Politics

[Sydney]

No: HPFGUIDX 71630

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Kathryn Cawte" <kcawte at b...> wrote:
-
> 
>In Stalin and Mao's case obviously they end replacing them with
> their own authoritarian systems but the basic tenet is equality.
Umbridge
> does not seem to me to show any kind of desire to help the lower
classes (in
> as much as the WW has them) but rather to be aligning herself with the
> establishment. She is very authoritarian and if her own words can be
> believed genuiniely seems to see Harry as a danger to the status
quo. I see
> her as wanting the WW to unite (admittedly by unite she means follow
her and
> Fudge). I associate her with the extreme right because in Europe (I
don't
> know about America) right wing parties often adopt a paternalistic
approach
> towards their citizens - we know best, just do as we say.

This sort of classification problem is exactly why the left/right
dichotomy is becoming so strained.  Personally I automatically (and
without giving it a lot of thought) associated Umbridge with the
extreme left because at the moment the right has kind of co-opted
libertarian values;  also, the way Umbridge wants the state to take on
a parental role over its citizens sounds kind of lefty to me.  Fascist
states want to turn their people into ruthless fighting machines, not
helpless infants.  I do think that is more a socialist thing.

> I'm not entirely sure I would have said Umbridge *had* any educational
> policies so I can't compare them to those of Clarke or anybody else.
Other
> than her read don't practice approach (which I actually attribute to the
> fact that she's scared that she's not very good at the subject) her
policies
> seem to be managerial and organizational rather than educational.

I think Umbridge is pretty cleary the avatar of the felicitously named
Chris Woodhead
(http://education.guardian.co.uk/ofsted/story/0,7348,394038,00.html),
who would have been in charge of schools for the brief period that
Rowling was teaching.  Appointed by the Tories, continued on his merry
way under Labour;  amazing how authoritarian apparatchiks can make
themselves comfortable with whatever the current set of buzzwords is.
 For people like Umbridge, I don't think left/right issues really come
into play-- they're mainly interested in which current movement will
allow their controlling tendencies free rein.   She'd be equally happy
under either Stalin or Franco, really.
 
Irene wrote-
> 
> Let's go for the harder target: I postulate that my favourite
character, 
> Hermione, has Margaret Thatcher for a role model. Think about it:
> Hermione is clever, ruthless, attracted to a successful older man and 
> scares the bejesus out of her male peers. Oh, and she has a big hair.
> All in all, sound way more convincing than comparing her to Clare Short.

Oooh, I think Hermionie would have a fit if compared to either of
them.  Thatcher was ruthless, sure, but I don't know if Hermionie
could agree with her on how many days there were to a week.  As for
Clare Short, ugh, I hope Herminonie would be a more effective operator
than her!

I have nothing to add on Kathryn's Hermionie-as-wooly-liberal/clueless
missionary section other than:  amen!

Sydney-- who politically only really likes the Prime Minister of
Japan, but only because he has such great hair.