88 Differences part 2

The Magical Congress of the United States (MACUSA) is no less obnoxious to the lives of its citizen-clients than its UK equivalent, and each community has it clear issues. America, it seems, is as tumultuous in its wizard-No-Maj relations and its religious fanatics as British wizardry is in its blood purity issues.

From the English viewpoint, America is an assuredly violent place. Along with the fetish for guns and the culture of mass shootings is its long, horrific history of mistreating its native Americans. It dispossessed them and forced the survivors onto reservations in the infertile West, where most continue to live at a subsistence level, struggling to hold onto their dignity and way of life.

Take, for example, the cautionary tale of one community that struggled to exist in the midst of America's majority society: the Cherokee Nation, and the fate that befell it.

The Cherokee Nation early adopted "white" ways to earn the respect of its neighbours in the state of Georgia. It soon had its own language in print, its own newspaper and a capital, New Echota. Its citizens lived in proper houses and farmed like white people. The Supreme Court of the US even recognized its right to exist.

Yet white Georgians, envying the prosperity of their Indian "inferiors," began entering the Cherokee Nation at will, forcing families from their homes at gunpoint, and taking their lands and possessions.

In their minds, the Indians were sub-human, therefore lacked either rights or the protection of the law.

The American president at the time, Andrew Jackson, defied the Supreme Court and used the US Army - a virtual gang of thugs with a flag to provide the appearance of legitimacy - to force the Cherokee onto a long journey on foot to a barren reservation in Oklahoma.

Thousands died on this dolorous march, which is remembered as the "Trail of Tears."

A similar cautionary tale is the fact that it took a Civil War, with hundreds of thousands dead, to force the southern United States to give up the institution of slavery. Even after the South was defeated on the battlefield, black folk continued to be terrorised by mob violence, subjected to legal apartheid by "Jim Crow" laws that created a system of separate schools, bathrooms and water fountains, a requirement to sit in the back of buses, in separate parts of restaurants if they were allowed in at all, and so on.

The open discrimination continued until the Civil Rights movement of the 1960′s and to some extent continues even when I was alive in my past life.

While the American wizarding community would not have been ethnically distinct, it would have offended another powerful force in American society: evangelical Christianity.

Unlike England, America has a large population of religious fundamentalists. The vast majority of these folk are peaceful, of course; yet in this brand of faith, witchcraft is equated with "Satan worship," and is stigmatised as a threat to Christian society.

Thus, in order to protect themselves, American wizards take their own hard-line against relationships with the No-Maj, relationships that could expose and thus endanger the very existence of their own wizarding world. They are keenly aware of what Americans have historically done to minorities that refuse to be assimilated, and to perceived threats to the "Christian way of life."

This led to the implementation of and strictly regulated law the inhibited magical people from marrying No-Maj's and giving birth to offspring. This vastly differs from England where there is no such law, and wizards and witches are allowed to marry muggles even though some selective families of purist tendencies find it appalling and unbecoming.

All I could say was that each country had its issues. And that it's difficult to know just how I'll be treated since I'm still under the façade of a muggle-born wizard. Either I'll be subjected to intense scorn and distrust, or I'll be ignored and have little interaction with others. It is all up in the air. But if I had to pick one, it would take the latter in an instant. Naturally, I could be generalising this a bit, since even here in England there are families and wizards who like muggles and their magical children, case and point the Weasleys.

There was also the chance that everything could turn out differently. When I get to Ilvermorny the teachers would have already been informed of my attendance and background. Therefore, they might be understanding of my differing values. Naturally, the opposite could happen and would most definitely happen. That a teacher or two would fail to restrain their radical ideologies and try to apply them on me.

many things will be shown to me in the coming weeks and months. It will be fascinating to see how they will act.

The next few days went by quickly. I reminded Hermione to take the potion via letter and wrote about some other random trivial things. I soon got a letter back from her wishing me good luck and a safe return. I closed the letter and left it on my desk before walking out of my room. I needed to head to Diagon alley since there was something I needed to buy.

Mainly just an item with bigger expansion space. I didn't want to have to carry around a trunk everywhere. Having a small item like a bracelet would be better. I had ordered one tailor-made to my specification as soon as I woke up the day after my return.

I was now going over there to pick it up. I asked for a bracelet since carrying anything like a bag seemed like a chore. So, a bracelet seemed fitting. Plus, it was easier to keep track of compared to a bag or trunk and less conspicuous to carry as well.