Odd, because JKR quite often comments on how prevalent anti-Muggleborn sentiments are, yet we really don't see much examples of this. There's few examples of racism in the WW society (are Muggleborns paid less? Is there a glass ceiling? Are more in Azkaban?) and as you say, apparently anti-Muggleborn sentiments are rare enough that people don't wish to own to them publically.
I think it's more that the subtler forms of anti-Muggleborn sentiment are so very pervasive. We don't know of blatant racism other than the DE sort, but then the general structure of the Wizarding World and what we've seen of its government, in particular, seems to suggest that who you know may be more important than what you know. That's the entire premise the Slug Club is built on, for instance. Families are also of primary importance, with people frequently judged or associated with their families. Slughorn, again, is an obvious example, but far from the only one. Fake!Moody noted aloud in his first class that Ron was Arthur Weasley's son, and basically thanked Arthur, via Ron. At the other end, we have the Weasley twins and/or Hagrid (I think it happens more than once) putting down Draco by pointing to Lucius and saying "the whole family's rotten to the core". Muggleborns would be free of specific prejudices against their families or family members, but they don't have the family connections and supporters that are probably used to get ahead.
We don't know how many Death Eaters there are or were, but we've probably seen a couple dozen, and they're generally spoken of in high volumes, both as a threat and in terms of their number in Azkaban (or, presumably, killed like Rosier and Wilkes). We've also seen people like the elder Blacks, who fully supported Voldemort's aims but chose not to become Death Eaters.
We more often see casual prejudices aimed at *Muggles*, rather than Muggle-borns, but then we see Slughorn, who not only doesn't hide his surprise at the idea of a brilliant Muggle-born witch, but who seems to assume that everyone feels that way. Probably quite a lot do. This is the second time this book someone has called Hermione a Muggle (Draco was the first, and he was referring to the way the mob -- which was led by, but not exclusively, Death Eaters), suggesting that plenty of people don't think of them as being much different.
I think the letter writer was expressing pretty common sentiments in using "Muggle" as an insult to a Muggleborn witch. If she felt the need to disguise herself, it was probably because she was blatantly threatening a 14-year-old who at Hogwarts, and therefore under Dumbledore's protection.
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Date: 2006-01-20 12:57 am (UTC)There's few examples of racism in the WW society (are Muggleborns paid less? Is there a glass ceiling? Are more in Azkaban?) and as you say, apparently anti-Muggleborn sentiments are rare enough that people don't wish to own to them publically.
I think it's more that the subtler forms of anti-Muggleborn sentiment are so very pervasive. We don't know of blatant racism other than the DE sort, but then the general structure of the Wizarding World and what we've seen of its government, in particular, seems to suggest that who you know may be more important than what you know. That's the entire premise the Slug Club is built on, for instance. Families are also of primary importance, with people frequently judged or associated with their families. Slughorn, again, is an obvious example, but far from the only one. Fake!Moody noted aloud in his first class that Ron was Arthur Weasley's son, and basically thanked Arthur, via Ron. At the other end, we have the Weasley twins and/or Hagrid (I think it happens more than once) putting down Draco by pointing to Lucius and saying "the whole family's rotten to the core". Muggleborns would be free of specific prejudices against their families or family members, but they don't have the family connections and supporters that are probably used to get ahead.
We don't know how many Death Eaters there are or were, but we've probably seen a couple dozen, and they're generally spoken of in high volumes, both as a threat and in terms of their number in Azkaban (or, presumably, killed like Rosier and Wilkes). We've also seen people like the elder Blacks, who fully supported Voldemort's aims but chose not to become Death Eaters.
We more often see casual prejudices aimed at *Muggles*, rather than Muggle-borns, but then we see Slughorn, who not only doesn't hide his surprise at the idea of a brilliant Muggle-born witch, but who seems to assume that everyone feels that way. Probably quite a lot do. This is the second time this book someone has called Hermione a Muggle (Draco was the first, and he was referring to the way the mob -- which was led by, but not exclusively, Death Eaters), suggesting that plenty of people don't think of them as being much different.
I think the letter writer was expressing pretty common sentiments in using "Muggle" as an insult to a Muggleborn witch. If she felt the need to disguise herself, it was probably because she was blatantly threatening a 14-year-old who at Hogwarts, and therefore under Dumbledore's protection.