muggle baiting vs. muggle torture

felix_quinn felix_quinn at yahoo.com
Thu Jul 20 14:05:45 UTC 2006


No: HPFGUIDX 155705

> Betsy Hp:
> So would you be okay with the white teenagers using their status as
> more powerful whites to scare the less powerful black child, if the
> white teenagers explained that the black child is a "great bullying
> git"?
> How about if two sixteen year old boys used their superiour
> strength
> to hold down a fourteen year old girl and rub her face in the mud?
> Would that be okay if they could show that that girl was a "great
> bullying git"?
>SNIP<

Besides the fact that personally believe (as I've said before) that
the twins honestly don't mean 'harm' as we're seeing it to anyone,
and rather believe that everyone else is enjoying the joke as much as
they would have if the joke had been on them, I believe the
comparison is slightly unjustified.

All the exapmles you gave, although fairly well constructed, are
blown out of proportion. If a white child burned a cross in the yard
of a black child to scare him (even if the intent had no racial
motivation) the
specific method the white child had then used was chosen because it
was known as a previous method of inspiring fear to black people (by
people who DO do it with race in mind) and the white child would then
know that the fear would stem from the burning cross being
interpreted by the black child and his family as a race-motivated
crime.

The twins simply pulled a prank (albeit an uncalled for one) the
nature of which simply came from them having these sweets, and seeing
an opportunity for a joke.
The Dursley's, not knowing and not WANTING to know anything about
wizards, have no way of even knowing that some people in the WW hate
muggles- they _are_ afraid of the wizards, but more for the unknown
and 'unnatural' factor- we can safely assume that in the cabin (in
SS/PS) if Uncle Vernon had had the chance, he would have shot Hagrid.
Would that be wizard baiting?

If the Dursley's had had some kind of power or upperhand over the
wizards (who they thought of as lesser human beings due to being
different and not 'normal') they would most definitely have used it
merely for their hate of wizards. I think this is evident by how they
treat Harry before he went to Hogwarts- he had no way of fighting
back, so they abused him simply for being a wizard.

If the twins had, in scaring Dudley, used a method that utilized the
very fact that they were wizards (full costume, wands out making a
show of it becuase they knew Dudley was afraid of wizards, as the
white kid would have known he black one was afraid of the racist
movement of the time) then it would have been comparable.
As it is, it's simply a prank played on another person. (Not saying I
condone it, just that it's being taken slightly out of proportion)

There is a marked difference between "baiting a muggle" (defined as
baiting a person who just happens to be a muggle, regardless of
intent) and "muggle-baiting" (baiting someone specifically because
they are a muggle, and using methods that rely on the fear inspired
by magic) My example:

If I had a CD, legally purchased that was starting to crack and I
copied it to a new disc, throwing away or destroying the old one, am
I a CD-copier? (excuse weak term, it's for comparison) I might have
copied one CD, but was my intent to resell, or cheat the artist out
of money due to them? the term "cd-copier" implies a habit or repeat
action, with malicious intent. I have then 'copied a CD', as opposed
to being a 'CD-copier'.
Might just be a technicallity, but an important one when evaluating a
person's character according to the action.

And anyway, the twins didn't know that the Dursleys were going to
refuse all magical help, simply out of their own prejudice against
wizards (i.e. all wizards and all magic is bad and dangerous, simply
because it is something different to what they accept as 'right'
and 'normal'- pretty close to the sentiment of a wizard who hates
mudbloods, I think)

Felix, who wouldn't have minded baiting a few of the muggles who gave
her uphill in school. *evilsnigger*









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