[HPforGrownups] Re: Free Elves Unite?

[Laura Huntley]

No: HPFGUIDX 37101

Grey Wolfe:
>You're overlooking something: it's true that Winky comes off as 
>pathetic once she's been liberated, but that's precisly the sort of 
>damage I'm trying to spare them from.

Alright.  Isn't this the "it's for your own good" philosophy you were criticizing Hermione for?  In fact, your main Atan-modeled theory falls under this category.  The elves were too powerful, so, in order to make sure they didn't hurt anyone, a group of ancient elves got together and decided that they absolutely *had* to commit themselves and all their descendants to perpetual slavery?  I have a hard time believing that anything close to this might have taken place.  It's too -- far fetched.  Why would the elven race view itself as dangerous?  I mean, I can buy *wizards* viewing them as dangerous, much like Muggles would view wizards (with their unfathomable power) as dangerous.  But the elven race as a whole, throwing up it's hands and deciding to turn itself in to another, magically inferior, race?  Especially a race so power hungry and easily corrupted as the human one?  Hum..just doesn't work in my head.

Also, as I have not read the book in which the Atans play a role, I may be getting the context wrong, but what *exactly* about servitude made all these violent warriors suddenly go all docile?  Why did giving these confrontational people over to a bunch of *other* physically weaker, more peaceful race (who in turn were expected to tell the violent race what to do) help any?  I would've thought that the Atans would simply have revolted after a bit and slaughtered the other race. Maybe they would've gone along with it out of respect for their king for awhile, but if it's in their nature to fight -- I can't see how if they couldn't curb that before, what putting them in a position of enslavement would do.

Also, just to clarify something I said earlier:  When I said that I hoped I could chose death for myself and descendents over slavery, I *did not* mean I would kill myself and take any children I had *at the time* with me.  Any kids I might have would of course be left to make their own choices about their own lives.  I merely meant that I would not want to go into slavery and then have children *knowing* that those children and their children, etc. would be slaves as well.  If I were ever in such a situation, I would simply not have kids at all.  In other words, I would not be concerned with continuing my bloodline at the expense of the well being of the people who would be carrying that blood -- some people make a fuss about such things, I don't.

laura


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