Potterverse Racism, & technology (Was: Why do 'purebloods' hate Muggles?)

[chthonia9]

No: HPFGUIDX 47567

Thanks to all who replied to my earlier post (47254) – what a 
wonderful list this is!  :-)

I'm intrigued that no-one has taken up the last point I was
trying to 
make:  Given that a major theme in the books is that racism and 
prejudice are stupid and wrong, isn't this somewhat contradicted
by 
the ways character traits seem to run in families in the 
Potterverse?  Although one might expect there to be family cultures 
which would make sibling/offspring entry into the same school House 
more likely, even at eleven years old I'd expect individual
traumas, 
sibling rivalries etc to have produced differing motivational 
drives.  (Should Percy Weasley not have been a Slytherin? ;-)  But it 
seems that bloodlines do indeed have a significance


And why is it worse for Draco to call Hermione a Mudblood (CoS pg 86-
89, and elsewhere) than it is for Hagrid to say that the Malfoy's 
have `bad blood' (CoS pg 51)?  I wonder if JKR is allowing us
to 
accept all the anti-Slytherin comments only to turn our own 
assumptions against us later on...


* * *

Grey Wolf said (paraphrased):
> it is entirely possible that the inquisition and the witch
> burnings were intended against wizards, inefective as they
> were (Harry writes an essay for History about the
> ineffectiveness of witch burning in PoA)

(Ah. Mea culpa – I'd forgotten about that.  My copy of PoA 
Disapparated a while ago
)

Grey Wolf also said:

> the "purebloods" really feel that they are the ones that should
> be out in the open, with muggles hiding from them. Take into
> account that "old families" tend to have an egocentric
> streak, having to hide from inferiors is going to cause them
> something akin to physical pain.

Yes, that makes a LOT of sense – the Malfoys' constant
harping on 
their racial superiority, as if they have to keep on making the 
point, fits well with an inherited wound to their pride.


Sherry Garfio said:

> I would also like to add that there is a new threat today
> against the Wizards: Muggle technology.

Interesting.  I hadn't really thought of that factor in a
historical 
context before.  Since the separation Muggles have progressed from 
being obviously inferior (in power) to wizards to being in many ways 
equal, and have also evolved more organised ways of acting together.  
So there is a greater potential threat now than ever, which the WW 
perhaps doesn't want to face – hence the general bemusement
expressed 
at technological devices by, for example, Hagrid and Arthur.  By 
viewing technology as a bizarre Muggle idiosyncrasy, which as Emily F 
pointed out is another way of patronising Muggles, wizards can deny 
the threat it poses.

Incidentally, IMO the technology/magic split has a major impact on 
the respective social structures. I reckon one of the reasons that 
the MoM seems so shambolic (ref earlier discussions on lackadaisical 
judicial procedures, etc) is that in a world where physical problems 
(such as building structures) can be solved by the wave of a wand, 
logical problem solving wasn't that important (hence
Hermione's 
comment on wizards' lack of logic (PS/SS Chap 16)).  The kind of 
systematic mindset necessary for efficient organisational structures 
just wouldn't evolve, or be valued or taught.  Knowledge of 
psychology and political influencing skills would still be useful, 
however, as personality issues don't seem that different in the
WW. 
So they end up with a bumbling bureaucracy that is weak in the face 
of powerful individuals.  (Hmmm, maybe not so very different from us 
Muggles after all ;-)


Sherry Garfio also said (in reply to Chthonia):

C> 4) There is no physically observable difference (that we know 
C> of) between pureblood/halfblood/Muggle, so people aren't going to 
C> immediately look at someone and get a sense of `otherness'
C> onto which they can project all the qualities they perceive as 
C> undesirable.

SG> it may not be a visible difference at all. Perhaps a
SG> magical person can "sense" another person's magical ability SG> 
or lack thereof...sometimes differences are more subtle
SG> than what people in racially integrated societies perceive.

I was thinking more of Muggle-born wizards here – apologies for
the 
confusion. So far in canon we haven't seen (IIRC?) any evidence
that 
there is a identifiable difference in ability, appearance or culture 
(after having seven years to learn it at Hogwarts), save only in PS 
Chapter 5 where Draco says `They're just not the same,
they've never 
been brought up to know our ways.'  But I wouldn't really
trust a 
Malfoy to give an unbiased assessment of the matter

Or maybe the WW is so small that they all know everybody's family 
history, so no discernable difference is necessary to know who is
who



Chthonia
(which, in reply to Grey Wolf, I pronounce "Ch-thon-ee-a"
[emphasis on "thon", hard "th", short "o" and
"a"],
though my dictionary pronunciation guide implies that
the "Ch" should be said "K" or left out altogether)