JKR messed up........ no.

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 178359

>   ***Katie:
>   I disagree. The real theme of the book - the *main* theme 
of the book - is that bigotry is wrong and tolorance and 
acceptance are right. 
>    
>   From the reaction of many fans, I can see that there is a 
lot more work to do, even amongst Potter fans, in working towards 
tolorance and acceptance. JK obviously felt these books were a long 
thesis against bigotry. I have previously debated whether or not she 
was successful in this pursuit (IMO, the House Elf story was a big 
failure)...however, there is no doubt in my mind that this was 
certainly her *intention*.

Pippin:
LOL! Ain't it the truth? Nobody thinks they're prejudiced, they just 
think they're being asked to show tolerance and acceptance of something 
that feels "wrong", whether it's muggleborns having magic or House Elves 
that actually like serving wizards. It seems to be an issue in canon whether
something is really wrong, in the sense that someone is suffering unjustly,
or whether it just reminds you of something that's wrong. 

There are, in real life, a large number of people who do domestic work
without wages, consider it their duty to obey the master of the 
house, and regard the prospect of liberation with terror and shame.
And as far as I can tell, many of them love the families they serve and
don't believe  they are oppressed, despite the earnest efforts of some
to convince them of it.  I'm talking about traditional housewives, of
course. 

Would it  help the Elves to deny the reality of their feelings, disempower 
them by saying they've been brainwashed (even if they 
are), or force them to make a new life, especially if they're  in old age 
or poor health as Kreacher was? 

I don't think JKR's purpose was to justify slavery, but to raise our
consciousness that in some senses slavery might exist where we
think it's been abolished, and to get us to think about why this
might be so and what might be done about it. 
 
Pippin