There are numerous references to how wizards treat others (magical creatures as well as muggles) and much made out of the superiority that many wizards feel over others because of their powers.

The subject of discrimination (re: purebloods Vs muggles/half bloods etc) is one of the major themes in the series, providing not only a backdrop for the story but numerous catalysts for action between the characters.

Do you think that the emergence of such a massive Dark Force as LV is the wizarding world's "karma" for being so arrogant for so long?

[NB: I use the word "karma" here for want of a better term.. I guess I could have used other terms, but karma summs up the "reap what we sow" idea I am trying to get across.
(I also think comments about what messages or ideas (overtly or through sub-texts) JKR is getting across in her books are very relevant here)

I don't believe in Karma.
I believe in action and reaction. If you have some money saved, and then you end up spending it all uselessly, then you will become poor...it's logic. You wont become poor becasue your Karma is out to get you for not spending your money the right way.
Now wizards have been known to mistreat house elves, giants and other wizards, but that is not why Voldemort appeared! Evil peope/wizards have always existed. You an't have only good, because then it wont be known as "good" since there is nothing to compare it against.
Lack of good brings about evil, because something must exist. And when I talk of evil or good, I don't mean them in there pure, absolute forms. However, I must admit that LV seems to have no good in him what so ever, thus making him pure evil or a "massive Dark Force". Yet, I don't see the emergence of LV as the Wizarding world's karma, I only see it as a reaction to LV's childhood and history.
LV is a descendant of a family known to have alot of extremist ideas and an unstable emotional history. Thus, it would be logical to expect LV to hold extremist ideas and to have an unstable emotional status (which he probably inherited through his genetic makeup).
Furthermore, and supporting the action-reaction theory, LV was parentless, brought up in an orphanage with no parental love and guidance. In other words, his temprament (genetic makeup) and parentless world (his daily experience), shaped him to be the evil Wizard that he is today. Although Harry was also brought up in a cruel environment, he did not inherit an "evil" (for a lack of a better word) predisposition like Voldemort had. So, I think that if LV had been brought up by a caring mother, his temprament or initial predisposition might have been altered, thus making him a whole different person today.

i think its cool that the poll is unanimus. personally i dont believe in karma. do you think that terrorism is karma at the muggle world? do we deserve it? its the same thing. there is always going to be people that have different views to you, but occasionally you get those that are willing to do anything to enforce their beliefs, and voldemort is one of those. **** was another.

There's a part in HBP where Dumbledore tells Harry that oppressors fear the people they oppress the most. Why? Because just as Dumbledore says, because an oppressor always knows that someday someone from the oppressed will rise up against the oppressor (action-reaction). Alot of people are being oppresed currently in the world. So what are these oppressed people doing? They're rising up against the oppressors...or atleast that's how I see it. Thus, what many people see as terrorism, I see it as a reaction from the oppressed. However, that doesn't make me with what's happening ( I am totally against it cause I'm just as endangered as anyone else in the world...since I travel alot!). I just see it as a natural reaction. And we, muggles, pay the price!

Bad guys have always existed in both worlds, the magical one and ours. We know that DD won against the dark wizard grindelwald in 1945 (which may be a parallel to the German ****-regime) and nobody needs to be taught that there have been many bad guys in our history...
Plus I do not really believe in Karma, but that's not the main point, I think...

Have to agree with Double D

There is good and bad in all races. Magical or Muggles

You only have to look at Kreacher to see that

Lets hop good conquers over evil again

This is by far the most interesting poll i have voted on, and while i feel the word "definately" is a little strong, i voted for it anyway.

The wizarding world is getting what they deserve. There is a lack of unity among wizards and a disconnect between institutions. This provides a group, in this case the Death Eaters, to rise up and exploit the weakness in society. The wizarding government continues to be run by people who are far from the best and brightest (Fudge, Umbridge). They worry about trivial matters (cauldron thickness) but don't investigate missing persons. The government of Fudge and Umbridge sees Dumbledore as a threat to their political power instead of seeing him for what he is - an amazing wizard that could be a resource to help solve problems in the wizarding world.

A society can also be judged by its media. We know of only two publications; one is The Quibbler, a nonsense magazine on par with tabloids and Mad Magazine. The Daily Prophet tends to be a propaganda magazine, sacrificing truth to sell copies and support a corrupt administration. Reporters like Rita Skeeter succeed in spreading falsehoods to their readers which is particularly dangerous because far to many of these wizards believe what they read without question and there isn't another media voice to counter it. A misled society is ill prepared to effecively deal with threats, real or imagined.

Then there is the karma issue, or if you like, the golden rule issue. The wizarding world certainly doesn't treat others the way they would like to be treated themselves...at least not goblins, house elves, or giants. What happens if the goblins get sick of it? The Economy crashes If the house elves get fed up and go on strike, new help will have to be found. And what about the dementors, what if they rebell? It is like arming a para-military org with doubtful loyalty and having them run into the wilderness leaving you unprotected and fearing their return.

Wizarding society is setting themselves up for failure. They rely too much on beings they consider inferior and treat as such. They people are uninformed and unprepared to deal with legitimate threats. The government fears/neglects science, education, and experience, too consumed with their own power and sense of purpose/righteousness. They are far too ready to believe they are safe and the people, by and large and convinced by a corrupt media, agree.

Yup, they had it coming. Thank Heavens for Harry, Hermione and the Weasel King!

I think that in the wizarding world you are what you are. Evil is evil, and good is good. It's like with the sorting hat. Ron had said that there isn't a witch or wizard that's gone bad that wasn't in Slytherin. They obviously had the evil in them from when they were just 11 or else they would not have been in Slytherin.

The question wasnt very clear...but I think I get what your saying , like there are so many good wizards that karma is bound to come back and bite them in the butt and throw in some bad ones ? well, i don't think that is trues, how could someone be born evil ?

I have to agree with Rouge Bludger, the wizard world is ripe for someone like Lord Voldemort to rise to power. Their stupidity and arrogance have paved his way. Call it karma or whatever, they asked for it.

A comment on Karma: Karma literally means action. It is the action we take in our lives and is part of a cause and effect cycle, action and reaction if you will. It is a fundamental theme in many religions and society at large. Karma is karma in Indian religions but is in "western" faiths also taking the form of good deeds get you to heaven and bad deeds get you to a bad place. For those that aren't religous and aren't governed by any other moral system, they are bound by sets of laws (in most places) that punish them for not living right by the state's moral code. No matter where we live or what we believe, Karma in some form surrounds us.

It's tough to say what in the HP books can be considered Karma - how about Umbridge with the centaurs, or Malfoy as a rat. I would think that something really good should be happening for Miss Granger soon....

Ooh, interesting!



I disagree, but not because I believe in karma. Voldemort's success is a direct result of the wizarding community's belief that some beings are superior to others. The fact that he was born - no. The fact that he grew powerful - yes. Hitler is a good example.

Now, I am definitely NOT saying that German's deserved Hitler. I am half-German myself.

After the First World War, Germany's debt was so much that there was no way for them to repay it. Some of their greatest sources of income were also annexed by the victors, so it hindered their economy greatly. This left the Germans feeling powerless and angry. They then built up their country within 20 years from virtually nothing, and in that time, I can understand that a unusually strong feeling of resentment grew amongst them.

When Hitler came along, he played to that. He used that resentment the Germans felt to persuade them that he was doing the right thing. He took advantage of the circumstances and became one of the most evil men the world has ever known. He exploited the Germans' unhappiness.

Voldemort is doing the same by exploiting the lurking prejudice about ancestry among wizards. Granted, prejudice is wrong, but where did it start, do you think? Why would wizards feel resentful and distrusting of muggles?

I'd think it came from the muggles themselves, actually. Wizards have always been feared and shunned and even prosecuted. Who would not feel resentful towards the people who did that to you?

This isn't a misty sort of karma then, but cause and effect. Muggles mistrusted wizards and prosecuted them, wizards started to mistrust muggles and hated them - it was only a matter of time before someone came along who would want to exploit that.

Harry is the one who could start to bridge the gap a bit. He knows the muggle world well, having been raised in it, but he is also the wizarding world's chosen one. It's not exactly as simple as that, but I think there could very well be a hint of that in the last book. He's standing up against the embodiment of prejudice, and by defeating him and saving both worlds, he could lay the foundations for peace between the two worlds.

I'm not even sure what to think. I mean I don't really believe in karma...... I mean it just seems sorta far fetched but sometimes it seems like karma is out there.....

ive always learned that if you dont learn from your mistakes, then history will just repeat itself....my theory is that grindewald was also a big bad wizard similar to lord voldemort...and dumbledore defeated it....and the wizarding world went striaght back to their prejudistic ways....they were just asking for lord voldemort....

I'm going to go with you on that fact that "good" wizards seem to be born with predudices. Good thought -provoking poll.

i do not believe it is as a result as karma at all

This is tricky, predjuice is everywhere. In everyone good or bad, but I don't kno if it is the actual cause of LV cuming back. He was bound to anywaz and I rele don't think it was by any karma. I mean, it just sort of happened didn't it.

He never said he was cuming back to repay the good old witch that feeds her cats and madrakes everynight, he only came back becuz he was afraid of death and he wanted to kill Harry like rele bad. I rele don't think Karma had much to do with any of it.

I think that Riddle was just another bad wizard throughout history. There is always bad guys, this one just happened to be really smart, and devoted to his cause.

Would you say that the holocaust was karma for the jews?? I hope not...

A very difficult poll. But I say no. Although I can image why people say yes.

No - dark wizards have always been and LV is just a very strong one, not a result of "karma"

Hmm, difficult question. I chose No- dark wizards have always been and LV is just a very strong one, not a result of "Karma". It's like the world we live in today. Bad people exist or good people that do bad things. It's not really karma, it's just whats always been there being brought to attention.

I think it has nothing to do with Karma, for example Snape was good but he could have chosen to be a very "bad wizard!" to quote Winky.

Nope. I believe in Karma but I don't think Voldemort is karma for the entire wizarding world being so whatever you said. The Karma is that Voldemort was evil and then he died. The entire magical population wasn't being punished for being stuck up. Most were not obsessed with pure/mud-blood status. Most of them were good people.

I agree with Rogue Bludger:



The wizarding world gets what they deserve but the Death Eaters are exploiting the weakness in the wizarding society. The Ministry thought that Dumbledore was trying to take over the Ministry and Fudge used his power to make the readers of the Daily Prophet to stop anyone from believing Dumbledore, and Harry about Voldy returning.

I think having evil wizards such as Lord Voldemort is good for the wizarding world by a certain perspective... it keeps them in check. I wouldn't say they deserve it all but a certain extent of it is healthy for them.