Conspiracy theories compared (note on Peter's name)

[olivier.fouquet+harry at m4x.org]

No: HPFGUIDX 115841

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "carolynwhite2" 
<carolynwhite2 at a...> wrote:
 > WHAT'S IN A NAME?
 >
 > Scabbers: from English slang `scab', meaning strike-breaker, a person
 > who doesn't show solidarity with work colleagues but sides with the
 > management in a dispute?
 > > Carolyn

Now Olivier:

Now this news came as a shock to me. I am french and have a very 
incomplete knowledge
of English, so I never even asked myself if "Scabbers" was anything 
more than a pet-name.

The thing is, Peter Pettigrew is the name a covert-agent used in a 
famous union-breaking
action in the 80s. The agent joined the union under this false identity 
and then
encouraged his colleagues to commit illegal actions during strikes so 
as to justify the layoff of employees. His true identity was eventually 
discovered and he showed in his trial the letters ordering him to 
engage in his strike-breaking activity. When I first learned about this 
story (one can find everything about it in the Actes de la Recherche en 
Sciences Sociales n° 138), I thought it was a nice coincidence.

Now I must say I wonder if JKR had heard about it and chose the name of 
her traitor accordingly.

Olivier