Exploring prejudice WAS Re: Harry's sexual preference

[jwcpgh]

No: HPFGUIDX 78703

"bluesqueak" <pipdowns at e...> > 
<snip> 
> But the WW *is* a hotbed of prejudice. The prejudice, where old 
pure 
> blood families are superior to `muggle borns' and mixed bloods has 
> enough of a correspondence in our world that we recognise it. It's 
> not completely unfamiliar. It has echoes.  
<snip> 
 JKR has cunningly cast the reader as the 
> target. The WW prejudices are not against some nice safe `other'. 
> 
> They're against *you*.
> 

Kneasy (responding to a different post but discussing the same topic)

The unwritten thread that winds its way unbroken through the books is 
that Muggles are the unconsidered lumpen proletariat, with no say, no 
worthwhile opinion and are to be abused, patronised or laughed at as 
is appropriate. The need to enact a Muggle Protection Act should tell 
you all you need to know. The WW sees itself as an elite, a 
patronising elite, a possibly dangerous elite, who regard Muggle laws 
or norms as totally irrelevant to their lives or behaviour even 
though they live within the society of Muggles. 

I'm sensible that in fiction just about anything goes, but this is 
beginning to show signs of deliberate type casting, that to be a 
non-wizard is to be an untouchable. The rules of morality don't apply 
if you're a Muggle.

In my fervid imagination the HP series is taking on overtones of the 
Thirty Years War. An inbred aristocratic elite, split between 
ideologies, swapping sides as convenience dictates, telling 
themselves that only their squabbles matter in the overall scheme of 
things.

Laura:


Certainly JKR has as one of her main themes prejudice and its 
consequences.  And as we get to know the WW better, we see that human 
behavior is no better there than in the non-WW.  But I'd have to 
disagree with the suggestions that magical people (hereinafter mp) 
are unfairly or disproportionally prejudiced against muggles.  I 
think that fault lies equally on both sides, but we just see the WW 
perspective in these books.  And I'd suggest that the prejudice we 
see mp displaying toward muggles is a consequence of a historical 
process whose development we don't see in the books but of which we 
are quite aware.  Just in case we're not, JKR makes an occasional 
reference to the history of mp-muggle relations-and it's not a pretty 
picture.

It is sadly characteristic of all humans to hate and fear what is 
different.  People who look, act, believe or are enabled differently 
from  the predominant group are regarded with feelings ranging from 
suspicion to outright hatred. So it's easy to see that mp, with their 
unusual powers and relatively small numbers, would quickly become the 
objects of non-mp prejudice and fear.  JKR gives us several 
historical references to muggle persecution of witches and wizards, 
and we know that even in today's culture these fears remain strong 
among certain segments of the population. I would believe that the 
problems between mp and muggles started with muggles who were jealous 
and frightened of magical abilities they didn't have and could never 
get.  

MP were probably not blameless.  I can't imagine that there weren't 
always mp who enjoyed tormenting muggles to a greater or lesser 
degree.  It would be almost impossible to resist a feeling of 
superiority if you were a witch or wizard and compared yourself to 
the helpless, earthbound, weak muggles.  So the lack of understanding 
was equally present on both sides.  

But let's face it-mp could have wiped out every last muggle without 
breaking a sweat if they had chosen to.  So we must conclude that mp 
decided (as a community, that is-there are always individual 
troublemakers) to try to live peaceably with muggles.  Muggles, on 
the other hand, never stopped demonizing and persecuting mp.  (The 
fact that their efforts to kill witches and wizards were more often 
met with amusement than fear was not one of which muggles were aware.)

So it's easy to see why mp would eventually reach the conclusion that 
it would be better for everyone if the two communities lived apart. 
And as the WW became increasingly alienated from the muggle world, 
ignorance about muggles and their ways would increase, and prejudice 
and scorn would easily flourish, beccause we know that ignorance is 
the most effective breeding ground for bigotry. 

And so we enter the WW at the beginning of PS/SS.  The WW has done 
its best to keep relations between themselves and the muggle world to 
a minimum.  Intermarriage is permitted but there is a social cost.  
MP are known to indulge in muggle harrassing in violation of 
community standards, so the Muggle Protection Act has been passed.  I 
really feel that the WW is engaged in an active and ongoing effort to 
keep its (understandable) feelings of superiority under control.  But 
as LV regains strength and the authorities are preoccupied with the 
fallout of that situation, they have less energy and attention to 
give to muggle-baiting.  And, of course, LV and his supporters are 
only to happy to encourage the whole "blood purity" agenda.   

At no time in the books do we see anyone who's a sympathetic 
character treating muggles badly just because they're muggles.  Harry 
hates the Dursleys not because they're muggles but because they hate 
him.  Arthur tries his best to be polite and friendly toward them, 
but they are rude and hostile.  (Compare them with the Graggers, who 
seem to get along just fine with witches and wizards.)  So I don't 
agree that the WW is any more rife with prejudice than the muggle 
world is.  We're just seeing it from inside.