Is the wizarding world a democracy?

[cgahnstrm]

No: HPFGUIDX 75247

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "meltowne" 
<meltowne at y...> wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "sbursztynski" 
> 
> >...you certainly wouldn't 
> > have people being dragged off to that nightmarish place Azkaban 
> > without a trial, as Hagrid was in CoS.
> 
> (and Sirius - he never had a trial either).
> 
> ... or people dragged off to military prisons to face a military 
> tribunal - if they even get around to setting it up?  Not only do we 
> have foreigners in guantanamo bay, but we also have many in custody 
> who were already in the US, plus at leat 2 US citizens I know of who 
> were at least initially denied access even to a lawyer.  While I 
> think the WW is more like a constitutional monarchy than a democracy, 
> I thinkt he situations cited could just as easily happen in a 
> democracy.

Up untill book 5, I sort of thought of the wizarding world as a 
great place (or subculture) to live in. But now I would be more 
than happy to be a muggle in the Potter universe. Freedom of 
speech? Non existent. How can someone get detention for 
speaking his mind in school? Press freedom? Even Italy is 
better. AND they send people to Azkaban (serious torture) 
without trial. Those poor opressed wizards need their own 
Amnesty International. 

Christin
(usually a lurker)