Recently I covered a piece about how some people view going to residential schools or deaf schools as similar as going to Hogwarts. That's fine. Each to his or her own. However, I saw that video as an excuse to bash and attack AGBell and oral/aural schools.
In the 2005 Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education titled "Understanding Harry Potter: Parallels to the Deaf World" saw parallels of deaf kids in deaf residential schools similar to that of Hogwarts and Harry Potter but without the paranoid bashing of AGBell, oral/aural schools, and mainstream schools. It was a good piece. It covered the essential areas about identity, isolation, acceptance and so forth. But there were a few things I noticed that were glaringly absent. It did not discuss the all important "pure-bloods," "half-bloods," "Mudbloods," the Malfoys as bullies, and the Houses of Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. Something that you would see in deaf residential schools when it comes to self-segregation along with the "have's" and "have's not."
Why leave those details out? You can easily check it out by typing in the keywords and do a look up and see what is missing in that parallels analysis.
What is interesting is that one of the main and recurring theme in all of the Harry Potter movies at Hogwarts is the constant bullying by Draco Malfoy and his friends toward Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom, and many others. Draco Malfoy was especially harsh towards Harry Potter who is half-blood because of Potter's being famous or well known in the wizarding world. Jealousy, utter hate, his loyalty to his pure-blood lineage (and to his father) and to "the cause" (blood-purity) were often manifested in Draco's own bullying spree which was patently obvious in the Harry Potter movies. The ironic thing is that Draco Malfoy is a pure-blood who comes from a long line of pure-bloods of the Malfoy family as the nth generational pure-blood who use that status and opportunity in his delight to sneer on "half-bloods" or Muggle-borns (not born into pure blood of wizard or witch parents) who on occasion call them derogatorily as "Mudbloods" which makes a very familiar theme for some culturally deaf people who are doing their own little battles that they precipitate by bullying others. Pretty much like calling deaf/hh people as "deficit thinkers" or using their own Deaf organizations to attack other deaf/hh people or organizations who have different, alternate opinions, viewpoints or philosophies regarding deafness-related issues.
It was interesting that the journal study "Parallels to Deaf World" did not draw any parallels between Hogwarts and deaf residential schools on the bullying aspect. It also did not draw parallels on how deaf and hard of hearing students self-segregate themselves into the "pure-bloods" or nth generation Deaf family (born into Deaf parents) whose first language is ASL versus those whose first language is the English language, who are born into hearing parents, may wear hearing aids or cochlear implants and may have a preference to speaking and listening over signing.
The irony is simply too much.
In fact, in Gallaudet's 2004 Spring Odyssey electronic magazine has a dedicated issue on bullying. It discussed questions whether it was possible deaf and hearing youths are seeing and learning far more pro-bully messages in our culture than anti-bully messages. And how people encourage bullies to bully others (I can see how this can continue and carry over into adulthood through other means and medium). Just like how Draco Malfoy gets his pleasure whenever his friends encourage and support him when he does the bullying because he is seen as the leader of the pack because of his blood-purity lineage being the nth generational pure-blood. Draco Malfoy constantly initiate the bullying of Harry Potter and others, and openly call them "Mudbloods."
The question becomes this.
Who are the "Draco Malfoys" in deaf residential schools (or even at Gallaudet University) who secretly desire to eradicate the hearing aid and cochlear implant "culture" among deaf and hard of hearing people? Who are the "Draco Malfoys" who will bully other deaf/hh kids at school for their lack of "purity"? Who are the "Draco Malfoys" who sneer at deaf/hh kids who can speak and listen well in another language, use CUED speech, wear hearing aids or cochlear implants but don't have culturally deaf parents? Who are the "Lucius Malfoys" (Draco's father) who encourage Draco's bullying ways at Hogwarts? Who are the Lucious Malfoys who go after organizations that support the "mixing" of Muggle-borns ("half-bloods) with Muggles (non-wizards or witches) with their ways and culture rather than support the continuing lineage of blood purity, its culture and ways?
As an adult, Lucius was an aristocratic wizard and head of the Malfoy family, believing strongly in notions of blood purity and the superiority of pure-blood wizards. He joined the Death Eaters, who shared his views on blood purity, and participated in the First Wizarding War.If I wanted to I could see a lot of parallels when it comes to the bullying aspect, the self-segregation that occurs at deaf residential schools much like the Houses of Slytherin, Gryyfindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw, the ideology of Deaf culture and language in their own "blood-purity" aspect and to their "the cause" much like the wizarding wars one and two.
Another interesting parallel among deaf culture residential schools and Hogwarts is that in the Harry Potter movies they remind the audience that the wizarding population that is Muggle-born is on the rise while the pure-blood families shrink in size and number which has led to wizarding wars. Sounds familiar? More deaf residential schools have closed over the years in favor of mainstream schools which allow the mixing of culturally deaf, deaf, and hard of hearing students much the same way Hogwarts allows both pure-blood, half-blood and half-breed wizarding students into their curriculum with Harry Potter being the most famous half-blood Hogwarts student.
Sounds awfully familiar.
Dumbledore (half-blood wizard) explains the blood-purity complex and problem of what Lord Voldemort and other arch enemies of the dark magic believe in.
Dumbledore asserts that the much-vaunted blood purity does not exist, and is only a fiction maintained by the deceptions of supremacist wizards.The whole crux on this argument of mine surrounds on this ideology of "blood purity" or "pure-bloods" and how the pure-bloods ways, language, and culture are seen as ultimately superior and the only way to, paradoxically so, live in order to "survive." Those who do not believe or support their ideology or cultural ways deserve to be eradicated or abandoned, hence these "wars." If you want to discuss "parallels" then this sounds pretty much like how some culturally deaf people and their organizations who are bent on destroying other organizations like AGBell, oral/aural schools, CUED speech, cochlear implant companies, hearing aids companies, and such. They attack through the constant slurring, hate, venom, disinformation campaigns, and protests in the effort to promote their way of living as superior rather than to accept the fact that many deaf or hard of hearing people have a different philosophy and ways of living. They are not the ones doing the attacking but rather among some of the, excuse me, "pure-blood extremists." Sirius Black is a pure-blood wizard who oppose the use of the Dark Arts and discrimination based on blood purity so not all pure-bloods believe in the blood-purity as being "superior".
.... a pure-blood wizard, son of Orion and Walburga Black and elder brother of Regulus by a little over a year. Although he was the heir of the House of Black, Sirius disagreed with his family's belief in blood purity and defied tradition when he was sorted into Gryffindor instead of Slytherin at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which he attended from 1971 to 1978. As Sirius' relationship with his relatives deteriorated, he gained great friendship in James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. The four friends, also known as the Marauders, joined the Order of the Phoenix to fight against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters during the First Wizarding War. Sirius also became the godfather of Harry Potter, son of James and Lily Potter.
Sirius Black as a pure-blood was seen as a "blood traitor," too.
"Blood traitor" is a derogatory term commonly used by elite pure-blood families to describe witches or wizards who sympathise with the non-magical community and/or willingly associate with other such sympathisers or with Muggle-borns. Other similar terms include "Muggle-lover", "Mudblood-lover", "Dunglicker", "Scumsucker", and "Mudwallower", all of which refer disparagingly to those who are comfortable in the company of Muggles and/or Muggle-borns, whom prejudiced wizards and witches believe are dirty and inferior. The most notorious blood-traitor family was the Weasleys.
The message in this blog piece? Be careful on trying to use "parallels" between Hogwarts and deaf residential schools. It can go both ways, blood-purity or not because perspectives do differ. Also, just as well, there are way more "Muggle-borns" (born to hearing parents, English language, ability to speak and listen, use CUED speech, deaf or hard of hearing, do not know sign language, know some sign language, knows a lot of sign language, etc) than there are "pure-bloods" (nth generation Deaf family, ASL as their first language, deaf culture, etc) and that the "Muggle-borns" are growing every day whether they know sign language or not, and increasingly go to regular and mainstreamed schools, and even to private schools just like Hogwarts with school uniforms.
Bottom line, these parallels and fear-mongering nonsense need to stop. If you see "pure-bloods" doing the disparaging, attacking, libeling, hating, name calling, revealing of personal information, bullying or cyberbullying, misinformation campaigning, lying, and/or the deceiving for "the cause" then tell them that they fit nicely into the Slytherin House. Otherwise I'd just as well drop this whole parallel nonsense comparison as an excuse to attack people and/or other organizations only because they are different and have a different set of philosophy and belief. Because, you know, if you really want to get down to it then ask yourself, who won at the Battle of Hogwarts - Voldemort, pure-bloods and the House of Slytherin or Harry Potter, the Muggle-borns, and the House of Gryyfindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw?
Yeah, better to just drop the whole thing.