom must kill their own parents and who've witnessed things you can't even imagine before they're abducted, and are then supplied with addictive, mind altering, cell-destroying drugs and alcohol, drafted into civil war, sometimes by the age of SIX, raped, abused and essentially rendered dead, there is no therapy that can ever erase experiences that word "traumatising" doesn't begin to address.

In the same magazine, a long, interesting article on zombies as a metaphor for the human propensity for self-annihilation.