The secrecy motif/magic & muggles

[a_svirn]

No: HPFGUIDX 179989

> Pippin:
> The separation is not eugenic -- they do not benefit genetically
> by breeding among themselves, much to the purebloods' dismay.

a_svirn:
That's because the pure-blood fanatics go with a wrong premise. 
*Their* eugenic practices are wrong – lead to inbreeding. The wider 
WW is much wiser about selective breeding: the good guys certainly 
know they need an infusion of fresh blood from time to time. However 
wizards do -- deliberately – form a cultural entity based on one 
particular distinctive trait –and that has a very distinct whiff of 
eugenics. 

> Pippin:
> They're like the Amish or the deaf culture, IMO. They're separatist 
> because their needs are different from the dominant culture's and
> separatism is the most practical way to accommodate them.  

a_svirn:
I don't see it. Correct me if I am wrong, but the Amish culture is 
not based on genetics. I mean they don't get selected on the basis of 
distinctive traits, do they? No the deaf can be regarded as a 
separate civilisation. For one thing, they aren't completely 
autonomous (as a social or cultural entity, I mean), for another, 
while they might reproduce their culture, they do not dabble in 
selective breeding in order to pass deafness on to the next 
generation, as far as I am aware of.