House elves and some spoilers for Swordspoint WAS: realistic solutions

[cubfanbudwoman]

No: HPFGUIDX 180896

Pippin:
> > <snip>
> > I'm saying the fact that Harry still owns a slave at the end of 
> > the series doesn't indicate that he is pro-slavery or that he 
> > thinks the institution of slavery is a social good and intends it 
> > to continue. 

Betsy Hp:
> How is this not double-speak?  How can someone own a slave and 
> still expect us to believe he's against slavery?

SSSusan:
In the same way that it's been argued several times throughout this 
thread:  that the owner is concerned about trying to force an elf 
into freedom when s/he doesn't want it and potentially causing a 
result along the lines of what happened to Winky.  

With human slavery in the U.S., I do believe that there were people 
who were truly willing to abolish slavery but who didn't want to give 
up their slaves until it was mandatory for all to do so.  Call that 
being morally wimpy or whatever you will, but it could've been 
economic suicide to release all one's slaves when all the other 
plantation owners around you were keeping theirs.  One could work for 
a change in the system which *all* would have to abide by and still 
remain a slave owner in the interim, attempting to be the "warm and 
fuzzy kind" that you identified below. :)

 
Betsy:
> Looks like a slave-owner, acts like a slave-owner. I don't think 
> it's going out on a limb to say Harry is a slave-owner.  It's just, 
> he's the warm and fuzzy kind.

SSSusan:
Yep, I think Harry was the warm & fuzzy kind. I also think that he 
could be the kind like I described above.  *If* anyone in the WW ever 
figured out a practical way to free all the house elves so that they 
didn't have a bunch of homeless, miserable Winkys, but content, 
gainfully-employed or employable free elves, I think Harry would be 
all for letting Kreacher go.

Just my two knuts.

Siriusly Snapey Susan,
rather shocked to find herself posting three days in a row