Arthur's weakness (Re: weasley's - hypocritical?)

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 80434

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "yairadubin" 
<two4menone4you88 at a...> wrote:
> I'm starting to think the Weasley's are a little bit hypocritical.  
> They're all for befriending muggles and defending them when anyone 
> else insults them, but thier family's been pureblood for ages.  Mr. 
> Weasley might have a fondness for muggles and thier objects, but 
all 
> the rest of the Weasley's are completely contemptious of him!  



Jen Reese: I've never thought of the Weasley's as hypocritical. I 
have wondered at times about Mr. Weasley's obssession with Muggles, 
and how he fits into the structure of pure-blood prejudice that 
engulfs the WW.

Unlike Voldemort or Lucius who are very straight-forward about their 
prejudices, Arthur holds subtle biases that are not obvious, but do 
influence his behavior. No matter how nice he is about it, he does 
view Muggles in the "one-down" position: They are so fascinating, so 
clever, so hard-working!

Now, I really like this character--don't get me wrong; Arthur 
valiantly tries to stem the tide of Muggle abuse on a daily basis, 
but he is also able to retreat back into the WW with all his 
Muggle "toys" and the privilege that comes from being a pure-blood 
Wizard. 

He can help pass the Muggle Protection Act, then go back home and 
enchant all sorts of everyday objects that could fall into the wrong 
hands--that's a slippery slope. He spends his days in the city 
helping Muggles out of scrapes, but finds the way they actually live 
to be somewhat backwards and cumbersome. 

Of course, the Weasley's haven't always been protected by their pure-
blood status, as when Ginny was the victim of Voldemort's diary or 
perhaps other events in the first war we don't know about. Arthur's 
heart is gold--no doubt about that--he also has blind spots, as we 
all do.

I'm a hospital social worker in my other life and see this type 
of "nice prejudice" everywhere, including within myself. Taking any 
group, defining them in a certain way that says "other", then putting 
them in nifty little boxes is still a form of prujudice, no matter 
how pretty the wrapping.

But there's hope... I think it comes in the form of Dumbledore's 
forward in "Quidditch through the Ages" and "Fantastic Beasts....," 
where he states these books are to "be made available to Muggles" for 
the first time in the history of the publishing house.  So part of 
Dumbledore's outreach to unify the Wizard World may yet include 
Muggles! Just having a little fun there....Jen