The secrecy motif

[lizzyben04]

No: HPFGUIDX 179965

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "a_svirn" <a_svirn at ...> wrote:
>
> > lizzyben:
> > And I know that Gryffs are the good guys because they're not 
> > prejudiced against Muggle-borns, but that always seemed a bit 
> > bizarre to me, because they ARE prejudiced against Muggles. It's 
> > like someone telling an immigrant that they accept him, even 
though 
> > they think his foreign parents & family are a totally inferior 
> > species. Ugh. 
> 
> a_svirn:
> It is not really comparable. In real life the inferiority of 
> foreigners is an imaginary thing, a prejudice. In the world Rowling 
> created the inferiority of Muggles is a fact of life. They can't do 
> magic, and that's make them really inferior. 

lizzyben:

No, I don't accept that at all. JKR has made it quite clear, 
repeatedly, that the ability to do magic is all in the DNA & 
genetics. She's said that even Muggle-born wizards have some sort of 
a latent magic gene & wizarding ancestors somewhere in their 
bloodline. It's a genetic mutation, like having a mutation that 
creates deafness or a resistance to a certain disease. It's just that 
this mutation gives people the ability to do magic. So what? In 
another light, it seems to run in families in the same way that some 
talents seem to run in families. For example, some people seem to 
pick up playing the piano easily, & some people can't play a note. 
Does that make musical people *superior* to non-musical people? Of 
course not. And it certainly doesn't make non-musical people into an 
inferior race. It's the same way w/any genetic randomness, from blue 
eyes to small stature. Does having a mutation that gives a certain 
height or eye color make that person *superior*; or, worse, make 
people without that trait *superior* beings? Are people who inherit 
blue eyes, or deafness, or musical giftedness, or small height an 
inferior race of people? Of course not! We would never even think 
that way. Yet, this is how the entire wizarding world operates. It 
consists of people w/a certain genetic trait - who consider that this 
trait makes them SUPERIOR to all others. To the point where they 
consider people w/o this genetic trait to be an inferior race, and 
almost sub-human. That's eugenics, pure & simple. The scary thing to 
me is how easily JKR gets us to play along & even agree w/a worldview 
that operates on eugenics & a belief in genetic superiority. How did 
JKR ever get us to agree that Muggles are inherently "inferior"? 
WE'RE Muggles, people! Are these wizarding idiots superior to you? 
 
a_svirn:
Muggleborns, however, 
> can do magic, and pretty impressive magic at that. So any 
allegations 
> of their inferiority to pure-bloods are clearly the consequence of 
> bigotry and xenophobia. 

lizzyben:

And why do people have that bigotry & xenophobia against anyone w/a 
connection to Muggles? Because EVERYONE is bigoted against Muggles! 
EVERYONE has seperated themselves from Muggle society & begun to view 
Muggles as suspicious, inferior or incomprehensible "foreigners". So 
of course the bigotry/prejudice against Muggle-borns is connected to 
the bigotry against Muggles - it's a natural outgrowth of that 
bigotry. 

a_svirn:
> It is like the belief in the existence of "natural slaves". In real 
> life it's bigotry and prejudice – all human slaves has always 
> been "made", rather than "born". In the WW it's reality. 


lizzyben:

Yes, let's not forget the race of natural slaves; who are quasi-
human, yet totally inferior to wizards & happy to serve. So it's not 
surprising that wizards begin to take that attitude towards different 
groups of actual humans that they don't understand. Those "muggles," 
so inferior, so not really human like us. Or Slytherins, or muggle-
borns, or any other group that becomes an inferior race to the 
wizards. And yeah, the belief in the existence of "natural slaves" 
was also a feature of eugenics & the Nazi party - it's just that JKR 
has created a world in which that false belief is true. 

a_svirn:
In real life 
> a couple of, say, "genuine Arians" cannot produce an Asian child, 
but 
> in the WW two muggles can produce a witch or wizard. So it's often 
> really difficult to say what kind of point Rowling is making. The 
> only thing that seems pretty clear is that being anti-muggle-born 
is 
> bad, because this attitude is based on the false premise.
>

lizzyben:

Is that Aryans or Asians? JKR has said that two muggles can produce a 
wizarding child only if those muggles have wizarding ancestors. It's 
all in the blood; the pure-bloods were right about that. There's no 
such thing as a true "muggle-born" - if you don't have a wizard 
ancestor somewhere in your bloodline, you can't ever be a wizard. And 
muggleborns like Dudley Durseley *can* potentially produce a 
wizarding child, if the good wizarding gene hasn't been overwhelmed 
by the bad Muggle gene. This is good blood/bad blood at its core. 
It's Aunt Marge's philosophy on bloodlines, made real. They just 
disagree on which genetic trait makes people inferior - Marge thinks 
that the Potter gene makes Harry inferior; JKR thinks that the 
Dursley gene makes Dudley inferior. But they both agree on the basic 
premise - some people are just bad blood.  

What's the false premise? That having Muggle parents makes someone 
inferior? But everyone agrees that Muggles are inferior - so why is 
that so false? How can it be true that Muggles are inferior, yet 
totally false to consider Muggle-born children inferior? I think 
that's the false, hypocritical position that our wizarding heros 
hold. Because wizards already consider themselves to be a superior 
race, so really it's hardly surprising that they look down on people 
who are descended from the inferior Muggle race. The only way to end 
prejudice against Muggle-borns is to end the prejudice, bigotry & 
superiority complex that wizards have against Muggles - but that 
doesn't seem to occur to anyone, least of all JKR.  

As to JKR's intent, I can't even begin to guess. But what I see is a 
world that reflects the exact opposite of the stated intent 
of "tolerance". In this world, we are asked to identify w/a society 
that considers themselves to be genetically superior to everyone 
else; who considers people w/o a specific genetic trait to be an 
inferior race, & almost less human then they are. Who believe that 
their genetic superiority gives them the right to erase the inferior 
race's memories, engage in some harmless taunting/teasing/choking of 
the inferior race, and at extremes to torment/kill members of the 
inferior race. Because the inferior race are "bad blood", and if they 
marry them, then that will taint the bloodlines & result in more 
children without their genetic superiority. Who have a race 
of "natural slaves" that are actually inferior beings, only fit to 
serve & wait upon their masters in the superior race. Who 
periodically wipe out other races (giants, etc.) that get in the way 
of the superior race. Oh, but the good members of the superior race 
don't discriminate against the randomly genetically-superior children 
of the inferior race, so that makes them tolerant & good. The 
wizarding world operates on a kind of eugenics & genetic superiority, 
very similar in fact to the eugenics preached by Nazis & others. This 
even while Deathly Hallows loudly preaches against the Nazis & 
bigotry.  In the same way that the bloodlines seem to operate much in 
line w/Aunt Marge's beliefs; while the same time that the books hate 
Aunt Marge. Silly Muggle, doesn't she realize that SHE'S 
the inferior one & HARRY's from the superior bloodline? It's Man and 
Superman here. Wizards are the Übermensch - they all agree on that, 
and even get readers to agree on wizards' inherent genetic 
superiority. I choose to believe that the similarities must be an 
accident.



lizzyben