WW versus MW

[Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)]

No: HPFGUIDX 46042

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Melody" <Malady579 at h...> wrote:

> If a muggle did *need* magic, then I am sure the likes of 
> Dumbledore would share his gift.  Yet, he does not work to join the
> two worlds. He, above all wizards, would see the advantages and 
> disadvantages of combining the worlds, yet we have no evidence that 
> he is working to join the worlds or "out" the WW.

Dumbledore reads the Muggle newspapers and keeps up with what Muggles 
are doing, and I don't recall him saying anything patronizing about 
Muggles. He may well believe that wizarding folk have much to learn 
from Muggles, but not bother saying so because no wizard would 
believe him and he has more immediate struggles. It is less clear 
that Muggles need anything from wizarding folk: we already have our 
own bigotries, class system, poverty, cheating, etc. Our technology 
already does some things their magic apparently doesn't (television, 
mobile phones, Internet) and is working on doing all the things their 
magic does (yes, on regrowing bones and nerves and so on, altho' I 
doubt we'll get Apparation (Strek transporter) and time travel).

Anyway, it seems to me that Dumbledore, in his great age and 
enlightenment, has a non-standard idea of "need": people don't *need* 
to stay alive, they need to live and die honorably and go on to "the 
next great adventure"; people don't *need* to defeat Voldemort (or 
whatever current great Dark Wizard), they need to try their damndest 
to defeat him honorably and leave stories that will encourage future 
generations to fight heroically against Dark Wizards. It's kind of a 
long view of things: "in the long run, everybody dies" and "this, 
too, shall pass." For selfish little people like me, it is a terribly 
gloomy viewpoint: I want *me* to be happy, not want me to be heroic 
so that future generations might be happy. Christians cheer it up 
by believing in rewards in an afterlife. Speaking of which, probably 
it's just me, but, Melody, I found the post to which I'm replying
just a bit too Christian for my taste .... 

> Why don't the wizards take over the world?  They have the
> advantage, don't they?  (snip)
> I still say the reason why the worlds are kept separate and in the
> dark is for the WW protection.  The MW would overwhelm them with
> requests and desires.  

I put these two quotes together for one answer: Yes, the worlds are 
kept separate for WW protection. Protection from Muggles persecuting 
and killing them, not protection from Muggles overwhelming them with 
requests. The latter is the self-praising fable wizarding folk tell 
their children, but Binns the historian knows better(Binns, CoS: The 
Founder "built this castle together, far from prying Muggle eyes, for 
it was an age when magic was feared by common people, and witches and 
wizards suffered much persecution."). 

It seems to me that wizarding education is as full of lies to 
brainwash children into socially correct adulthood as Muggle 
education. Probably the story of Wendilyn the Weird isn't exactly a 
*lie*, but the Flame-Freezing Charm is a distraction from the fact 
that the wizarding folk were really scared of the Muggles -- Flame 
Freezing Charm only protects from being burnt when you have your 
wand, and never protects from being drowned, or hanged, or badly 
damaged by torture -- QTTA says that Abraham Peasegood was one of 
many wizards who emigrated to the North American colonies in hope 
there would be less oppression of magic folk there .... 

It seems to me that their whole big deal of despising Muggles is part 
of a pattern of denial. Unwilling to admit that they are scared of 
Muggles, they build up and up and up their claim that Muggles are 
inferior.