Salazar, Slytherins and Bigotry

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 179970

---  "Mike" <mcrudele78 at ...> wrote:
>...
> 
> 
> Mike:
> We know so little about the founders. Therefore this post 
> will be heavy on speculation.
> 
> Do you really think Godric Gryffindor befriended Salazar 
> Slytherin for reasons of expediency? That Godric said, 'Hey,
> this guy is good. We should get him onboard for this school 
> thing. So he's a bigot, so what? We can work around that.' 
> This is not the type of character I would ascribe to the 
> premier icon in the Potterverse, that had the followers of 
> his credo enthralled. I'm sure that his character was 
> supposed to be better than that.
> 
>

bboyminn:

I've spoken in detail on this very subject many times though
by Group standards that was long ago. So, here is my version
of Founder Speculation.

Keep in mind as we begin that even today there are fanatics
who are using ancient icons as a justification for their own
personal cruelty; example; the Christian Crusades, and the
ancient and modern Islamic fanatics. That's what I think
modern people are doing with Slytherin. They are taking one
small fragment of what he said and twisting it to their own
ends. 

According to to ghostly Professor Binns, Slytherin didn't 
TRUST muggleborns, and by extension, muggles. No indication
that he hated them all and wanted them all dead. 

Now let's establish a historical context. Prof. Binn also
said the founding of Hogwarts was a time of great persecution
of magical people; hold that thought. Further if we are to
take many traditional wizard stories as fact, then the 
common training method prior to Hogwarts was by apprenticeship.

Creating the school was a bold and dangerous move, but it
would insure the absolute best possible and also a uniform
education for all wizards and witches. But it had the
danger of gathering all young wizards and witches together
in one spot which was indeed exceedingly dangerous. If the
school is attacked and all the children killed, it would
virtually mean the end of the wizard world in that country.
If one or more of several small apprenticeships were 
discovered and attack, others would go on unhindered.

So, the danger was great and very real. Consequently Salazar
have very real reasons to worry about muggles.

Now certainly some witches and wizards would come from muggle
families, that meant that then as now a certain number of
muggles knew about the magic world. The more who knew the
greater the danger that one or more of them would betray
the wizard world and set the muggles on them. That actually
happened in real life, so for it to happen in the fantasy
world is very likely. 

So, Slytherin, and rightly so, didn't trust muggles and by
extension, didn't trust muggleborns, and given what was at
stake, it is not unthinkable that he held these opinions
VERY strongly. Even strongly enough to fight with his dear
friend Gryffindor. It was a matter of life and death to
the wizard world. 

Eventually the arguing against allowing muggleborns grew to 
the point where they were actually dueling over it. And it
was three against one, Slytherin was outnumbered and out 
voted, so he decided the best thing to do was leave. But
that does not mean he abandon his House. Certainly he would
want his House, and his preferred students to continue to
get an education, and I think the other founders would 
agree.

The four founders gathered together to make a great leap 
forward in magical education. One that assure all wizard
would be educated, and that they would all get a full and
uniform education. That is a historical achievement that
the wizard world couldn't, shouldn't, and wouldn't ignore.
Consequently, Slytherins great position and achievement in
the school and his place in history would be preserved.

Now, I'm not saying the man didn't have a ego, and I fancy
that he build the Chamber of Secret as a tribute to that
ego. He intended to have his own little 'Slug Club' meeting
in secret in the Chamber where he could profess his personal
ideals that weren't part of the general curriculum. But
that doesn't mean he was a full blown racist.

When he left the castle, he knew the school still needed to
be protected, so he left the Basilisk behind, not to attack
muggleborn witches and wizards, but to attack marauding
muggles if some family of a muggleborn should even betray
the school. 

Now while I don't think Slytherin was a 'full blown' racist,
he certainly had strong tendencies leaning in that direction.
He was a strongly in favor of Purebloods. He saw the very
real risk of allowing muggleborns into the fold at that
point in history. So, while not a racist, he did have a
somewhat justified prejudice and mistrust of muggles.

So, there is my version of what happened, and I think my
version is consistent with the limited history we have. 
We have not historical evidence that Slytherin was 
fanatically anit-muggle or racits. He had a well justified
fear and mistrust of muggle and by extension muggleborns.
But we see no indication that he wished them ill-will as
long as they to wished the wizard world no ill-will. Yes,
we do hear a lot of modern talk about Slytherin believing
this or that, but that is the opinion of self-serving
individuals not a historical account.

I can't believe that the other three intelligent, kind,
benevolent founders could be friends with Slytherin if
he was a flaming fanatical racist. So, I conclude there
must have been some real-world justification behind his
mistrust. 

Just one man's highly speculative opinion.

Steve/bboyminn