Muggleborns choosing WW (was: Why did the founders retain Slytherin's house?

[delwynmarch]

No: HPFGUIDX 117937


SSSusan wrote :
"From a purely practical standpoint, I can't imagine many Muggle-born
 witch-or-wizards *not* wanting to join the WW.  I mean, just being
able to have that doohicky of Molly's to keep track of my loved ones,
to be able to shoot my dishes into the sink and have them wash
themselves, to be able to apparate to work in an instant, to fly, ....
 I could go on & on!  It makes many mundane parts of life simpler, and
it adds spark & fun!"

Del replies :
Let me go over your examples first.
The clockwork : it doesn't seem to be a common household object. I
seem to remember that someone speaks about it in a way that implies
that not everyone has one. Personally, I've found that mobile phones
are quite useful to keep track of my loved ones.
The dishes washing themselves : Muggles have dishwashers.
Apparate to work : granted, that one would be cool. Floo Powder isn't
bad either.
Flying : Muggles have cars, which all in all are about as practical as
brooms.
All in all, Muggles do manage to compensate for their lack of magic.

Spark and fun ? Those are bound to diminish after a while, once you
get used to them. And I personally find the price to pay quite high.

* Getting cut off from your family. You and your parents have to lie
to your friends and the rest of the family about what school you go
to, what job you have, and so on. Your parents don't even know what is
actually happening at your school. If you marry a wizard-born, you
might never be able to introduce him/her and your in-laws to your
Muggle family and friends. You can't have people coming over if they
don't know about your secret.

* Having to abandon whatever you liked in Muggle life. You liked video
games or you wanted to become an astronaut ? Forget about it. Worse :
what about things like religion ? I personally wouldn't let my kid go
to a school where he couldn't attend our church on Sunday.

* Having to keep your own existence a secret. You have to masquerade
any time you go outside in the Muggle world. You have to hide your
real activities from anyone and everyone. You have to carefully
monitor your kids whenever you go to a Muggle place, in fear that they
might do or say something incriminating.

* Having to deal with the anti-Muggle racism and the pureblood
ideology. On one side, you are taught that you are somehow better than
everyone else in your family, and on the other you will be despised
all your life by some of the most influent members of your chosen society.

And all that for what ? For the right to live in a society that is
about as rotten as the one you came from, where most jobs are about as
dull and boring as the ones you would get in the Muggle World, and
where the sparks include much more dangerous accidents happening to
your kids (no matter that they are more resistant).

I agree that being a wizard in the Muggle World wouldn't be much
easier. I'm just saying that I don't see why we should assume that all
Muggleborns necessarily want to remain in the WW.

Del