Not many U.S. Wizards

[j.franklin at mail.utexas.edu]

No: HPFGUIDX 27199

> I beg to differ.  If Diagon Alley serves the entire British Isles 
(or 
> even just the Island of England) and Hogsmeade is the only all 
> wizarding village in the U.K., then the liklihood of a wizarding 
> district in "most cities in the U. S." is very small.  It is far 
more 
> likely that U.S. wizards make up a small percentage of the total 
U.S. 
> population.
> 
> In fact it is probable that U.S. Wizards comprise a smaller 
> percentage of the U.S. population than wizards comprise of the 
> European nations.  If wizarding is passed down both as a 
science/art 
> and as a genetic disposition, it is easy to predict that the U.S., 
as 
> a realtively new nation lacking a wizarding tradition and being 
> notoriously hostile to the emergence of witchcraft, would have seen 
a 
> precipitious decrease in the wizarding passed on from generation to 
> generation.
> 
> 
> This goes part and parcel with my final point.  Wizarding is 
conrary 
> to the American ideal.  In wizarding, all men are not created 
equal.  
> There are greater and lesser talents, and some have no talent at 
> all.  There is not even the illusion of equality, as old line 
> families denigrate the lineage of mudbloods who struggle with their 
> muggle relatives over the meaning of this blessing/curse.  
Americans, 
> having little sense of or use for tradition, prefer technology, 
> science, motor cars and such. They have no use for things that can 
> not be taken apart.  It is exactly why we continue to parse thiese 
> books.
> 
> The British, on the other hand, have magic as a part of their 
> national history.  Arthur would not have been king but for a wizard 
> named Merlin and an enchanted sword and stone.  The Druids were up 
to 
> something at Stonehenge, the evidence of which still stands.  The 
> very oldness of the land, the mysterious topography, its cold 
climate 
> and ageless traditions all support the propagation of the magical 
> arts in ways that the shiny new America can never hope to compete.
> 
> Sorry U.S. citizens, but I doubt there is more than one Diagon 
Alley 
> on the entire continent of North America.
> 
> 4FR

As an American who has visited Europe, I see your point and am 
forced, albeit sadly, to agree.  Unfortunately, I can just see the 
portal to the American version of Diagon Alley being a Starbucks.  
Frapuchinos for the witch and wizard on the go.  Corporate 
bookseller's replacing locally owned stores and selling dolls of 
Harry Potter, Hagrid, and Dumbledore with matching playsets (oh 
wait..mmm)  Besides you would have to take the interstate just to get 
there and eat at Cracker Barrels along the way.  The picture of 
American witches and wizards in my mind's eye is not at all 
pleasant.  I see J.K. Rowling's point about not including American 
characters in her books.

J.