"Mudblood"

[delwynmarch]

No: HPFGUIDX 136436

Ffred wrote:
"So can we calm down on the PC? Mudblood is used in the books and I
don't see any need to sanitise it on the list. an unpleasant term to
the protagonists, but as I said, they are fictional."

Del replies:
Shoot! I sent that message to the list by mistake. It was supposed to
be a private message. I deleted it immediately, but obviously the
Yahoo! mechanics worked against me. 

Well, anyway, since the subject is brought up, I might as well explain
myself.

Yes, the protagonists and the word itself are fictional. However, the
*feeling* behind the word, the prejudice it represents, is something
that is very real. And *that* is what some people who have been victim
of prejudice react to. The pureblood ideology has its exact
counterparts in the RW: Blacks and Jews, among other people, have been
accused of having a dirty blood that polluted the blood of the good,
white, Christian people. The terms "pureblood", "halfblood" and even
"mudblood" have their exact equivalents in those two racist
ideologies. So just because "mudblood" happens to be an invented word
about an invented prejudiced ideology doesn't mean that it should be
used indiscriminately IMO.

Moreover, JKR clearly intends this word to create a reaction in her
readers' mind. When one of her characters uses the word, it's supposed
to make us think immediately "that character is not nice". So using
the word casually in our discussions is not a good idea, because it's
going to take away from its power of suggestion.

Just my opinion, of course, and sorry for the mis-posting that started
it all.

Del