Oop: The undercurrent of racism - was discrimination in houses

[darrin_burnett]

No: HPFGUIDX 63676

Just a couple of points here because I believe it is not accurate to 
pick apart every word on a song that was created to rhyme AND has had 
three versions, all using different words with different meanings. 

But, I wanted to dive into the racism undercurrent issue.

Me:
> > And considering that the Sorting Hat appears to contain the 
> essences 
> > of the four founders, it is telling that Muggle-borns like 
Hermione 
> > and the Creeveys, near-squibs like Neville, minorities like Dean 
> > Thomas and Angelina Johnson, and poverty-stricken folks like the 
> > Weasleys are all in Gryff. Meanwhile, Hufflepuff has Muggle-borns 
> > like Justin Finch-Fletchley and Ravenclaw has minorities such as 
> Cho 
> > Chang.
> > 
> > See any non-white, non-pureblood, non-rich faces in Slyth?
> >
> 

Milz: 
 Okay, now you're using the Slytherin requirement to argue against 
> Gryffindor's and Ravenclaw's exclusionary policies. So your 
argument here is moot. The fact that the Sorting Hat has the essences 
of The 4  and sorts them accordingly means The 4 had definite ideas 
who should be in Hogwarts and their Houses. If Gryffindor wasn't 
exclusionary, why does the Hat only put brave children into his 
House? Muggle-borns and pure-bloods can be less than bold too. So can 
poor children and  racial minorities. Same goes for Ravenclaw. Why 
are there only smart children in her House if she weren't 
exclusionary? Intelligence, or 
> lack thereof, is not relegated to one racial group, Muggle-borns, 
> pure bloods, the wealthy or the poor, either.
> 

Me: 
Ummm, which is what I said. Gryffindor has a mix of family trees, 
races, skill levels and intelligence levels, all linked because they 
prize courage and display courage or have the potential to display 
courage. Someone that would turn tail and run from a fight is not 
Gryff's kind of student and he doesn't want them bearing his name.

But you haven't proven Godric didn't want those kids taught at all. 
Only Slytherin wanted to ban certain kids outright. And when he 
started making those noises, he hit the road and when he left, the 
dissension stopped. Sounds like Salazar was the problem.

And exactly how should the houses be reunited? Only when the essence 
of Salazar agrees that his kids should be mingling with Muggle-borns 
is it going to happen. Or what should the others do, welcome 
Salazar's creed of only pureblood to reunite the houses? Sure, and 
install Lucius Malfoy as Headmaster while you're at it.


Milz:
> Furthermore, we don't know if there are "non-white" Slytherins 
> because Rowling. If has yet to have a Slythering character wearing 
> a "Black Power" t-shirt. (pardon the sarcasm). 

She's taken pains to put minorities in Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, 
hasn't she? And why is it that the most prominent Slytherin and his 
parents are an Aryan wet dream? 

I think there is a subtle message being sent there and I think that 
is why we have no minorities in Slytherin, whose entire creed is one 
of "pure blood" and "mud blood." 

Does that mean Salazar cared for the color of his kids' skin? 
Probably not. It has been argued that Salazar himself was a Moor.

But the images of Slytherin and the Death Eater culture (which is 
heavily influenced by former Slyths) all contribute to racist images.

The Death Eaters and their hoods are spitting images  of the Ku Klux 
Klan and the term "mud race" is used by the KKK to describe any non-
white. The term "muggle-lover" is a direct correlation to the "n----r-
lover" epithet thrown about in the South in the 1960s. I think the 
undercurrent, though not verbalized, is actually pretty easily 
spotted.

My guess is that the long-awaited "good Slytherin kid" that has been 
discussed here is going to be the first kid to openly disagree with 
all that garbage and stand up to Draco's creed.

But like I said in those countless good Slyth kid discussions, if 
he's not in canon, he doesn't exist. When JKR writes him, then he 
exists. Right now, the Slyths follow the Creed of Purelbood and I 
don't see where any of them have diverted from that path.... yet.

So, or course, I'll pardon the sarcasm and let people who want to 
discuss the issue without sarcasm have at it.

Darrin