[HPforGrownups] Digest Number 4634

[LadySawall at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 99513

In a message dated 05/26/2004 12:35:52 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com writes:

Lady Macbeth:
But, like the Nazi party, Slytherin house has gotten carried away.  It's
spawned leaders like Voldemort who push to the extremes and walk the fine
line between genius and insanity.  It's taken a good but flawed goal and
twisted it into a dangerous mechanism against other people.  People today
can claim to be Nationalists, or Socialists, but they are hesitant at best
to even admit that they see any good in the Nazi party.  The same has
happened to Slytherin house.  It's not a "bad" thing for wizards to be
called "purebloods".  The Weasleys are purebloods.  We all noticed in Order
of the Phoenix that at least one Weasley took his ambition for success to
the point that he alienated himself from the rest of the family.  The Blacks
are purebloods.  The Blacks were notorious for their various goals in
ambition. The Malfoys are purebloods - and not at all lacking in ambition.
But, in their world, it IS a bad thing to be called "Slytherin".
Jo Ann:

Every ideology has its negative side, and can get twisted and used to oppress 
an unpopular or disadvantaged group.  Most of them, quite simply, fail to 
take into account the realities of human nature.  Marxism looks *great* on paper 
(in fact it's got some ideas frighteningly similar to that of democracy.)

I tend to equate Salazar with Karl Marx--a guy who sincerely wanted to do 
good, and had some theoretically sound ideas, but who failed to see the practical 
weaknesses in his theories and how they could be exploited by the ruthless.

Jo Ann


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