13 lessons about social justice from

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13 Lessons about Social Justice from “Harry Potter”

The wizarding world can teach uggles a thing or two about how to !ght for the

common good"

1" The #ersonal is #olitical" There$s no better way to understand how something a%ects society as a whole than

to feel its im#lications on an indi&idual le&el" Harry$s #ersonal struggles are what

ma'e him such an e%ecti&e agent for social change in the series" He lost his

#arents( godfather( and mentor all at the hands of )oldemort" Since he feels the

im#act of these issues so #ersonally( it$s easier for him to see how they translate

into larger #olitical agendas"

*" +hec' your #ri&ilege"

Harry sel,essly de&oted his life to the cause of defeating )oldemort and the

betterment of society( but he was well aware of all the tools and resources he had

because he was “the boy who li&ed"” The sur#lus of gold his #arents left in his

-ringotts &ault( s#ecial gifts li'e the .n&isibility +loa' and arauder$s a#( and his

famous re#utation all aided him in achie&ing his goals" These ma/or ad&antages

weren$t a&ailable to other characters( but Harry was always conscious of his

#ri&ileges"

3" 0or' with #eo#le you trust"

There needs to be an element of assurance and reliability between #eo#le who

organize together for /ustice" umbledore trusts Sna#e( Harry trusts umbledore(

and e&eryone else trusts Harry2 there$s clearly a tric'ledown e%ect in who others

ha&e con!dence in" .t$s im#ortant to 'now who you can count on in dar' times when

e&erything seems blea'"

4" Peo#le in #ower aren$t necessarily in the right"



Those who are in charge of ma/or institutions don$t always ha&e others$ best

interests at heart" The inistry of agic had its own( secret agenda before it was

e&en in!ltrated by eath 5aters( and at one #oint olores 6mbridge had run of

Hogwarts and its students" .t$s not always safe to assume that those in #ositions of

#ower automatically do the right thing"

7" 8&oid blind allegiance"

9e&er follow leaders without :uestion( no matter what they claim to stand for" The

witches and wizards who don$t challenge )oldemort only ma'e it easier for him to

rise to more #ower" The eath 5aters obey e&ery last order from )oldemort and

remain eternally loyal des#ite his intentions" .t isn$t until the &ery end of Deathly

Hallows that the alfoy family comes to their senses and wal's away from the

;attle of Hogwarts" Just because someone with con&iction dictates what they want

you to do( you shouldn$t follow them blindly"

<" =ou can$t accom#lish e&erything alone"

0hile Harry was labeled the “chosen one” and often ta'es matters into his own

hands( he wouldn$t ha&e been able to ultimately defeat )oldemort without the hel#

of so many others" He loo'ed to !gures li'e umbledore and Sirius for guidance(

was shown unconditional lo&e and su##ort from the 0easleys and other >rder of

the Phoeni? members( and Harry also hea&ily relied on Hermione and @on to !ll in

the ga#s Aand e&en destroy a few Horcru?esB" Social /ustice and !ghting for what$s

right doesn$t ta'e /ust one #erson alone C it$s &ery much a grou# e%ort"

D" 9ews sources aren$t always accurate"

The Daily Prophet intentionally #ortrays Harry and umbledore negati&ely so the

rest of the wizarding world doesn$t trust their word" 8s you continue on the #ath to

!ghting for what$s right( it$s im#ortant to be a critical consumer of mass media and

not /ust belie&e e&erything you read in the news" 8ll human beings ha&e bias( and

re#orters aren$t any di%erent2 they can also be in,uenced by their own e?#eriences

and surroundings"



E" Peo#le are often #roducts of their en&ironment"

9o one is born with a #articular set of beliefs and o#inions2 as indi&iduals( we all

o#erate within the systems that sha#e us and a%ect our e&entual outcomes" Tom

@iddle was sha#ed by a number of e?#eriences before he transformed himself into

Lord )oldemort( from the or#hanage that raised him to the #roblematic social norms

that dro&e his uggle father away from his witch mother( and e&en his e?#erience

in Slytherin house" He didn$t come u# with his dar' #lans for the wizarding world all

on his own"

F" o your research"

.n order to 'now where you$re going( you ha&e to 'now where others ha&e been"

Hermione is es#ecially good at reading into the #ast and understanding im#ortant

histories so that the grou# is aware of others$ successes and failures" The more

information you 'now( the better o% you$ll be" .t$s crucial to ha&e full conte?t"

1G" .n/ustices o#erate within systems"

.ne:ualities and e&ils aren$t /ust isolated incidents( nor do they come about by

coincidence" iscrimination against houseel&es( uggleborns( and halfbloods

occurs because of the social structures that e?ist in the wizarding world" >ther

instances of in/ustice C li'e #rofessor 6mbridge$s “disci#lining” of students and how

Hagrid is treated as a giant C are e&idence of greater systems #er#etuating

di%erent 'inds of o##ression"

11" ollow your own moral com#ass"

.t$s not easy to stand u# for what you 'now is the right thing( but trusting your gut

feeling is the 'ey to being an ad&ocate for social change" 5&en if your o#inion is

un#o#ular( li'e Hermione creating the Society for the Promotion of 5l!sh 0elfare(

that doesn$t ma'e it any less /ust" 0e all ha&e instincts for a reason( and more often

than not your own moral com#ass won$t steer you wrong"



1*" 9e&er gi&e u#"

@e&olutionizing the way societies o#erate and shifting #olitical discourse is ne&er a

sim#le tas' C there are #lenty of hardshi#s that changesee'ers come u# against

along the way" Harry( @on( and Hermione encountered a number of diIculties since

the beginning of their ad&entures and the wizarding world had to go through two

wars before !nally defeating )oldemort for good( but they remained resilient

through it all and trium#hed in the end"

13" Lo&e is the most #owerful tool you ha&e">ne of the ma/or themes in the entire series( lo&e #lays an essential role in

o&ercoming the worst 'inds of e&il" .t is a uni&ersal emotion that all human beings

Aand wizardsB can relate to in one way or another( and is a ma/or dri&ing force

behind social change" Lo&e is strong enough to ins#ire 9arcissa alfoy to #rotect

Harry against )oldemort because she wanted to 'now her son was safe and

moti&ates characters li'e red 0easley to &oluntarily sacri!ce their li&es for the

greater good" ost im#ortantly( it gi&es characters something worth !ghting for"

The world 'nows no greater force"

13 lessons about social justice from

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