Thoughts about Racism in HP (LONG)

[finwitch]

No: HPFGUIDX 102412

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "(Mrs.) Lee Storm (God Is The 
Healing Force)" <n2fgc at a...> wrote:
> 
> [Lee]:
> I'm going to toss out another thought into this thread...something 
not quite
> along the lines of racism, but certainly along the lines of 
discrimination.
> 
> What of a child, either pureblood or not, who has a physical or 
visual
> impairment but is magical?  Can we get talking spell books, etc? Or 
would
> such children be denied a proper education in the WW?  Would that 
child's
> parents have to fight to get him/her into a wizarding school?
> 
> I can't help but wish that JKR would tackle a blind wizard being 
admitted to
> Hogwarts.  I'm sure most of the profs would be great, but I have 
serious
> doubts about Snape being willing to accommodate. :-)  Hmm--fodder 
for
> fanfic, perhaps?  And if said student were a half-blood or
> muggle-born...Ouch!

Well, mildest visual problem: having glasses is no problem 
(obviously, Harry has them and sees nothing without!).

bit more serious: Moody had lost his eye (so he got this Magical Eye 
instead - maybe they'd do something like that if someone was blind? I 
don't think he lost his job as Auror just for that).

But I think you could do a spell to make a book speak the contents (I 
DO keep wondering about Aberforth! Did he do that to learn spells or 
did he ask Albus to read for him?) Or maybe, well, just use a birds 
eyes... (I read a fanfic where one person did so).

They do have talking mirrors, so well, why not a talking book?

Still, there are lots of things that can not be seen by anyone (like 
the Invisible Book of Invisibility). The shopkeeper complained about 
not being able to find it, as I recall... I keep thinking that 
perhaps the Invisible Book was written using Braille? and, Hogwarts 
has whole Library Section of Invisibility... (Harry was hiding there 
in the Chamber of Secrets and heard Hufflepuffs talking about him...)

Oh, and... I wonder if a magical person blind to light would instead 
see MAGIC. (So you wouldn't KNOW they can't see light in Hogwarts, 
would you? It'd give them an advantage at Hogwarts!)

Anyway, Dumbledore welcomes anyone with the talent (and if a werewolf 
can be accepted, why would blindness, deafness or such be a problem?)

-- Finwitch