In defense of the Working Class/Pecking Order

[cynthiaanncoe at home.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 26691

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Joy M" <joym999 at a...> wrote:
> I completely disagree with this.  There is NO evidence that Stan or 
> Ernie or anyone else (except Hagrid and that's different) flunked 
out 
> of Hogwarts, nor have we been presented with any evidence that some 
> wizards and witches are not intelligent enough to go to Hogwarts.  
In 
> fact, JKR has stated quite clearly that there is a magical quill 
> which writes down the name of every magical child born, and 11 
years 
> later that child receives a letter inviting them to attend Hogwarts.
> 
> I think it is completely unfair to assume that because someone has 
a 
> working class job that they are somehow stupid, uneducated, or 
> ineducable.  


Joy, you make a host of excellent points, and I am inclined to 
agree.  But there definitely seems to be a job heirarchy in the 
wizarding world.  The Minister of Magic is surely on top.  As we have 
seen, Fudge can get away with having someone's souls sucked out by 
dementors, and no one bats an eye.

So who is on the bottom?  Well, I can only guess that people 
generally wind up in positions suited to the magical talent they 
possess.  Squibs and wizards with incomplete educations seem on the 
bottom (sorry, Hagrid).  Others wind up on the bottom due to 
prejudice (werewolves and house elves).

But what about the vast middle?  Is it better (in terms of prestige 
and pay) to be the nurse/doctor at Hogwarts than a Gringotts' curse 
breaker?  Is it better to sell wands than to breed dragons in 
Romania?  Hard to say.  

The only heirarchy I feel reasonably confident about is:

Minister of Magic
Hogwarts Board of Govenors
Hogwarts Headmaster  
Other MoM Department Heads (with its own internal pecking order)
Hogwarts Teachers (with its own internal pecking order)
Hogwarts GameKeeper, a job that requires little magic
Hogwarts Caretaker, a job that requires no magic

Although Dumbledore is pretty high up in this list, he is certainly 
vulnerable in light of his unwarranted suspension in CoS.  Perhaps 
other roles can be wedged somewhere in this heirarchy (assuming 
anyone even agrees with this bare bones structure)?

Cindy (wondering why Filch would want to be dead last in the pecking 
order than take his chances in the Muggle world)