house elves

[jenny_ravenclaw]

No: HPFGUIDX 102414

I agree that it is most definitely the WW community that needs to change, not 
the Elves, and that the way the Elves are treated is as big an issue as their 
enslavement is.  It starts with the enslavement, though, doesn't it?

Other than Dumbledore, we haven't seen anyone treating their Elves as 
anything higher than dirt.  If I was an Elf at Hogwarts, I wouldn't want to take 
one of Hermione's hats either; that would mean I'd be on my own and might 
get picked up by someone like the Malfoys or be turned away again and 
again the way Dobby was before he found his way to Hogwarts.  They've got 
the best deal in the WW, it seems, at Hogwarts.

The initial problem with the enslavement is that is breeds the poor treatment 
of those enslaved.  Whether magical or not, the ones who own have a good 
deal of power over the ones owned.  Even Sirius, who would love nothing mor 
than to set Kreacher free, isn't exactly tolerant of Kreacher.  I'm not saying 
Kreacher is a cuddly and loveable little Elf, but isn't it the responsibility of 
Sirius to have a better relationship with Kreacher?  He's far better than the 
other Blacks, it seems, but his authority over Kreacher is always there.

I can't help but be on Hermione's side in this issue.  I want to see all the Elves 
set free to serve whoever they'd like.  Their loyalties to their masters seem to 
stem from their isolation and lack of knowledge about better situations. 

In the end I find it cruel that they are magically bound to their masters and 
that so many masters, it seems, take such advantage of that bondage.

--jenny from ravenclaw, who wears her S.P.E.W. badge with pride