Thoughts on Voldy...
Aug. 3rd, 2005 01:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conuly
We know that he hates non-purebloods - or, at least, that he hates "mudbloods", to use his term. He certainly allows half-bloods into his organization, but this may be due to a dearth of actual purebloods (query: some sort of genetic illness caused by inbreeding forcing the population to drop? an anathema to large families causing the population to stupidly drop?)
And yet, the Death Eaters are aligned with a number of non-humans (dementors) and part-humans/halfbreeds (werewolves, giants, possibly goblins). We know why these non-humans are aligning with the Death Eaters - they've been badly treated by the Moral Majority (snicker, snicker), but why are the Death Eaters willing to align with them? Anti-human prejudice in the wizarding world is at least as strong as anti-muggle prejudice, isn't it? It certainly seems that way!
Hagrid gets hundreds of letters demanding his resignation after people find out that he's half-giant. Olympe has never revealed this secret, probably wisely. Anti-werewolf laws pass, causing Lupin to lose any chance of a job (query: aside from his deep cover work with the other werewolves, why couldn't he study a bit and get a job in the muggle world?) The centaurs are insulted to their faces by Umbridge, who really ought to be smart enough to know better. I know there's no proof of that, but I like to have some faith in humanity. Non-human sentients aren't subject to their own laws, but instead to the laws set up by humans - at least, that's the implication laid out for us in the books.
The other Death Eaters may view this alignment with non-humans as an expediency - get the giants to do your dirty work, and they'll be a lot more efficient than a bunch of you casting spells around the place. However, Voldemort doesn't seem the type to do this sort of thing for expediency. That's one good thing you can say about him - he's sure fervant. Consider what Slughorn thought - he could go far. If he were willing to pretend to be slightly less evil, he could have had a cushy job in the Ministry eleven years ago, and by now have been well on his way to modifying the wizarding world from within - something which would most likely have been far more effective in the long run than his current plan.
He was smart enough to request a job at Hogwarts, influencing young minds, but... not to give a few white lies, act somewhat moderate, then start modifying the law? Hitler, when he did his evil, didn't do it by starting a gang and attacking everyone, not at first - the first thing he did is get himself elected. And then he didn't immediately build death camps, he started gradually, foot-in-the-door, like. Hitler ultimately lost, yes, but he was far more effective in his time than Voldy appears to be. And it's not that Voldy is a bad liar - indeed, we've seen him lie quite well.
So, the answer must be that he can't even pretend to tolerate muggles and muggleborn wizards. But - then why tolerate the non-humans? No matter how I look at it, it doesn't add up. He doesn't actually need them for his random acts of terror, does he? And he's certainly taking a direct approach. His goal is much farther fetched than simply "Live forever, rule the world". If that were the case, he could just have somebody do the random acts of terror, act the concerned citizen, then Palpatine himself into Dictator-for-life position. And if his life happens to be exceptionally long (surely he can requisition that Philosopher's Stone from that view?), well, a few generations down the line nobody will notice.
*sighs*
I'm sure I'm overthinking this, of course, but I would appreciate some ideas here.
And yet, the Death Eaters are aligned with a number of non-humans (dementors) and part-humans/halfbreeds (werewolves, giants, possibly goblins). We know why these non-humans are aligning with the Death Eaters - they've been badly treated by the Moral Majority (snicker, snicker), but why are the Death Eaters willing to align with them? Anti-human prejudice in the wizarding world is at least as strong as anti-muggle prejudice, isn't it? It certainly seems that way!
Hagrid gets hundreds of letters demanding his resignation after people find out that he's half-giant. Olympe has never revealed this secret, probably wisely. Anti-werewolf laws pass, causing Lupin to lose any chance of a job (query: aside from his deep cover work with the other werewolves, why couldn't he study a bit and get a job in the muggle world?) The centaurs are insulted to their faces by Umbridge, who really ought to be smart enough to know better. I know there's no proof of that, but I like to have some faith in humanity. Non-human sentients aren't subject to their own laws, but instead to the laws set up by humans - at least, that's the implication laid out for us in the books.
The other Death Eaters may view this alignment with non-humans as an expediency - get the giants to do your dirty work, and they'll be a lot more efficient than a bunch of you casting spells around the place. However, Voldemort doesn't seem the type to do this sort of thing for expediency. That's one good thing you can say about him - he's sure fervant. Consider what Slughorn thought - he could go far. If he were willing to pretend to be slightly less evil, he could have had a cushy job in the Ministry eleven years ago, and by now have been well on his way to modifying the wizarding world from within - something which would most likely have been far more effective in the long run than his current plan.
He was smart enough to request a job at Hogwarts, influencing young minds, but... not to give a few white lies, act somewhat moderate, then start modifying the law? Hitler, when he did his evil, didn't do it by starting a gang and attacking everyone, not at first - the first thing he did is get himself elected. And then he didn't immediately build death camps, he started gradually, foot-in-the-door, like. Hitler ultimately lost, yes, but he was far more effective in his time than Voldy appears to be. And it's not that Voldy is a bad liar - indeed, we've seen him lie quite well.
So, the answer must be that he can't even pretend to tolerate muggles and muggleborn wizards. But - then why tolerate the non-humans? No matter how I look at it, it doesn't add up. He doesn't actually need them for his random acts of terror, does he? And he's certainly taking a direct approach. His goal is much farther fetched than simply "Live forever, rule the world". If that were the case, he could just have somebody do the random acts of terror, act the concerned citizen, then Palpatine himself into Dictator-for-life position. And if his life happens to be exceptionally long (surely he can requisition that Philosopher's Stone from that view?), well, a few generations down the line nobody will notice.
*sighs*
I'm sure I'm overthinking this, of course, but I would appreciate some ideas here.
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no subject
Date: 2005-08-03 08:42 pm (UTC)Could it be that what he actually respects is purity? He sees the non-human sentients as being true to their natures, and therefore noble and worthy of respect, in a way that "mudbloods" aren't. As for half-bloods, they *have* no 'true nature' to follow, but are instead forced to make a choice and choose the 'nobler' side of it, which is why he allows them to join his side. "Mudbloods" in this analysis would be considered to have the "true nature" of being Muggles who should stick to their own kind. (That's not very logical, but prejudice rarely is.)
He might also despise Muggle society and see non-humans as the furthest extreme away from it, making them an ideal.
If what he respects is purity, he might have been, at least initially, unwilling to be untrue to his principles by lying and working from the inside. Later on he was more desperate and willing to lie, or at least ask his followers to lie for the "greater good", but at least on some level he didn't want to subvert people, and working from outside let him feel he was only bringing them over to the truth.
(Disclaimer: I have not read the first five books since #5 came out, and my facts might be screwy from forgetfulness.)
no subject
Date: 2005-08-03 10:29 pm (UTC)