"Would" versus "Was"

[foxmoth at qnet.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 27459

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., fourfuries at a... wrote:



> 
> What makes prejudice a problem is when it is not founded on 
any 
> facts.  Race and gender prejudice are against the law because 
the 
> fact that someone is colored or female does not tell us 
anything 
> valuable or meaningful about how they will behave.  
> 
> Harry's judgement about Slytherin was based on Malfoy's 
actions, and 
> what Harry had heard about the actions of other Slytherin 
alumni.  I 
> think some prejudicial caution was in order.

  But what Harry had heard about Slytherin was not facts...we've 
reached a consensus that Hagrid's statement, "There's not a 
single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin" is 
suspect, to say the least.  Thus, Harry's opinion of Slytherin at 
the Sorting is based on misinformation and the actions of two 
individuals: Draco Malfoy and Voldemort.  Rowling even tells us 
that Harry's bias might have affected his judgement: "Perhaps it 
was Harry's imagination, after all he'd heard about Slytherin, but 
he thought they looked like an unpleasant lot."
  It seems to me the caution that we are being advised to adopt 
is not to believe everything we are told, and not to base our 
opinions of an entire group on the actions of one or two 
individuals even if we think those actions are typical. 
  Harry's prejudice against Slytherin gets in the way of the much 
better analytical tool of deduction based on evidence, leading 
him to suspect Snape and Draco in cases where the villainy 
actually lies elsewhere.

Pippin