More grumbling about how the fans treat JKR...
I recognize that this is several months after the fact, but as a Jew, I can't help but be a bit miffed by the fact that people felt the need to ask Rowling if there were Jewish students at Hogwarts. Surely that's something they could have inferred themselves, if they so chose? Yet, they were so thrilled to learn that Anthony Goldstein was Jewish straight from the author's mouth. Leaving aside for a moment the fact that Anthony Goldstein never says or does anything, ever, in the entire course of the series (and is a Ravenclaw, note, not a Gryffindor), to me that's a bit like a Jewish metalhead going up to the guys in Iron Maiden and asking permission, as a Jew, to be a fan. It is true that the members of Iron Maiden had said they'd welcome Jewish fans--which near as I can tell was without a prompt, and in any case didn't focus specifically on Jewish fans but was more a blanket "We're so accepting and welcoming that we take all types of fans!" thing. Either way I have never, ever, ever heard of anyone asking the members of Iron Maiden if they accept fans of their racial or cultural background, because that's simply not how it works--either you like Maiden's music and consider yourself a fan or you don't. Likewise, if you think there ought to be Jewish students at Hogwarts you're well within your rights to imagine there being, and the author's own ideas on the subject don't and shouldn't have to play into this at all.
And here's the thing: the UK is a fairly diverse, multicultural place already. Probably it has representatives of the majority of races, cultures, and creeds that have ever existed living there (granted, this is not to say that it's without discrimination or prejudice--but that's slightly off-topic). So...shouldn't it be reasonably expected, that if a group is represented by a cross-section of the UK's population (Hogwarts is the leading British wizard school, Iron Maiden are a British band and initially gained traction in the UK before going international...), that group will contain at least a few Jews by definition? Because there are plenty of Jews that live in the UK. I even met some of them when I studied abroad there.
I just think it's ridiculous that these fans can't come to their own conclusions about this, but instead have to ask the author about it. Can they not make their own decisions about anything related to the series at all?
And here's the thing: the UK is a fairly diverse, multicultural place already. Probably it has representatives of the majority of races, cultures, and creeds that have ever existed living there (granted, this is not to say that it's without discrimination or prejudice--but that's slightly off-topic). So...shouldn't it be reasonably expected, that if a group is represented by a cross-section of the UK's population (Hogwarts is the leading British wizard school, Iron Maiden are a British band and initially gained traction in the UK before going international...), that group will contain at least a few Jews by definition? Because there are plenty of Jews that live in the UK. I even met some of them when I studied abroad there.
I just think it's ridiculous that these fans can't come to their own conclusions about this, but instead have to ask the author about it. Can they not make their own decisions about anything related to the series at all?