House elves and some spoilers for Swordspoint WAS: realistic solutions

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 180765

> > Alla:
> > 
> > Well, actually I challenge the idea that wizards have the same 
> > understanding of the human construct of slavery that we do. Oh, 
it 
> > looks like slavery all right, but the very same actions and 
events 
> > in the different society can be something totally different by 
the 
> > way.
> > 
> 
> a_svirn:
> They certainly can. But when you as an outsider describe these 
> actions and events you use the language and understanding of your 
own 
> culture.

Alla:

Well, yeah but who cares what I think of it? I am being absolutely 
serious. Who the heck am I to determine what the people from the 
different society are? I can certainly have my view, but who am I to 
judge them?


a_svirn:
 If you wandered off to the land of anthropophagi like poor 
> Othello, you'd describe them as cannibals. And it doesn't really 
> matter whether they would *accept* this appellation, or use it, or 
> judge your very understandable revulsion as insulting. If you 
lived 
> to tell the tale you'd still call them cannibals. The same goes 
for 
> wizards. From our human point of view they are slave-owners. Now, 
if 
> they are quite as human as we are, then from their point of view 
they 
> must be slave-owners too. If they aren't quite as human after all, 
> well – their loss. 


Alla:

It is the  "does not matter" part I take an exception to. To me it 
matters a great deal if we judge WW society as completely different 
from our own. As I said, I am not sure what right do I have to judge 
them, you know?

In the book that I mentioned upthread you can be killed at any time, 
at any place, if some noble hired the swordsman to kill you or your 
champion.

I repeat - be you a kid, a woman, an old man, you can be killed at 
ANY TIME. Do you have to commit any offense? Um, no not really. The 
noble who hired the killer, ooops sorry esteemed swordsman could 
have just disliked how you look.

The ONLY time swordsman may be punished in any way, shape or form is 
if he does not have a noble to confirm that he was indeed hired.

So, don't you think that this is the society of hired killers? Yeah, 
if I were to impose my values, I certainly think so. The thing is - 
THEY DO NOT. They think the job of swordsmen is as respectable as 
any other and every member of the society accepts that his life can 
end by the sword at any time. 

Let me ask you again - shouldn't we accept what this society thinks 
of such things and not impose our own values on them?


Now I am in the wierd position since I always argued that JKR does 
not write about any alternative society, but plays with the values 
of our world and reflects them in interesting way in Potterverse, 
but IMO those who think that Potterverse is completely different 
also have equally valid and very logical interpretation.

JMO,

Alla