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In the 7th book (?) it's revealed that the Ministry not only is in contact with the British government, but that they're warning them of Voldemort's return and

In the 7th book (?) it's revealed that the Ministry not only is in contact with the British government, but that they're warning them of Voldemort's return and trying to help reduce damage to muggle society. The Statute of Secrecy is clearly motivated by centuries of abuse of wizards, witch burning and the like. I don't remember any indication that wizards "rule" the muggles in any way or affect them at all. Prejudice against muggles is the #1 flag for "this person is evil" and is pretty much always decried as wrong by the protagonists. The only thing that really holds is the mistreatment of squibs, but even if it's wrong it makes a lot of sense - they would be hard-pressed to find good jobs in wizarding society for purely practical reasons. So unless I'm missing something from some extended universe, this is an pretty unfair mis-characterisation of the books...

JoeAltmaier 6y ago
In contact? Maybe a little. That visit to the Prime Minister is more of a 'royal visit' than peers comparing notes. Remember they insinuate that WWII is entirely a Wizard dispute that got out of hand -50 millions dead. Then there's the secret police visits to erase people. Heck, Harry's best friend wants to be one when he grows up! Just like dear ol Dad! Who comes home with 'Muggle Artifacts' that they somehow don't need any more - presumably because they had to be put down. I half expected a collection of gold teeth or whatever. All that made 'disliking Muggles' into a red flag in my reading was, that a segment of Wizard society wanted the cattle to be managed without spooking them - gently and quietly. So they wouldn't be a danger to Wizards, not out of any consideration. The other segment was fine with running them thru the chute to the slaughterhouse. Both opinions were current even in Hogwarts. But neither regarded them as more than cattle to be managed. And of course Wizard society had the right to manage them, that was never questioned. Such a book could only be written by the British, with their tone-deafness about class and privilege. Anyway, I enjoyed the books too.
- subjectsigma 6y ago
  Your final comment does make me wonder about two things: first, how the book would be different if set in America and written by an American author, and second, how much of this we would have seen if the book was targeted at adults instead of (pre)teens. Either way I'm looking forward to the gritty JoeAltmaier reboot :)

JoeAltmaier 6y ago

In contact? Maybe a little. That visit to the Prime Minister is more of a 'royal visit' than peers comparing notes. Remember they insinuate that WWII is entirely a Wizard dispute that got out of hand -50 millions dead. Then there's the secret police visits to erase people. Heck, Harry's best friend wants to be one when he grows up! Just like dear ol Dad! Who comes home with 'Muggle Artifacts' that they somehow don't need any more - presumably because they had to be put down. I half expected a collection of gold teeth or whatever. All that made 'disliking Muggles' into a red flag in my reading was, that a segment of Wizard society wanted the cattle to be managed without spooking them - gently and quietly. So they wouldn't be a danger to Wizards, not out of any consideration. The other segment was fine with running them thru the chute to the slaughterhouse. Both opinions were current even in Hogwarts. But neither regarded them as more than cattle to be managed. And of course Wizard society had the right to manage them, that was never questioned. Such a book could only be written by the British, with their tone-deafness about class and privilege. Anyway, I enjoyed the books too.

subjectsigma 6y ago
Your final comment does make me wonder about two things: first, how the book would be different if set in America and written by an American author, and second, how much of this we would have seen if the book was targeted at adults instead of (pre)teens. Either way I'm looking forward to the gritty JoeAltmaier reboot :)