Werewolves and RL equivalents (was:Re: Snape - a werewolf bigot?...)

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 170355

Alla:
But what reduced threat all the time? During the time full moon is not
there, human has full control over their mind, there was no mention
AFAIR that during that time they have any **urge** to bite you.

Ceridwen:
The threat is that their bite is magically potent at any time.  The 
reduction is that Greyback is notable for his willingness to bite as 
a human.  That means that most werewolves don't have this desire, and 
to me, this also means that this doesn't come naturally to Greyback 
the Werewolf.  Greyback the Human uses this property of the conditon 
to extend his reign of fear.  But, he is using something that is part 
of his condition.  This is information we haven't encountered 
before.  Lupin isn't like this.

Alla:
So, sure, if some evil human **chooses** to bite you when he is human,
not werewolf, the wounds will not heal completely, which again reminds
me of RL analogy.

Ceridwen:
Right.  Greyback is a dastardly threat.  He will maim, even when in 
his right mind.  And he uses a property of the condition that we 
didn't know about to make this threat more terrifying for potential 
victims.  If he is actively teaching his pack to do this, as Betsy 
wondered, then he and the members of his pack who are following his 
lead are threats at all times of the month.  They're just not as 
dangerous as they are at the full moon.

This doesn't remind me of any real life analogy, though there are 
some things, like the case Dana mentioned, where it could draw a 
parallel.  There are a lot of things that werewolfism might 
symbolize, if you're looking for symbols of real life things.  I'm 
not.  I jumped into the thread because the discussion made me think 
of things as people were debating, not because I thought of these 
things on my own.

I think fiction is just that, fiction, and while we're supposed to 
get some general guidelines about behavior perhaps, clear and direct 
analogies are not being drawn.  To me, the subject is fairness, 
threat, and balancing between the two, not shunting AIDS patients 
away from society, or sticking the crazy aunt into the attic.  
Werewolves are generally humans who should be accepted on their own 
merits, so it is grossly unfair of the WW to enact legislation 
against employing them.  There is a huge difference between Lupin and 
Greyback, and that difference must be acknowledged.  Generalizations 
cannot be drawn between them.

But, they are both dangerous at the full moon without intervention.  
This is reality in the Potterverse.  It wouldn't matter if it was 
Greyback or Lupin attacking you, the results to yourself, and the 
impact on your family and friends, would be the same.  There would be 
more insult to Greyback's attack, since it's almost certain that he 
deliberately targets certain people.  Maybe he doesn't do that all 
the time, but the suspicion will still be there, in Greyback's case, 
that it may not be a random violent act of a bestial mentality.  With 
Lupin, or others, it would just be rotten luck that put you in their 
path.

Alla:
But yeah, that is what defines it to me - at any other time it is
completely normal human and in my opinion should be treated as such.

Of course as Magpie said, balance should be stricken between
werewolves interests and the precautions, etc.

Ceridwen:
Absolutely in agreement.  It isn't right to judge Lupin on the worst 
of his occasional kind.  It isn't right to judge Greyback based on 
better men.

Still, precautions need to be taken at full moon.  I think this is 
exactly the message, if there is one, that we're supposed to take 
away from the werewolf part of the stories.  Umbridge and the 
Ministry are wrong to paint all werewolves with the same broad 
brush.  When people do that, they usually find the worst example of 
the target group and assume that all others could, ***and therefore 
will***, be the same.  They're going on something we didn't know 
before, that the bite of an untransformed werewolf is also dangerous, 
to a lesser extent.  BUT!!!  They can't assume that every werewolf 
will be the same as Greyback, their lowest example.

That can go for any group, whether physical or mental illness, or for 
any other group that can be designated "Other", in my opinion.  Maybe 
werewolves exist in the Potterverse as an echo of the Pureblood 
Supremacy issue.

But, I don't look for any real life analogies.  Heck, I don't even 
look for the broader lesson.  Unless someone says something that 
brings up a thought.  ;)  That's just me.  It might all exist purely 
for entertainment.

Ceridwen.