Bigotry or NOT? / ACID POPS and Teenager Draco - Motivation? LONG

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 157593

Alla:
> SO, I am confessing to being just as baffled as Mike is as
to "bigotry" on Hagrid's behalf. Of course I won't dispute that
Hagrid was using the *Squib* as derogatory name, but there is such a
big road from derogatory to bigotry and even prejudice IMO.

I mean to me there is not a slightest sign in canon that *squibs* is
a slur. The fact that Arabella calls herself a Squib speaks volumes
to me. Are you saying that she is being prejudicial towards herself?

Ceridwen:
During the World Wars, calling someone a 'German' - not a 'Kraut', 
not a 'Nazi', but simply a 'German', was derogatory.  'German' is a 
proper name to describe someone from Germany or of German descent.  
But during the wars, it also meant 'enemy'.  The same went 
for 'Russian' during the earlier part of the Cold War.  I know of a 
group of German Russians who refer to themselves as 'Rooshians', 
spelled and pronounced just that way, to avoid the bigotry that was 
once inherent in the *idea* of Russians.  The enemy hiding under the 
bed, waiting in alleyways to slit people's throats, and so on.  
Natural-born traitors ready to sell out their country, their 
neighbors, their friends.  Germans were attacked during WWI just 
because they were Germans, or of German descent.  During WWII, they 
were vilified even by people who knew them and should have known 
better.

And, closer to home, imagine someone calling an Arab acquaintance 
a 'sneakin' Arab' today.  'Arab' is a proper name, and Arabs use it 
to define themselves by their place of birth or ancestry.  But, used 
in the way Hagrid used 'Squib' toward Filch, especially since he 
added the adjective 'sneakin', and because he meant it as a slur, it 
is a slur, one that goes to a person's identity.  Using the proper 
name for someone doesn't mean it isn't bigotry or prejudice.

The WW society seems to see Squibs as lesser beings.  They have a 
birth defect, they have no magic.  They are not seen as individuals.  
Their testimony is not reliable in court, as shown in OotP.  They are 
second-class citizens according to society.  This is a pervasive 
bias, a socially acceptible prejudice.  Everyone already knows 
*what*, not *who*, a Squib is, they are pre-judged and have no 
individuality.

This is like the old rules for census, where a slave counted as (I 
think it was) 3/5 of a person.  No derogatory terms were used, but 
demoting them to being only a portion of a person was derogatory in 
itself.  Denying a group the vote, denying a group the right to 
testify in court, are derogatory actions.

Arabella Figg is brave, and looking at her status in a different way, 
to adopt the term without shame or apology.  In my opinion, this is 
the way people change minds.  Not everyone of a particular status is 
strong enough to do it.  It could be based on who they live around.  
Filch lives with wizards and withes, so his lack is apparent every 
day.  He tried to become a wizard through a mail-order course.  It is 
a weak spot with him in particular.  It went right to the core of his 
identity, where Mrs Figg, living among Muggles, doesn't have that 
constant reminder.  She is also stronger than he is where this 
subject is concerned.

I don't think Hagrid means to be prejudiced.  It's a socially 
acceptible prejudice.  It isn't nice, any more than bringing 
up 'werewolf' or 'Mudblood', or even 'Muggle-born', would be nice in 
that context.  But the WW seems to tolerate such attitudes, and from 
what we've seen, particularly with Umbridge, this sort of attitude is 
present in government, too.

One other point: as an staff with students present, neither should 
have spoken that way to a fellow staff member.  This can only 
undermine both of them.  Filch is already at a disadvantage because 
of his 'handicap'.  Even if he wasn't, if Hagrid had an argument with 
McGonagall for instance, it should not be done in front of students.  
My opinion, of course.

Ceridwen.