The progressive Left adores Harry Potter, analogizing nigh endlessly from the books. Why, of all the literary comparisons, they should choose this book series is completely bewildering . . . perhaps even bamboozling. Open-carrying deadly weapons; children of parents who pay no taxes attend a highly traditional and successful private school with nary a speck of government oversight. These lucky few inhabit an exceptional realm cut off from the rest of the world by a physical wall, lest those outside wish to share in the benefits of a magical society. What is more, the author of the book series, J. K. Rowling, contends that men are men and women are women. Truly a progressive utopia, this world of Harry Potter seems to be.
Even the parts of the books that would at first blush actually seem progressive are shown to be less so. Hermione Granger, the bushy-haired friend of Harry, looks to unionize the house elves because she considers their living situation — wearing airy loin-clothes and working for no pay — demeaning. In true “progressive ally” fashion, Hermione ceaselessly attempts to force the elves to be something they are obviously unwilling to become, going so far as trying to trick them into freedom. What this says about the so-called ally will be left to the reader, but suffice it to say both the description of the elves as enjoying indentured servitude and the white savior’s being rebuffed seems hardly to be a narrative that would gain much popularity on the left.
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