Re: Not racism, ablism
(Anonymous)
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duj
PS In case someone brings up the Order's and the Ministry's disapproval of Muggle-baiting, a la GoF Quidditch World Cup, I'll just add that, sure, they protect the Muggles from just-for-fun harassment, but it's in the way that Muggles protect animals. We have laws against torturing/mistreating non-humans, too. But Muggles and Squibs are *not* kittens. Their rights go beyond mere non-harassment, non-torture, non-wrongful death/injury.
Some might argue that the mistreatment of Filch (for instance Harry hexing him in HBP) and the Dursleys (for instance Dumbledore terrorising them in their own home, also in HBP) is justified because they're nasty. But some intellectually-disabled people *are* what you might call nasty. They bash their families and/or strangers. They badmouth people who've gone out of their way to help them. They may even enjoy causing others pain. And even the most difficult are treated by Muggle organisations with as much respect for their choices and their dignity as their behaviour allows. Because rights are not dependent on goodness or niceness, obedience or tractability. They are intrinsic to any just society.
duj
PS In case someone brings up the Order's and the Ministry's disapproval of Muggle-baiting, a la GoF Quidditch World Cup, I'll just add that, sure, they protect the Muggles from just-for-fun harassment, but it's in the way that Muggles protect animals. We have laws against torturing/mistreating non-humans, too. But Muggles and Squibs are *not* kittens. Their rights go beyond mere non-harassment, non-torture, non-wrongful death/injury.
Some might argue that the mistreatment of Filch (for instance Harry hexing him in HBP) and the Dursleys (for instance Dumbledore terrorising them in their own home, also in HBP) is justified because they're nasty. But some intellectually-disabled people *are* what you might call nasty. They bash their families and/or strangers. They badmouth people who've gone out of their way to help them. They may even enjoy causing others pain. And even the most difficult are treated by Muggle organisations with as much respect for their choices and their dignity as their behaviour allows. Because rights are not dependent on goodness or niceness, obedience or tractability. They are intrinsic to any just society.