Re: Draco Unredeemed and the Cabinet That Won’t Die (long)

[Renee]

No: HPFGUIDX 159289

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "justcarol67" <justcarol67 at ...>
wrote:
>
> Renee wrote:
> <snip>
> > What if, for instance, Regulus Black (assuming he's RAB) turned
> > against Voldemort because he discovered the purebloods were merely
> > used as tools, and this angered him? We don't know why exactly he
> > tried to thwart Voldemort, but it doesn't have to be because he
> > suddenly realised racism is wrong. Maybe he did, but this doesn't
> > necessarily follow from the fact that he changed his mind about
> > Voldemort. 
> > 
> 
> Carol responds:
> First, I want to protest (in vain, I realize) against the word
> "racism" to describe blood prejudice. Race has nothing to do with it,
> as Angelina, Dean, Blaise, Lee and others )say, the Patil twins and
> Cho Chang) illustrate.  There's not the slightest hint of true racism
> in the WW. The prejudice against nonmagical people permeates the WW,
> and among Slytherins in general and some non-Slytherin pureblood
> families, it extends to Muggleborns as well. But it has nothing to do
> with race. "Mudblood" Hermione is a member of the same race as
> pureblood Draco (White or Caucasian), and both are members of the same
> race as Muggle Dudley. Possibly this prejudice is analogous to racism
> in our world, but it isn't identical to it.

Renee:
It seems we're not using the same definitions of racism; apparently
you prefer to restrict it to discrimination, prejudice, etc. based on
visible physical differences between groups of humans. I was thinking
of the wider definition of racism used by the United Nations:

"any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race,
colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or
effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or
exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental
freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other
field of public life." 

According to this definition, the blood prejudice found among the
followers of Voldemort *is* racism, as it is based on descent. 

Of course the important question here is how JKR defines racism, not
what definition either of us prefers. But my impression is, that
pureblood mania and discrimination of non-humans like giants, goblins
and house-elves are some of the forms racism take in the Wizarding
World, like xenophobia, anti-semitism and ethnocentrism are some of
the forms racism takes in RL. 

Renee (snipping the rest of Carol's post, with which she largely agrees)