History FantasticRacism / HarryPotter

* Next up is the whole 'Pureblood Supremacy' concept: wizards who believe that not only are muggles beasts who should be put down, but being ''born'' from Muggles is a disgrace even if one is actually a wizard. This ideology is championed by [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney Lucius Malfoy]] and his son Draco, and was supported by [[BigBad Lord Voldemort]], though it's implied he was manipulating the pureblood supremacists from his own ends rather than actually believing it. It is important to note that Muggle-despising and Pureblood Supremacy do not necessarily go hand-in-hand: the previous EvilOverlord, Gellert Grindelwald, had nothing against muggleborn wizards but still thought muggles were scum. Ron highlights how ridiculous the concept of blood purity is in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets Chamber of Secrets]]'', pointing out that the majority of wizards alive today have at least some Muggle ancestry and that if wizards didn't mingle with Muggles, they would've died out a long time ago. Pureblood Supremacists get around this by just ignoring any muggleborns in their family tree histories. Some extremists go as far as to [[KissingCousins marry their own cousins]] to avoid "dirtying" the bloodline. Members of these families have a well-earned reputation for being mentally unstable. Supplemental material revealed that the Malfoys have never been as fanatical about keeping the blood-line 100% pure as some of the other families (they'll marry half-bloods) because they believe that diversifying their gene pool for this reason is more important.

* Meanwhile, we soon discover that practically everyone in the Wizarding world (well, Wizarding Britain) who wasn't raised by Muggles seems to look down on them. While many of the jobs in the wizarding world that Harry and company are thinking about in [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix book 5]] require high academic achievement, all the Muggle Relations department wants is an O.W.L. in Muggle Studies and "a good sense of fun." Hagrid makes contemptuous remarks about Muggles to the Dursleys – the Dursleys certainly deserve contempt, but Hagrid's comments make clear that he feels that way about all Muggles. Molly Weasley, generally a "good" character, is ashamed of her second cousin who's a [[MuggleBornOfMages Squib]]. Even Arthur Weasley, the Muggle aficionado who fights for Muggle rights and protections, still seems to regard them with a degree of fond condescension. Many wizards, and especially the purebloods, live wholly segregated from Muggle society; Arthur Weasley is fascinated by Muggle knickknacks, but apparently he never imagines getting a house in London and actually ''living'' among Muggles. (Of course he has lived in a wizarding neighborhood his entire life and Muggles have a very different culture.) It actually is a significant bit of CharacterDevelopment when Ron Weasley, a pureblood who grew up knowing precisely zero about the Muggle world, mentions in the last scene of the last book that he passed a Muggle driving test.

** There are several, less civilized races whose unjust situation never actually comes up in the books, or barely. For instance, Giants, Trolls, Erklings and Yumboes. Cornelius Fudge mentions to Dumbledore that "everybody hates Giants" and Ron to Harry that they are "vicious", for their violent and bloodthirsty behaviour. Half-giants such as Hagrid are held in mild contempt by many Wizards and Witches as outcasts, such as Draco Malfoy who calls him an "oaf" and Dolores Umbridge, a heavily prejudiced women against all kinds of "half-breeds" who talked to him like he was retarded and mocked him in front of his own students. Of course, for those who got to become friends with Hagrid, they know the prejudices held against them aren't true - the best example being Madame Maxime, the Headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. Still, while Hagrid had no problem with accepting his Giant heritage, Madame Maxime fiercely and angrily denied hers, claiming to have "big bones" instead, in fear of the stigma she would face if her parentage come into the light. It is worth noting that Hagrid, while being a warm and compassionate person towards Harry and his friends, often displays traits commonly associated with Giants: violent outbursts of rage (but again, in an understandable context), some poor social manners, and a liking to creatures which are very dangerous, such as Acromantulas and Dragons, and underestimated some dangers they could pose to his students. He even admits that his Giantess mother left his father because Giants don't really have parental instincts.

* Meanwhile, we soon discover that practically everyone in the Wizarding world (well, Wizarding Britain) who wasn't raised by Muggles seems to look down on them. While many of the jobs in the wizarding world that Harry and company are thinking about in [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix book 5]] require high academic achievement, all the Muggle Relations department wants is an O.W.L. in Muggle Studies and "a good sense of fun." Hagrid makes contemptuous remarks about Muggles to the Dursleys -- the Dursleys certainly deserve contempt, but Hagrid's comments make clear that he feels that way about all Muggles. Molly Weasley, generally a "good" character, is ashamed of her second cousin who's a [[MuggleBornOfMages Squib]]. Even Arthur Weasley the Muggle aficionado who fights for Muggle rights and protections, still seems to regard them with a degree of fond condescension. Many wizards, and especially the purebloods, live wholly segregated from Muggle society--Arthur Weasley is fascinated by Muggle knickknacks, but apparently he never imagines getting a house in London and actually ''living'' among Muggles. (Of course he has lived in a wizarding neighboorhood his entire life and Muggles have a very different culture.) It's actually a significant bit of CharacterDevelopment when Ron Weasley, a pureblood who grew up knowing precisely zero about the Muggle world, mentions in the last scene of the last book that he passed a Muggle driving test.

* House-Elves and Goblins are indicated to disliking each other; in ''Goblet of Fire'', Winky mentions she warned Dobby that he goes racketing around asking for payment, next thing she'll hear, he'll be up in front of the Department for the Regulation for the Control of Magical Creatures, "like some common Goblin". In ''Deathly Hallows'', Gornuk and Griphook mention they left Gringotts because they asked to do things that infringed on the dignity of their race, with Gornuk adding gruffly "I am not a House-Elf".

* [[MuggleBornOfMages Squibs]] are treated terribly by the magical world. While it’s understandable that they’d go off and get a Muggle education, they don’t seem to have any sort of contact with their families. It’s not understandable to disown someone (or worse, see below) for something out of their control. Auntie Muriel suggests that she thinks Dumbledore’s mother locked his sister in the house and killed her when she got too old to keep imprisoned because everyone assumes she’s a squib (which she wasn’t). Mind you, his mother was muggleborn herself meaning that they’re thought of so poorly that someone could think a woman raised by muggles would kill her own daughter for being one. One of Mrs. Weasley’s cousins is said to be one and Ron implies she doesn’t speak to him at all.

** Notably, one of the four wizards who founded Hogwarts, Salazar Slytherin, was a pureblood supremacist, and didn't want to admit Muggle-borns to the school. This was opposed by the other three founders, and he soon departed, but not before leaving a monster in the school sewers, as a weapon for his descendants to kill off Muggle-borns discreetly. It's implied that having a founder who was an open pureblood supremacist rubbed off on Slytherin as a whole, as their students and alumni tend to exhibit these views. It is never stated whether Muggle-borns are unwelcome in Slytherin, but there is no named Muggle-born Slytherin in the series.

** The ''Fantastic Beasts'' prequel series pulls an AuthorsSavingThrow on this uncomfortable tendency of wizards and Muggles hating each other, with the former seeing the latter as inferior and the latter seeing the former as abominations by having Jacob Kowalski, a No-Maj, as a main character. Not only is he accepting of the magical world despite having been born decades ahead of the Dursleys, he thinks of efficient MundaneSolutions that help his companions, and becomes genuine friends with Newt.

* [[MuggleBornOfMages Squibs]] are treated terribly by the magical world. While it’s understandable that they’d go off and get a Muggle education, they don’t seem to have any sort of contact with their families. It’s not understandable to disown (or worse, see below) someone for something out of their control. Auntie Muriel suggests that she thinks Dumbledore’s mother locked his sister in the house and killed her when she got too old to keep imprisoned because everyone assumes she’s a squib (which she wasn’t). Mind you, his mother was muggleborn herself meaning that they’re thought of so poorly that someone could think a woman raised by muggles would kill her own daughter for being one. One of Mrs. Weasley’s cousins is said to be one and Ron implies she doesn’t speak to him at all.

* Next up is the whole 'Pureblood Supremacy' concept: wizards who believe that not only are muggles beasts who should be put down, but being ''born'' from Muggles is a disgrace even if one is actually a wizard. This ideology is championed by [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney Lucius Malfoy]] and his son Draco, and was supported by [[BigBad Lord Voldemort]], though it's implied he was manipulating the pureblood supremacists from his own ends rather than actually believing it. It is important to note that Muggle-despising and Pureblood Supremacy do not necessarily go hand-in-hand: the previous EvilOverlord, Gellert Grindelwald, had nothing against muggleborn wizards but still thought muggles were scum. Ron highlights how ridiculous the concept of blood purity is in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets Chamber of Secrets]]'', pointing out that the majority of wizards alive today have at least some Muggle ancestry and that if wizards didn't mingle with Muggles, they would've died out a long time ago. Pureblood Supremacists get around this by just ignoring any muggleborns in their family tree histories. Some extremists go as far as to [[KissingCousins marry their own cousins]] to avoid "dirtying" the bloodline. [[RealityEnsues Members of these families have a well-earned reputation for being mentally unstable]]. Supplemental material revealed that the Malfoys have never been as fanatical about keeping the blood-line 100% pure as some of the other families (they'll marry half-bloods) because they believe that diversifying their gene pool for this reason is more important.

** Goblins, in spite of being wizards' equal in intelligence, magic and civilization, are second-class citizens who have rebelled several times over the centuries for the right to use wands, in vain.

** House-Elves are a whole race that work as servants for wizards (and enslaved to them through magic that can only be broken by [[CurseEscapeClause their master presenting them with clothes]]), doing things like cleaning and cooking (without pay or time off). Hermione Granger starts a campaign to free them, but soon finds out to her dismay that (be it thanks to centuries of conditioning or natural BlueAndOrangeMorality), lots of Elves just ''can't'' take the shock to suddenly be free, and most don't ''want'' to be free or paid for their work (let alone no longer working), and they even consider the thought to be horrific and blasphemous.[[note]] There's a bit of a BrokenBase on whether this is a conditioning that Hermione just can't right in a day, or if it's the way Elves naturally are and Hermione was wrong to think it should be changed at all regardless of practicality.[[/note]] She gives up on freeing them but still campaigns for them to be treated fairly rather than abused as they often were, and ''that'' immediately pays off. Indeed, many House-Elf owners routinely beat their elves, and the Ministry as a whole treated them more like household appliances than people. For instance, in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince The Half Blood Prince]]'', Tom Riddle murdered a woman for her artefacts and framed her House Elf for it. Dumbledore tells Harry that the Ministry should have investigated further but didn't "... because she was a House Elf". The narration states that Harry had never sympathized with Hermione's campaign as much as he did at that moment.

** There are several, less civilized races whose unjust situation never actually comes up in the books, or barely. For instance, Giants, Trolls, Erklings and Yumboes. Cornelius Fudge mentions to Dumbledore that "everybody hates Giants" and Ron to Harry that they are "vicious", for their violent and bloodthirsty behavior. Half-giants such as Hagrid are held in mild contempt by many Wizards and Witches as outcasts, such as Draco Malfoy who calls him an "oaf" and Dolores Umbridge, a heavily prejudiced women against all kinds of "half-breeds" who talked to him like he was retarded and mocked him in front of his own students. Of course, for those who got to become friends with Hagrid, they know the prejudices held against them aren't true - the best example being Madame Maxime, the Headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. Still, while Hagrid had no problem with accepting his Giant heritage, Madame Maxime fiercely and angrily denied hers, claiming to have "big bones" instead, in fear of the stigma she would face if her parentage come into the light. It is worth noting that Hagrid, while being a warm and compassionate person towards Harry and his friends, often displays traits commonly associated with Giants: violent outbursts of rage (but again, in an understandable context), some poor social manners, and a liking to creatures which are very dangerous, such as Acromantulas and Dragons, and underestimated some dangers they could pose to his students. He even admits that his Giantess mother left his father because Giants don't really have parental instincts.

* [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Werewolves]] are treated very poorly, with both legal and social discrimination making it nigh-impossible to find employment, which is particularly unfortunate, as the Wolfsbane Potion, allowing a werewolf to retain their mind during their transformations, is complex and expensive to brew. Indeed, the primary reason Remus Lupin accepted the cursed Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching position was because Dumbledore offered him a supply of the potion. Harry’s parents had to financially support him before their deaths because he couldn’t find a job.

* We are first exposed to FantasticRacism with the {{Muggle}} Dursleys' almost psychotic hatred of witches and wizards, whom they refuse to call anything but "freaks". This initially stems from their general hatred of magic for its anormality, but devolves into full-on racism with their hatred of wizard-born Harry Potter ''even when he's still an infant'', based solely on what he is.

* Next up is the whole 'Pureblood Supremacy' concept: wizards who believe that not only are muggles beasts who should be put down, but being ''born'' from Muggles is a disgrace even if one is actually a wizard. This ideology is championed by [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney Lucius Malfoy]] and his son Draco, and was supported by [[BigBad Lord Voldemort]], though it's implied he was manipulating the pureblood supremacists from his own ends rather than actually believing it. It is important to note that Muggle-despising and Pureblood Supremacy do not necessarily go hand-in-hand: the previous EvilOverlord, Gellert Grindelwald, had nothing against muggleborn wizards but still thought muggles were scum. Ron highlights how ridiculous the concept of blood purity is in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets Chamber of Secrets]]'' by pointing out that the majority of wizards have at least some Muggle ancestry and that if wizards didn't marry Muggles, they would've died out a long time ago. Pureblood Supremacists get around this by just ignoring any muggleborns in their family tree histories. Some extremists go as far as to [[KissingCousins marry their own cousins]] to avoid "dirtying" the bloodline. [[RealityEnsues Members of these families have a well-earned reputation for being mentally unstable]]. Supplemental material revealed that the Malfoys have never been as fanatical about keeping the blood-line 100% pure as some of the other families (they'll marry half-bloods) because they believe that diversifying their gene pool for this reason is more important.

* [[MuggleBornOfMages Squibs]] are treated terribly by the magical world. While it’s understandable that they’d go off and get a Muggle education, they don’t seem to have any sort of contact with their families. It’s not understandable to disown (or worse, see blown) someone for something out of their control. Auntie Muriel suggests that she thinks Dumbledore’s mother locked his sister in the house and killed her when she got too old to keep imprisoned because everyone assumes she’s a squib (which she wasn’t). Mind you, his mother was muggleborn herself meaning that they’re thought of so poorly that someone could think a woman raised by muggles would kill her own daughter for being one. One of Mrs. Weasley’s cousins is said to be one and Ron implies she doesn’t speak to him at all.

** There are several, less civilized races whose unjust situation never actually comes up in the books, or barely. For instance, Giants, Trolls, Erklings and Yumboes. Cornelius Fudge mentions to Dumbledore that "everybody hates Giants" and Ron to Harry that they are "vicious", for their violent and bloodthirsty behavior. Half-giants such as Hagrid are held in mild contempt by many Wizards and Witches as outcasts, such as Draco Malfoy who calls him an "oaf" and Dolores Umbridge, a heavily prejudiced women against all kinds of "half-breeds" who talked to him like he was retarded and mocked him in front of his own students. Of course, for those who got to become friends with Hagrid, they know the prejudices held against them aren't true - the best example being Madame Maxime, the Headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. Still, while Hagrid had no problem with accepting his Giant heritage, Madame Maxime fiercely and angrily denied hers, claiming to have "big bones" instead, by fear of stigma which might ensues should her parentage come into the light. It is worth noting that Hagrid, while being a warm and compassionate person towards Harry and his friends, often displays traits commonly associated with Giants : violent outbursts of rage (but again, in an understandable context), some poor social manners, and a liking to creatures which are very dangerous, such as Acromantulas and Dragons, and underestimated some dangers they could pose to his students. He even admits that his Giantess mother left his father because Giants don't really have parental instincts.

* [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Werewolves]] are treated very poorly, with both legal and social discrimination making it nigh-impossible to find employment, which is particularly unfortunate, as the Wolfsbane Potion, allowing a werewolf to retain their mind during their transformations, is complex and expensive to brew. Indeed, the primary reason Remus Lupin accepted the cursed Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching position was because Dumbledore offered him a supply of the potion.

* Next up is the whole 'Pureblood Supremacy' concept: wizards who believe that not only are muggles beasts who should be put down, but being ''born'' from Muggles is a disgrace even if one is actually a wizard. This ideology is championed by [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney Lucius Malfoy]] and his son Draco, and was supported by [[BigBad Lord Voldemort]], though it's implied he was manipulating the pureblood supremacists from his own ends rather than actually believing it. It is important to note that Muggle-despising and Pureblood Supremacy do not necessarily go hand-in-hand: the previous EvilOverlord, Gellert Grindelwald, had nothing against muggleborn wizards but still thought muggles were scum. Ron highlights how ridiculous the concept of blood purity is in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets Chamber of Secrets]]'' by pointing out that the majority of wizards have at least some Muggle ancestry and that if wizards didn't marry Muggles, they would've died out a long time ago. Pureblood Supremacists get around this by just ignoring any muggleborns in their family tree histories. Some extremists go as far as to [[KissingCousins marry their own cousins]] to avoid "dirtying" the bloodline. [[RealityEnsues Members of these families have a well-earned reputation for being mentally unstable]].

* Next up is the whole 'Pureblood Supremacy' concept: wizards who believe that not only are muggles beasts who should be put down, but being ''born'' from Muggles is a disgrace even if one is actually a wizard. This ideology is championed by [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney Lucius Malfoy]] and his son Draco, and was supported by [[BigBad Lord Voldemort]], though it's implied he was manipulating the pureblood supremacists from his own ends rather than actually believing it. It is important to note that Muggle-despising and Pureblood Supremacy do not necessarily go hand-in-hand: the previous EvilOverlord, Gellert Grindelwald, had nothing against muggleborn wizards but still thought muggles were scum. Ron highlights how ridiculous the concept of blood purity is in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets Chamber of Secrets]]'' by pointing out that the majority of wizards have at least some Muggle ancestry and that if wizards didn't marry Muggles, they would've died out a long time ago. Pureblood Supremacists get around this by just ignoring any muggleborns in their family tree histories.

* Next up is the whole 'Pureblood Supremacy' concept: wizards who believe that not only are muggles beasts who should be put down, but being ''born'' from Muggles is a disgrace even if one is actually a wizard. This ideology is championed by [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney Lucius Malfoy]] and his son Draco, and was supported by [[BigBad Lord Voldemort]], though it's implied he was manipulating the pureblood supremacists from his own ends rather than actually believing it. It is important to note that Muggle-despising and Pureblood Supremacy do not necessarily go hand-in-hand: the previous EvilOverlord, Gellert Grindelwald, had nothing against muggleborn wizards but still thought muggles were scum. Ron highlights how ridiculous the concept of blood purity is in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets Chamber of Secrets]]'' by pointing out that the majority of wizards have at least some Muggle ancestry and that if wizards didn't marry Muggles, they would've died out a long time ago. Pureblood Supremacists get around this by just ignoring any muggleborns from their family tree histories.

* Next up is the whole 'Pureblood Supremacy' concept: wizards who believe that not only are muggles beasts who should be put down, but being ''born'' from Muggles is a disgrace even if one is actually a wizard. This ideology is championed by [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney Lucius Malfoy]] and his son Draco, and was supported by [[BigBad Lord Voldemort]], though it's implied he was manipulating the pureblood supremacists from his own ends rather than actually believing it. It is important to note that Muggle-despising and Pureblood Supremacy do not necessarily go hand-in-hand: the previous EvilOverlord, Gellert Grindelwald, had nothing against muggleborn wizards but still thought muggles were scum. Ron highlights how ridiculous the concept of blood purity is in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets Chamber of Secrets]]'' by pointing out that the majority of wizards have at least some Muggle ancestry and that if wizards didn't marry Muggles, they would've died out a long time ago.