Private to Annie Zeller and Harrison Upjohn
Upjohn, I apologise for my absence this past week, but I trust Annie's been able to assist in addressing any issues you might have had. You seem to have a good handle on Hogwarts, but if you have any questions or need a guide in anything, give me a shout.
End Private

Job shadowing week left me reflecting on the nature of journalism. I'm convinced that access to clear, truthful information is an essential element in securing the health of a community. In fact, it's a building block of any community. But we should ask ourselves, as both producers and consumers of information, are we taking our role as seriously as we could be? Can we be working harder on keeping ourselves and our communications clear and truthful?

This probably comes as no surprise to anyone, but talking is the easy part of communication for me. Never had a problem with it, never been shy, never thought to not express my opinions. Listening, however, is what I'm constantly working on improving. Striving to listen without judgment, without assuming anything on the part of the speaker, without jumping to conclusions in order to form my rebuttal, is difficult work. I'll be the first to admit that. But I keep returning to the idea that listening is supposed to be work. It shouldn't be passive, but active.

And that's important to keep in mind whether conversing face to face or over the journals. This week, I'm making an extra effort to remember this.

If you're interested in sharing, I'd enjoy hearing what other people consider to be their own communication strengths and weaknesses.

Summary (for Lily Potter and others who prefer brevity): Honest, open communication keeps our community strong. Listening is just as important as talking, if not more so.

Peace.

I've been intending to speak publicly on the issue of last week's "flash mob," in which a large number of Muggles unlawfully and, with disrespectful intent, encroached upon Diagon Alley. While the Ministry has cleaned up after the situation, I think we need to once again ask ourselves the fundamental question behind the Statute of Secrecy.

Can Muggles be trusted to respect the wizarding community?

Clearly, our new classmates--the participants in the Muggle Liaison Program--are demonstrating that there are Muggles interested in respectfully interacting with the wizarding community. Mostly.

The "flash mob" leaves me wondering, however, if the MLP participants are an exception rather than the rule. Think of how we--in the form of our major centre of commerce--were violated last week. We were treated as a game, a foreign culture to gawk at. We were an amusement. Families of Muggleborns can't always be trusted to respect the lives now lived by their kinsmen. If Minister Macmillan's endgoal is to have us increasing our economic interaction with the Muggle community, does this fundamental lack of respect make this goal an unlikely one to be achieved?

At the same time, it's only fair to acknowledge that, within the magical community at large, we can find examples of a lack of respect for cultural differences (take the ban on flying carpets here in the U.K., for instance), blood differences (Muggleborn persecution and the lack of a comprehensive program for integrating Muggleborns into the wizarding community), and species differences. Disrespectfulness surely isn't limited to just Muggles.

Further questions to consider:
Will further exposure increase or decrease this lack of respect from the Muggle community?
How does the lack of respect for cultural/blood/species/etc. differences within the magical community play into this?

Peace.

( Private to Self )

Private to Annie Zeller
Are you excited about mentoring? Do want to discuss any ideas on how best to help Jack?
End Private

I'm pleased that the ghosts, as far as I know, have been on their best behaviour lately. I enjoy being able to sleep in on Saturdays (cheers, belatedly, to those of you who silenced them a few weeks ago) as well as, I have to admit, not being scolded for forgetting my manners. Maintaining a respectful, amicable coexistence with the ghostly inhabitants of Hogwarts is important, and I hope the term will continue in this far calmer fashion.

Peace.

The thing that interested me most about Free Hugs Day was the idea of free. A hug is a fairly unique commodity, in the sense that its being freely & liberally given devalues neither hug itself, nor the giver, nor the recipient, and it tends to come at no tangible cost to the giver. So while this Free Hugs Day experiment obviously wasn't about any sort of viable economic model, maybe we still should be asking ourselves this important question--are there other things we can share with others more liberally than we currently are?

It's something I've been thinking about this week, and I keep coming back to the idea of patience. I'm rarely as patient as it's possible for me to be, and what does it cost me to spare more patience with people? Time, maybe. But I can spare time.

I'm not exactly wearing a shirt that says "Free Patience," but it's something I'll be working on. Something that I'll need to be working on more in the future.

Anyone else working toward a new goal this week?

Peace.

I'm interested in hearing people's opinions on this new law the Ministry is considering--the one that states that law enforcement agents ought to be able to search properties where the owners have applied for a renovation permit. I realize this is a rather dull subject for us students, given that none of us own our own property yet. (As far as I know. Speak up if you're concerned about your personal beachfront cottage or your acres in the countryside or the pub you've inherited.) But many of us have family who do, or we plan to in the future.

As has been recently highlighted in the news, the current law allows for the search of property amid a transfer of ownership, and so this proposal would certainly be an increase of the government's reach. Is it justified? Is it a wise use of Ministry resources? What, exactly, is the DMLE intending to discover in these searches? What do they expect exists that they can't find through a search warrant procured through other means? Given the current economic climate, what property owners are planning on significant renovations right now? Is this law specifically targeting these owners?

I support the Ministry taking action to protect its citizens from the sources that threaten our community's survival. But I am uncertain that this law is a wise use of resources or, for that matter, an intelligent way to accomplish community-building.

But these days I am often left wondering if there's anyone left who truly cares about community-building.

Peace.

Dependency. Dependency. Dependency.

I can't--

I can't even.

Never mind. I'll be able to think more clearly in the morning.

Welcome back.

Peace. Good luck with that.

I've been reading the Willis articles, and I'm struggling to understand their relevance. And each day, it's been irritating me, so I might as well ask: what's the point?

That Neo-Purists exist and live among the rest of the population? That wizards and witches use dark magic illegally?

Not news. (I assume, at least, or perhaps I've underestimated the general population's tendency to cling to rose-coloured glasses.)

That these people were at one time convicted of crimes, served time in prison, and then were released? And then again were arrested but then released because the only evidence the MLE could unearth was circumstantial?

Not news. Why rehash this in a special series?

Stop with the bloody "suspected of" and reliance on the assumptions neighbours make of one another. As far as I can tell, these articles were short on facts and long on rumours and sensationalism. If I wanted that, I'd start reading the Hogwarts Slambook.

And if the purpose of Ms. Willis's articles is to "connect" the "dots", circumstantial and indirect evidence was what got Harper off last time, so I don't see how overwhelming the media with "guilt by association" stories like these is clearing up the issues any. In fact, it just detracts and distracts from the hard evidence that does exist.

As much as anyone, I want those responsible for attacking our political figures to be held responsible for what they've done. I want this as much as anyone, because I truly and firmly believe this sort of violence is damaging our lives and our community. I fail to see how reiterating old arrest records and unsubstantiated rumours counts as any sort of productive exposé.

What might help? Improve the resources of MLE. Investigate potential corruption within our justice system.

I understand the series conclusion will be published tomorrow, so maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised by a more productive bent, but at the moment, frankly, I'm disappointed. If anything, these articles are exposing our fellow citizens--citizens who have already been through our justice system--to unnecessary, fearful vigilantism.

I don't approve.

Peace.

The full story will be in tomorrow's Prophet, but the short of it is that Crook's okay. What the hell, people? I'm no fan of Crook, but can't we all agree, especially after this past election season, that violence is never an appropriate form of political expression? Use your words. Or use blockades, if that's a tool available to you (see: Goblin Liaison Office).

Here's to tomorrow's political encounters being a lot more civilised.

Peace.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but here it goes: one of the advantages of working at the Daily Prophet is that I get to hear all the gossip.

It should be interesting to hear what Minister Macmillan and Professor Sprout have been meeting about. I'm satisfied with my Hogwarts education, for the most part, so I'm curious to see what sort of educational reform he might propose. Does anyone have any guesses? Or hopes?

I'm also curious about his meetings with Crook, though I'm left wondering if he has plans to meet with Selwyn and other parties' representatives in the near future, as well.

Peace.

Let's do a thought experiment. You don't have to share your answers. In fact, if you're going to share your answer only to be an arse, then you can put your quill down now. You can, if you'd like, share your thoughts here so long as you express them respectfully.

The point, though, is to think for yourself.

Scenario A: From this point forward, no wizard or witch procreates with a Muggle.
What would we, as a community, gain?
What would we, as a community, lose?

Scenario B: From this point forward, no wizard or witch procreates with someone of a "lesser" "bloodline."
What would we, as a community, gain?
What would we, as a community, lose?

Scenario C: From this point forward, wizards and witches procreate ONLY with Muggles.
What would we, as a community, gain?
What would we, as a community, lose?

Scenario D: From this point forward, no Muggles are ever born with the capacity for magic. There are no longer any no new Muggleborns.
What would we, as a community, gain?
What would we, as a community, lose?

Standard disclaimer: This is simply a thought experiment. The owner of this journal does not encourage people to engage in actual procreative activities for the sake of philosophic research.

Peace.

You all know about the flood of werewolf immigrants to our country following the election of Ernest Macmillan (as reported in the June 2nd issue of the Daily Prophet), right? (If not, now you know. I can Owl you a copy of the article, if you're interested in reading for yourself.) I think it's interesting that this is the first visible consequence of the election. I've heard that Macmillan is planning to "enhance" our Ministry's long-standing anti-discrimination laws by introducing hate crime legislation.

I don't know about you, but the special classification of certain crimes as hate crimes rubs me the wrong way.

( Cut for length )

I don't want to monopolize this important conversation, so if anyone wants to share their own opinions, let's discuss.

Questions to consider:
What makes a hate crime a hate crime?
What is the purpose of having a separate classification for a hate crime?
Is public safety truly protected by the criminalization of beliefs?

Again, I'd be interested in hearing what you all think, and I urge anyone with a strong opinion to write to the Daily Prophet and to Minister-Elect Macmillan.

Hope everyone's having a good summer. I have to admit, it's absolutely awesome to finally be able to do whatever magic I want outside of school.

Peace.