Werewolves and RL equivalents

[lizzyben04]

No: HPFGUIDX 170280

BestyHP:

> It's not prejudice to say werewolves are monsters.  They are, as per 
> JKR's canon.  She didn't have to do it that way.  JKR could easily 
> have had Lupin turn into a wolf that mimics his own personality.  
> *Then* I'd buy the idea that those parents expressing shock and 
> horror that this sweet and mild-mannered werewolf being loose on 
> school grounds were being prejudiced.  Instead, JKR shows that their 
> fears are correct.  A non-medicated werewolf (which Lupin was) can 
> kill; their children *were* at risk.  
> 
> It's JKR's world, she could have written it differently.  That she 
> didn't is interesting to me, and makes it impossible for me to buy 
> the "werewolf" = "Real Life illness of your choice".  
> 
> Betsy Hp (*finally* took the WOMBAT test -- yay me!)
>

lizzyben:

Yes, I agree, in the Wizarding World, it's *rational* to be afraid of
werewolves. They are dangerous, & do kill people. It might even be
rational to discriminate against them. That's why I don't understand
JKR's statement that werewolves are a metaphor for a disability.
Wouldn't this lead to the conclusion that people w/disabilities
*should* be discriminated against? Is she saying that people w/a
disease *are* a threat to the community? Because I don't believe that,
and I bet JKR doesn't believe that, but that seems to be the
underlying message of the metaphor as she's created it. So what,
exactly, was JKR doing there? It's a paradox.