Thoughts about Racism in HP (LONG)

[Barbara D. Poland-Waters]

No: HPFGUIDX 102240

I've been thinking about the way things are portrayed in HP and would like
to share what I've been thinking. I don't have any hard and fast theories,
just some thoughts, so please bear with me.

At first glance, the prejudice that is shown by some of the Slytherins and
pure-bloods towards Muggles and Mudbloods seems a clear metaphor for racism.
Certainly in the United States there has been a very similar type of
discrimination and bias against blacks for centuries. Or it may be that a
better analogy would be Hitler's view of Jews and his desire to "purify"
what he thought was the superior race.

But then I think more about this and I think that at least in the WW, they
started out with good reason to think as they do of Muggles. We've been told
about the persecution of witches and the need for the WW to protect
themselves and hide themselves. And the Dursleys are a very good example of
the types of Muggles that witches and wizards wouldn't want to know about
them, as the Dursleys think anything magical is sick, wizards and witches
are sick, it's unnatural, etc. I can easily see the Dursleys involved in a
lynch party, basing their opinions, as they do, on something they don't
understand at all but rather fear. So in one sense, the prejudice that
developed may have started out from a rational fear of persecution. While
Blacks and Jews certainly have reason to be cautious because of each groups
history of persecution, I don't think the  same type of large factions have
developed (similar to the DEs/Slytherins-we-know) who have such a widespread
bias against their former oppressors (not that there aren't smaller groups
of these people, I'm just comparing them with the whole pure-blood mindset
in WW), nor do I think they have ever grown to a large enough group overall
to be a threat to non-Jews or non-Blacks the way the DEs/Slytherins-we-know
have targeted Muggles and Mudbloods. So in thinking all this, I was
wondering if JKR actually did have some time of modern equivalent in mind
for the pure-bloods and the Muggles. . .perhaps I don't know my history well
enough to spot it.

I was also thinking, and I'm not sure this is related to racism, if it is
still as necessary for the WW to hide itself. Since the WW branched out and
intermingled with Muggles, more non-magic folk should know about witchcraft
and wizardry. Although many Muggles are still kept in the dark, there are
the few here and there who know about the WW and approve. Take Lily's
parents. Petunia mentioned they were proud when she got her letter (making
me actually wonder if there is more going on there- -did they actually know
magic existed beforehand, and if so, was there actually a witch or wizard in
their family before Lily?). And Hermione's parents certainly seem supportive
of her. It's similar to how interracial couples have biracial children who
are then (hopefully) more tolerant of both races because they are part of
both. And people in their families who love and support them should also be
more open-minded just for having them in their lives. (This is certainly my
hope as my husband is black and I am white and I am hoping the increase in
interracial couples will over time create a greater awareness that we are
all just people, no matter the color of our skin. . . but I digress.) So
shouldn't there be Muggle families who have a witch or wizard in the family
and so they lose whatever prejudice or fears they have had? Shouldn't the
knowledge about the WW be spreading, however slowly, through the Muggle
world, since they are interbreeding?

Anyway, those are my thoughts on the topic. As I said, I have no hard and
fast theories and have only just been thinking about this for a little
while. Feel free to agree or disagree or pull apart my ideas, but please, be
kind. :^)

Barbara
bd-bear