Dark Lady of Grammar

This title, officially, was actually bestowed upon a friend of mine when a Darth Vader mask was passed down from another fellow colleague who originally had the title "Dark Lord of Grammar."  (He moved on up and is no longer actually teaching English, so he passed the mantle.)  Anyway, regardless of whether I hold the title or not, I feel that way.  Dame Mitchell has disappointed me.  No, her editors have disappointed me.

There is NO VALID reason for leaving out the comma before the "and" when listing in ANY context.  I guess it's called the "Oxford Comma."  There's been a lot of debate recently among the folks in the world of English about whether or not the "Oxford Comma" should be used.  It's a load of crap.  I'm including a few web sites who, apparently, agree with me.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Oxford-Comma/48254769340

The cartoon in this link is disgusting, but it makes the point very effectively:  http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/oxford-comma-cartoon/

So why bring this up?  Dame Mitchell leaves the comma out.  It's killing me.  I actually want to put the commas in for her.  I realize that her editor(s) more than likely preferred the comma be left out, but it's still killing me. 

I still see the greatness of Dame Mitchell's amazing work, but it's very frustrating to find the discrepancy of something like that in a work I consider one of the greatest of the 20th century.  But I also find it very frustrating and upsetting to read each of the Harry Potter books and see the grammatical mistakes there.  Granted, I'm trying to give Rowling the benefit of the doubt in hopes that it's not HER fault that subject/pronoun agreement is misused throughout each of the 7 books....maybe it's just taking it from Britain and translating it for Americans. 

I feel so strange even typing that.  It is so odd to think that Americans even need a TRANSLATION of the Harry Potter books because Rowling wrote them in true British fashion.  I realize I'm different from millions of other readers in that I truly do love British literature--the old and the new--so I WANT the British version of the stories; I'm frustrated and very disappointed in the fact that in order to me to even get a British version of the HP series, I'd have to sell my kidney, my husband, and probably my right arm.

But I digress.  (What's new?!) 

Anyway, I am trying very hard to focus on the STORY of Katie Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton (she still hasn't remarried yet) rather than the grammar problems I'm finding in the story, but obviously that dumb comma, or lack thereof actually, is driving me crazy!