Wizard supremacy (was:Re: Nel Question #4: Class and Elitism)

[Jim Ferer]

No: HPFGUIDX 125877


Betsy: "It's [Dumbledad's expectation that wizards would have been
imperialist] implausible only if you think that when it comes down to
it, wizards are more powerful than Muggles. Everything JKR has written
points to the opposite being true. Even the isolated acts of violence
speak of a weaker group attacking a stronger. Honestly, if you put a
Navy Seal up against an Auror, I think the Navy Seal would win. Once a
wizard loses his wand, he's pretty helpless, and I don't think it
would take much for the Navy Seal to disarm the wizard.

"I think the Wizarding world was in danger of going the way of the
Neanderthals and that's why they went through the formidable task of
completely hiding their existence from Muggles. All the talk of
Muggles being weaker or in danger of becoming dependent on wizards are
so much propaganda. In fact, I think the propaganda has been going on
for so long, most wizards firmly believe it to be true. But their own
history tells a different story."

The wizards were in danger of suffering the same fate as other
minorities in the 17th century and before.  Whether any one wizard may
be powerful compared to the average Muggle, the numbers just don't
work out.  There may only be a few thousand wizards in Britain, [this
touches on the "how many students" argument for the umpteenth time]
and I don't care if every one of `em is another Albus Dumbledore, they
aren't going to come out on top compared to the millions of the
general population. 
"Quantity has a quality of its own." – Joseph Stalin.  So a wizard
might be able to defend himself against a Navy SEAL or an SAS
commando, but he can't defend himself against a squad of them. Or a
platoon. Or a company. 

Wizard violence towards Muggles seems to have been the acts of
individuals and small groups (Voldemort and the Death Eaters, for
instance) or misdemeanor Muggle-baiting by wizard louts, the
equivalent of bashing mailboxes.  

There would be no way to convince the Muggle world that wizards
weren't a threat. A shadowy cabal, hidden for centuries, possessed of
power that no one understands. Oh, these wizards claim they really
don't have all that power, but how can you believe it?  Next thing you
know the story would be going around wizards used the blood of Muggle
babies in their spells.  It's all been heard and done before.  Don't
forget the word "ghetto" is hundreds of years old, not a recent
invention.  We have a lot of history how the world treats groups it
perceives as a threat.

Jim Ferer