House elves and some spoilers for Swordspoint WAS: realistic solutions

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 180933

> > >>Alla:
> > <snip>
> > I do not feel a need to look for additional word because I feel 
a   
> > need to not think of Harry as slave owner. I feel a need to 
look   
> > for that word, because to me there are enough differences to 
wish  
> > such word should exist no matter how many similarities are there 
as 
> > well( Thank you SSSusan).
> 
> Betsy Hp:
> Then why are those arguing in support of house-elf slavery using 
the 
> exact same arguments those in support of African-slavery used back 
in 
> the day?  They're happier as slaves, they're not at all like us 
and 
> so have different needs, they're really more like animals than 
> anything.  (I believe Fredrick Douglas was equated with a dog 
trained 
> to walk on its hind-legs.)
> 
> If the situation of house-elves was so different from RL slavery, 
I'd 
> think the arguments in favor of the institution wouldn't sound so 
> creepily familiar.


Alla:

I cannot answer for anybody else. I just wanted to respond to 
Magpie's speculating about my supposed reasons for not thinking of 
it as slavery.

I never argued that elves are like animals, but I most certainly 
refuse to consider them to be RL equivalent of RL slaves, because to 
me they are not. By virtue of living in a different society if 
nothing else and of course by the fact that they do like to serve 
and belong to wizards.

It is familiar to you? Great. I see enough differences as well on 
both sides.

After all in the book Swordspoint that I cited before I should call 
it society of Murderers for hire, since people are being killed left 
and right there and people who are doing are not murderers for hire, 
but quite respectable swordsmen.

It is society that lives under completely different rules, I mean 
almost completely than our RW society.


I think it is actually on purpose that some arguments sound 
familiar, it may be to encourage us to not blindly apply our values 
to this society.


JMO,

Alla