[HPforGrownups] Re: Hermione's a liberal

[Kathryn]

No: HPFGUIDX 125488

 Eggplant
 
The individual must make the judgment of who to respect and who to
hold in contempt, I can't see any alternative; I can't see how you
could force somebody NOT to have an opinion unless you had control of
the Orwellian Thought Police. Yes I realize hundreds of millions of
people hate my culture, they hate it more than they love life, I think
they made a very bad decision but it's their decision and they will
have to live (or die) with it.
  
 
 K

I snipped the whole first section by the way because I would have said
Stalinist Russia and National Socialist Germany were political systems
rather than cultures and I can't find any way of discussing that while
remaining even vaguely on topic.

When we say Hermione needs to respect the House Elves cultrue we don't mean
that she necessarily has to feel respect for them, just that she has to act
with respect. You say that many people have no respect for your culture, and
that is their right, but how would you like being forced you to live under
their rules whether you like it or not because they've decided your culture
is not worthy of any respect? If Hermione somehow manages to force the House
Elves to conform to her will (which is just as much slavery as the system
they live under since she is refusing to allow them to exercise their own
free will) then she is, unfortunately, not the only one who would have to
live with her decision, so would the thousands of house elves. So far we
have met three individuals house elves. All were living in houses where they
were treated badly by our standards - one wanted freedom, got it, and is now
content, one didn't want freedom, was given it anyway, and is now miserable
and drowning her sorrows in the bottle, the other didn't want freedom and
managed to twist the rules enough in his own head to go to another branch of
the same family (who we know from experience don't necesssarily treat their
elves well). (btw it's been a long time since I read the books what exactly
was Kreacher's fate? did he end up with the Malfoys or not).

So from these three elves one chose freedom (and got it thanks to Harry) and
is content, one chose to remain a 'slave' and seemed content with that, one
had no choice in the matter at all and is not coping in any way. This does
not bode well for Hermione's methods - the only elves we know to be happy
are those who had some say in their fate, not those who had their fate
imposed on them by outside forces.

And can we try to keep the real world, especially current real world,
references down to a minimum because bringing real world politics into
things is bound to cause a fight of some kind.

K

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