[HPforGrownups] Slytherin Ideology, in context

[Janet Anderson]

No: HPFGUIDX 101289

"Eric Oppen" <technomad at intergate.com> said:

>I know that we mostly believe that the "Slytherin" dislike of "m*dbloods"
>and contempt for Muggles is a Bad Thing.  However, I would like to try to
>put this sort of attitude into the context of the Wizarding World.
>
>I think, myself, that the prejudice against muggle-born magical folk could
>easily be explained by the real danger of having to deal with people whose
>inner values are _different._

I didn't think it had anything to do with values.  I think that the attitude 
of some wizards toward Muggles and Muggle-borns is based on the same thing 
as the attitude of some wizards toward werewolves -- which is to say, it's 
an overreaction to an actual danger, *but* the danger is not a fiction, it 
actually existed.

At some points in history when wizards and muggles coexisted, muggles were a 
danger to wizards due to superstition, hostility, religious persecution, 
etc.  There were undoubtedly wizards who were not so fortunate as Wendelin 
the Weird, who faked her own burning several times.  This was one of the 
main reasons for the separation and concealment of the wizarding world.  And 
many people in the hidden wizarding world did not want or trust Muggle-born 
wizards because they were an obvious "security risk."  (One wonders how the 
children managed to adjust who were brought to Hogwarts from households or 
cultures which believed in wizards and were actively hostile to them -- the 
Dursleys of the past, as it were.)

Nowadays, the wizarding world is thoroughly hidden and between that and the 
existence of Memory Charms, they are pretty safe from being discovered and 
endangered.  Muggle-born wizards are even less of a danger than they were 
before.  But unfortunately old habits and attitudes are hard to discard, 
especially in people with long lifespans.

>House-elves are not
>humans.  Neither, for that matter, are giants, and if Hagrid's a normal
>half-giant, his lack of common sense and tropism for dangerous creatures
>makes suspicion of half-giants not terribly difficult to understand.

I am not convinced that we know all there is to know about the house-elf 
situation -- and it is of course all too clear (except to her) that Hermione 
doesn't either.  I think however that there's a simple explanation for 
Hagrid's interest in dangerous creatures -- and possibly an unfortunate 
background story.  Hagrid, at his present age, mostly knows his own 
strength.  He may lean on Hermione a little too hard or slap Ron on the back 
and knock him into his soup, but he hasn't been known to hurt anyone until 
the night Umbridge's goon squad tried to ambush him.  (The only other time 
he even lost his temper enough to get physical with someone was when 
Karkaroff insulted Dumbledore, and Dumbledore promptly squashed that 
outburst before Hagrid squashed Karkaroff.)  However, how long did it take 
that impulsive, affectionate young half-giant to learn his own strength -- 
and how many puppies and kittens did it take for him to learn it?  He 
probably likes big, strong creatures that can fight back and stand rough 
handling because he *can't* hurt them easily or by accident.

>If I were living in the Wizard World, I'd be terribly handicapped---I
>couldn't ride a broom, summon the Knight Bus, use the Floo, get onto
>Platform 9 3/4, or even into Diagon Alley without someone there to help me.
>Once the novelty and wonder had worn off, I'd probably start to hate it.
>(This, BTW, goes a long way toward explaining Filch, who is one of the
>characters in the books I feel sorriest for---poor guy).

Yes.  I think Filch is mentally unbalanced, especially after reading OoP; 
but as someone else pointed out, the only thing worse than being around 
people who can all do things you can't is having to watch people in the 
process of *learning* to do all the things you will never be able to do.  
Year after year after year.

(Filch may be the only character other than Umbridge that never gets any 
sympathy.  Even Kreacher seems to have his fans -- don't ask me why -- and 
of course Voldemort does also.  I wonder if Filch might be the person who 
learns magic late in life?  ... Naah.)


Janet Anderson

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