*deep breath* Right, well, I think I should start with a few disclaimerish warning things. Point one: I'm going to do this in English, as I've a difficult time discussing HP in Dutch in writing, but I'll likely be throwing in Dutch terms here and there because there's not always English equivalents for the terms. Point two: I'm a history geek. WW2 is one of my areas of interest, if you will. Sometimes, I get carried away. Point three: First War and Second War refer to the first and second (current) war against Voldemort. The Grindewald era will be mentioned separately. WW1 and WW2 should be self-explanatory. :)
Right, that said ...
The thing I've always missed in HP post-war fanfic is the sense of consequences the Second War will have. I think we've seen some of the consequences the first War had, with the apparent assumptions about Slytherins all being future Death Eaters (and I could get started on the House Prejudice, but that's another comment, I think), the people who've been locked up for the last fifteen years without any sort of trial (Sirius!), the people who've never been locked up even though everyone knows/"knows" they were involved with Voldemort, and as you mention, the latter are now raising children of their own.
(Side note: I don't know that I'd compare the anti-Muggle sentiments with racism per se. I can sort of see the point of people who want to stay hidden from Muggles--it does pose a danger--and Muggleborns are the biggest link between Wizarding World and Muggle society, which I think is one of the reasons why Muggleborns are near-brainwashed at Hogwarts, but that's a tangent I've gone on in list posts, which I'll try and remember to cut&paste for you. Anyway, I think a better comparison would be the situation in Israel/Palestina. Again, shall elaborate in different comment.)
They're not very likely to be welcomed with open arms on the other side.
Exactly, exactly, and this is where the Second War = WW2 parallel becomes really clear to me, because yeah, nazi parallels and all, but it's the subtle things that are a lot more significant to me. Part of the reason why Hitler was able to gain control was that he latched on to the resentment the German people felt at how hard they were punished after WW1. I can see a lot of similarities between the inter-WW era and the time between the Voldemort Wars. There's still a lot of resentment, on both sides, and I think also shame--see for example Fudge's denial of Voldemort's return, which to me suggests that This Is Not Something He Wants To Think About, for various reason. But I think I'm reaching a bit, there.
Anyway, right now, the Wizarding World is still really feeling the aftershocks of the First War, but it's all hidden, people try to pretend life just went on, but underneath, there's still a lot of resentment and hatred, in part I think because of the lack of proper trials. I mean, yeah, I understand that in the middle of a war, there's not always time to properly persecute people that need to be taken off the streets immediately, but why not after the war? What the Wizarding World needs, I think, is the equivalent of the Truth Comission in South Africa, although it's now far too late for that. Perhaps after the Second War, though.
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Re: Feedback, at last...
Date: 2004-02-16 02:34 pm (UTC)*deep breath* Right, well, I think I should start with a few disclaimerish warning things. Point one: I'm going to do this in English, as I've a difficult time discussing HP in Dutch in writing, but I'll likely be throwing in Dutch terms here and there because there's not always English equivalents for the terms. Point two: I'm a history geek. WW2 is one of my areas of interest, if you will. Sometimes, I get carried away. Point three: First War and Second War refer to the first and second (current) war against Voldemort. The Grindewald era will be mentioned separately. WW1 and WW2 should be self-explanatory. :)
Right, that said ...
The thing I've always missed in HP post-war fanfic is the sense of consequences the Second War will have. I think we've seen some of the consequences the first War had, with the apparent assumptions about Slytherins all being future Death Eaters (and I could get started on the House Prejudice, but that's another comment, I think), the people who've been locked up for the last fifteen years without any sort of trial (Sirius!), the people who've never been locked up even though everyone knows/"knows" they were involved with Voldemort, and as you mention, the latter are now raising children of their own.
(Side note: I don't know that I'd compare the anti-Muggle sentiments with racism per se. I can sort of see the point of people who want to stay hidden from Muggles--it does pose a danger--and Muggleborns are the biggest link between Wizarding World and Muggle society, which I think is one of the reasons why Muggleborns are near-brainwashed at Hogwarts, but that's a tangent I've gone on in list posts, which I'll try and remember to cut&paste for you. Anyway, I think a better comparison would be the situation in Israel/Palestina. Again, shall elaborate in different comment.)
They're not very likely to be welcomed with open arms on the other side.
Exactly, exactly, and this is where the Second War = WW2 parallel becomes really clear to me, because yeah, nazi parallels and all, but it's the subtle things that are a lot more significant to me. Part of the reason why Hitler was able to gain control was that he latched on to the resentment the German people felt at how hard they were punished after WW1. I can see a lot of similarities between the inter-WW era and the time between the Voldemort Wars. There's still a lot of resentment, on both sides, and I think also shame--see for example Fudge's denial of Voldemort's return, which to me suggests that This Is Not Something He Wants To Think About, for various reason. But I think I'm reaching a bit, there.
Anyway, right now, the Wizarding World is still really feeling the aftershocks of the First War, but it's all hidden, people try to pretend life just went on, but underneath, there's still a lot of resentment and hatred, in part I think because of the lack of proper trials. I mean, yeah, I understand that in the middle of a war, there's not always time to properly persecute people that need to be taken off the streets immediately, but why not after the war? What the Wizarding World needs, I think, is the equivalent of the Truth Comission in South Africa, although it's now far too late for that. Perhaps after the Second War, though.
(cont'd)