Prejudice

[jenny_ravenclaw]

No: HPFGUIDX 70512

JKR's creation of the word "Mudblood" was brilliant, because it really 
does sound like quite an insult and because it can be compared to just 
about any derogatory term used to insult a minority.  

The first time I read CoS and saw the word, I immediately thought of 
WWII and Jews and how they were often referred to as vermin and how it 
was fairly widely believed that Jews were dirty because they chose to 
be.  I also immediately thought of Jews (aside from the fact I am one) 
because JKR's story does take place in Europe, where the Holocaust 
happened after all, and not the USA.  How much time is spent in 
British schools on US history, slavery and African Americans?  

Either way, it is a common motif in the history of prejudice and 
racism for groups that are generally upper class or the majority to 
think of others as dirty or bad.  Calling someone a Mudblood captures 
that disturbingly well.

--jenny from ravenclaw *********************************