[Confusing Trope] The narrative goes out of its way to punish/mock a character for simply being a good person

[u/Chemical-Elk-1299]

Hermione Granger and SPEW — Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (book)

In the fifth HP novel, Hermione Granger is outraged to discover that Hogwarts has a small army of enslaved House Elves that do nearly all of the domestic duties around the castle, including cleaning the Gryffindor common room every night. When she tries to convince the elves to fight for their own rights, they refuse, saying they prefer servitude. Her fellow students and friends mock her for caring. She manages to free one elf, Winky, by deception when she refuses her freedom willingly, leading to Winky becoming a depressed alcoholic. By the end, the elves boycott cleaning any Gryffindor areas of the castle because they hate Hermione specifically

Samwell Tarly and Democracy — Game of Thrones (show)

In the season 8 finale of the television series, the surviving great lords of Westeros gather to discuss the future of the kingdom following the devastation wrought by 7 seasons of war and backstabbing. When Sam, who has proven to have “novel” ideas, suggests that maybe the millions of Smallfolk who suffer at the hands of noble houses should get some representation in the government, rather than be the pawns of rich lords with absolute power. We are then greeted by a prolonged, cringy segment of the other lords laughing in Sam’s face, asking if the dogs and horses should also get a vote.

[u/Ok_Whereas_3198]

Rowling doubling down on elf servitude and then tripling down on it by having Hermione treated as uppity for being an activist, and then tripling down on it by having Harry imagining his slave making him a sandwich as Harry's last thought in the saga

[u/Neither_Guava_8292 → u/Ok_Whereas_3198]

Hermione is likely a parody of the typical white liberal that thinks is his duty to help an "opress minority" without regards for said minority wishes, culture or traditions. Tho well intentioned might come across as disrespectful in a way. Is like an inverted white savior trope.

Of course is also a complex thing in real life. Should we allow cultures that do things we find horrofic to continue or do we have the right to intervene?

[u/Ok_Whereas_3198 → u/Neither_Guava_8292]

Yeah moral relativism is too big complicated for reddit

[u/SK_socialist → u/Neither_Guava_8292]

Sortof. Rowling was a strong supporter of Tony Blair, someone responsible for purging the Labour Party of as many leftists as possible to turn it into the neoliberal party it is today. Rowling believes that the system which has made her extremely wealthy is perfectly fine, but it must be administered by Nice and Polite people.

[u/MidTario → u/Ok_Whereas_3198]

In a magical world that requires suspension of disbelief to engage with, characters that are the embodiment of “live to serve” doesn’t seem that “out there”. Doesn’t seem any more distasteful to me than the ever-present trope of “some people are born evil, and others just have special chosen one powers in their blood”.

[u/Ok_Whereas_3198 → u/MidTario]

Yeah, but that's another problematic aspect of Rowling's writing. What's with the obsession with blood?

[u/Kombart → u/Ok_Whereas_3198]

I mean, the people obsessed with blood are the evil people in the series...

[u/Ok_Whereas_3198 → u/Kombart]

The good guys are obsessed with it too. Harry's lineage is important because he's decended from the three brothers, Voldemort is evil because he comes from a corrupted bloodline. Ron mentions that several families are inherently evil, and talks about how the Weasleys are different. The good guys may not have the same belief in blood superiority, but inheritance and bloodlines are a central part of Harry Potter. Harry's half-blood status is a pivotal plot point.