[HPforGrownups] Slytherins as jews WAS: Re: DH as Christian Allegory/I am...

[terrianking at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 173606

In a message dated 7/28/2007 7:37:12 P.M. Central Daylight Time,  
dumbledore11214 at yahoo.com writes:

Alla:

You know, it is not the first time I read the argument  that people 
see Slytherins cast in the part of persecuted Jews and they  see the 
symbolism with jews from eastern Europe.

And of course I  cannot argue with anybody's right to see that 
symbolysm, intentional or  not.

But this jew from eastern Europe, who as I mentioned several times  
seen enough antisemitism in my life, is so scratching her head every  
time this argument comes out.

I mean, whether I personally like  Slytherins or not, I should be 
able to see those parallels at least on  intellectual level, right?

I mean, do not get me wrong, the fact that I  do not see them, does 
not mean that other people cannot, but just on  purely intellectual 
level I am trying to figure out why this so falls  flat.

Why I do not see Slytherins as **any** sort of metaphor for jews,  
but the contrary one - those who persecute.

Well, the first reason  should be obvious for me, I guess. That word 
**mudblood****mudblood**<WBR>. Um, as I  mentioned several times i
word works for me as very direct  metaphor for the most despicable, 
most antisemitic nickname that every jew  from former Soviet Union 
encountered at least once and maybe much more in  their life.

**Slytherins***Slytherins*<WBR>* are the ones who use that word, NOT 
therefore the symbolism is that they ARE who persecute, not  those 
who are persecuted. It how it is works for me, I am sure any other  
jew from eastern europe or any part of the world, can see it  
completely differently.

<SNIP>


Robert:
 
I rarely come out of lurkdom and post so my opinions don't mean a whole  lot, 
but I agree with everything you said in your post. I am not a Jew. I am an  
American Indian whose life inside the US is very much as a "Mudblood" or  
Muggleborn in the WW. "Redskin" is the term we hear most often, to the point  where 
we have turned it into a name we use for ourselves. Skins is a shortening  of 
the one meant to be a slur. I believe it was Hermione who said call her a  
mudblood because that is what she is, a mudblood and proud of it. I'm a skin and 
 proud of it.
You can't make prejudice go away. Not in the real world and not in the WW.  
JKR knows this so how could she end her book with the wizarding world all of a  
sudden becoming free of such things? There are always going to be people  in 
ALL worlds to perpetrate prejudice and hatred, who will never stop  believing 
this type of person is better than all others. They will teach this to  their 
children and those children will carry it on in succeeding generations.  Along 
the way there will be some born who will break away from this teaching and  
turn their back on it, as happened in the books. The pureblood belief of the WW 
 is always going to be there, but there are always going to be people who 
fight  against it, too. It's a never ending fight.
Interest in the dark arts, ambition are things students other than  
Slytherins have at Hogwarts, and the sorting hat sees all of it, but IMO it also  sorts 
according to who has been taught the belief that pureblood is superior and  
how strongly they believe it. This is not to say it will always be right, it is 
 just an enchanted hat after all. As Regulus and Pettigrew proved, people 
change  as they grow older and enter the world as adults
 
 
 
 
 
Alla:

The funniest argument fot Slytherin as persecuted jews symbolism to  
me is of course Snape's hooked nose. Um, why?

I have blue eyes,  blond hair and all my family does and we are all 
very very jewish. On the  other hand, there are people with hooked 
noses, who are jews and NOT jews,  had never been jews, you know?

Am I suppose to think of Jew the moment  I read about Snape's hooked 
nose? Well, I really do not.
<SNIP> 
 

Robert: 
As an aside, the elves may delete this if they wish:
Look at almost any painting done of American Indians throughout  the last of 
the 1800s and early 1900s,  and look at any portrayal of  American Indians in 
pre-1970s Hollywood films and you will notice that almost  all of the NDNs fit 
that description, too. (I don't have one and no on in my  family has one.)
I believe the descriptions both come under the heading "stereotype."