Owl Post Secret Activity 1: The Secret of Magic

[brightflower]

Activity: The Secret of Magic
Points: Long debate: Participation 10pts, Additional comment: 2pts.
Deadline: April 22, 11:59 PM UTC
Details:

Let's jump right into the magical world's secrets with a debate on the biggest secret of all: the secret of magic itself.

What are your opinions on the International Statute of Secrecy? Is it a fair law? When is it okay to break the law and reveal the secret of magic to Muggles? And what would you do if a Muggle discovered your secret and tried to take advantage of it?

Initial comment of at least 150 words for 10 points, additional comments 2 points each. Let's get a conversation going!


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Comments

[bergeronprocess.livejournal.com]

The International Statute of Secrecy is kind of a double-edged sword: it does help keep the magical community safe from the way Muggles can sometimes enter the crowd mentality and lose their sense of individual morals, rights and wrongs, etc. because of what the group is thinking. If the group is thinking that the person with the ~special powers~ really has an unfair advantage and, hm, maybe needs to be silenced somehow...that's very dangerous. But at the same time, what if Muggle and magical people could live in good harmony with magical people out in the open? Imagine how they could help each other! Could potions help cure the sicknesses that ail Muggles? Cancer and such? Never once was the word cancer mentioned in the entire Harry Potter canon, leading me to wonder if it even exists or if some sort of potion kills the bad cells before they start to affect people. Muggles would benefit from that knowledge and could help magical people navigate the confusing aspects of the Muggle world. But again, you have to be cognizant of what could happen if people give in to their darkest thoughts and worst intentions instead of working for a better world for everyone.

Emmapuff, 203 words

[slumber.livejournal.com]

The overriding thought with Muggles benefiting from magic is that they'll think everything can be solved, and thus.. problems, but I think there is also some merit in understanding that magic by itself does not eradicate all problems. This isn't necessarily something Muggles can understand though, at least not right away. And I think to a certain extent what's giving the wizarding community pause now is just how huge a news like this could be-- what are the logistics of revealing magic exists, how do you pull off this revelation without inciting mass panic or riots?

Evyclaw

[bergeronprocess.livejournal.com]

Exactly. As a culture, Muggles are rather...demanding. They want it all and they want it now. Could they learn that magic can do some things, but not others--like not bringing people back from the dead, but maybe helping cure injuries to people who are still living?

As for the revelation...I have no idea how it would be managed, but I'm inclined to go with good old-fashioned person-to-person oral storytelling. That method of relaying news has been reliable for millennia!

...I mean, that's not to say that the news media could be of no use, though.

Emmapuff

[slumber.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I wonder if we're ready for a news like this, since you know, it's not like the thought is completely new and foreign. I mean, we have books that play with this idea and everything, you know? But maybe I'm also more exposed to the sarcastic side of Twitter, where if news like this broke out people would just be cracking jokes about Hogwarts letters and owl droppings and stuff like that, and collectively telling everyone to chill the f*ck out and stuff, even as news outlets maybe try to sensationalize and fear-monger.

Evyclaw

[flyingharmony.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty much with Evy in that way; Muggles will never be able to fully understand magic, and when they start getting the idea of benefiting from magic, they'll think that everything is possible - and once they find out that it's not, they'll start blaming the wizards and things will likely end in a disaster.

Avipuff/5

[kaitydid33087.livejournal.com]

See, I agree. I think that Magic and Muggles could benefit from one another. I think that a lot of good things could happen, if we combine our powers (and call upon Captain Planet! XD) and use them for good. Of course bad things could happen, bad things happen every day. But I really believe, that we can get together, live together harmonously, and use Magic for good, together. I think maybe a magic spell or potion, could cure cancer. I mean, look at the Wolfsbane potion! It helped Professor Lupin! So maybe there's something out there, that could be a cure for cancer.

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