Talk:Dark Force Defence League

In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (ch. 31; p. 612, US hardback edition), in Daily Prophet article Harry Potter: "Disturbed and Dangerous" by Rita Skeeter, an unnamed member of the Dark Force Defence League is cited as claiming that Parseltongue is a Dark Art and making some rather nasty and unsubstantiated statements about both Parselmouths and snakes. Says the anonymous source: "serpents are often used in the worst kinds of Dark Magic, and are historically associated with evildoers." ("Historically" probably should be replaced with something to the effect of "in folk tales.")

Considering that it's an inherited gift, I don't see how Parseltongue could possibly be viewed as an "art" of any sort, Dark or otherwise, nor how being a Parselmouth could reflect on a person's character. I think that, combined with the (admittedly, unconfirmed) association of Gilderoy Lockheart with the DADL, this should probably call into doubt the group's credibility. It sounds like an overzealous organization that has been given an innocuous-sounding name to make it appear that it's perfectly innocuous or even "one of the good guys" when in reality, it is rather bigoted and extremist. This seems like the sort of group that would have approved of some of the Ministry's more outrageous tactics, such as using the Daily Prophet to dispense propaganda, publically slandering Harry without giving him a chance to defend himself, and imprisoning accused Death Eaters without a trial. 174.111.242.35 19:47, October 29, 2010 (UTC)

174.111.242.35 20:08, October 29, 2010 (UTC)