Werewolves and RL equivalents

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 170388

Lizzyben:
> > The giants are a good example of this. Hermione says it's 
> > no big deal if Hagrid is half-giant, & the bad things 
> > people say about giants (and werewolves) are just a 
> > result of prejudice & bigotry. Then later on we find 
> > out, no, Ron was right - giants are all violent, brutal 
> > & stupid. Same thing w/elves - Hermione wants them to 
> > have rights & freedom, but later learns no, they actually 
> > like slavery, don't want money, and are happiest serving 
> > their masters.
> 
> > With all of these groups, the liberal message against 
> > "bigotry & prejudice" is actually subverted by the text 
> > itself. The actual message becomes that these groups 
> > actually are inferior & don't deserve equal rights. In 
> > the Wizarding World, the bigots are right! That's what I find odd.
> 
> houyhnhnm:
> 
> I think what she is trying to show is that creating a 
> romantic fantasy about an oppressed group is not the 
> mature way to work for justice.

Pippin:
I think she's also trying to show that if putting an end to
bigotry was as easy as pointing out that the status quo
is terribly unfair, it would have happened already.  There will
always be excuses for those who do not want to undertake
the hard work of creating a more equitable society. Slave-
holding societies and and violent societies do function,
after a fashion, or they wouldn't exist in the first place.

But elves do not deserve to be inferior because they can adapt
to their inferior status, nor are the giants undeserving of
equal rights because they respond to overcrowding with
violence. Humans have the same weaknesses, of course.

I think JKR wants to show Hermione learning how
difficult the task she has set herself really is, not that it's
impossible or not worth doing, but that it may be the work of
a lifetime.

Pippin