InsaneJournal

Letters: Protest Movement is Misguided


To the Editors of the Sunday Prophet,

I am writing in response to Mr. Finch-Fletchley's query of Friday last, which while unanswered, raised a similar question that I offer to him. It is also the question 'Why', but in a different context. Why do Mr. Finch-Fletchley and his small coterie of activists feel that their sartorial choices are newsworthy? If I wanted to read about the fashion choices of Quidditchers, I'd subscribe to Circe.

I don't begrudge anyone the right to make a political statement, but the quidditch pitch is not the time or place for it. The players in question are participating in the British and Irish Quidditch League, the top national league in the world, in the land where quidditch was born. Anything on the pitch that distracts from the highest level of play is just that, a distraction.

Muggleborns are, of course, as welcome and wanted in Quidditch as they are anywhere. Quidditch is a great leveler. Ancient lineages and famous names do not guarantee success and muggleborn players hold some of our most enduring records. Talent is the only measure, and those who have it should not squander it.

Players who divide their loyalties by wearing black and white AND pink are, by definition, not giving their all to their team. They are making athletic competition a second concern to their purely personal political statements. Statements make sense and are welcome at BIQL hearings, not on a broom.

When Quidditch isn't the only thing over the pitch, teams, fans, and even their opponents are shortchanged. Quidditch players need to give the game their best effort and not get distracted. Keep the pink off the pitch.

Hamish MacFarlane
Chairwizard,
British and Irish Quidditch League