Magic in North America

[Jorlem]

Starting tomorrow, every day this week Pottermore will be posting a new story about magic in North America. 
I'm hyped.
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.

[Bob Schroeck]

Damn. You beat me to it.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Jorlem]

And, it's up.
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.

[Jorlem]

So, here's an interesting thing from today's entry in the series:

Rappaport’s Law further entrenched the major cultural difference between the American wizarding community and that of Europe. In the Old World, there had always been a degree of covert cooperation and communication between No-Maj governments and their magical counterparts. In America, MACUSA acted totally independently of the No-Maj government. In Europe, witches and wizards married and were friends with No-Majs; in America, No-Majs were increasingly regarded as the enemy. In short, Rappaport’s Law drove the American wizarding community, already dealing with an unusually suspicious No-Maj population, still deeper underground.

-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.

[Hazard]

Interesting and quite opposed to the general assumptions of wizarding America in the fanon, if entirely understandable.

Also, if you thought European wizards were a racist, crazy bunch...

[Bob Schroeck]

...why do I get the feeling that Rowling is writing at least some of this to spite the fanon?
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Jorlem]

I'm betting that this is to help establish the background for antagonists in the upcoming movie. Likely there'll be someone linked to the Scourers, and someone from MAGUSA who is angry at Newt Scamander for violating or nearly violating Rappaport's Law. Spiting the fanon is just a pleasant bonus, I'm sure.
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.

[nemonowan]

You can already see some weaknesses in the writing.
I mean, claiming the MACUSA was formed in 1693 , decades before the term "USA" was coined? At best it is a monumental oversimplification, at worst JKR has no idea about history.
And I wonder if she is going to address the issues that this drastic segregation imply for the handling of the NoMaj-born children that will keep being born.

[Bob Schroeck]

...How many people go missing every year and are never found? In the real world even?

As for oversimplification/no idea about history, it may well be the latter. Her first installment has raised some ire among Native American groups for misappropriating and distorting their beliefs and folklore.
Edit:  That would be an interesting basis for a fanfic... how many North American "runaways" and "child trafficking victims" have actually been dragged into the Magical World and not let back out?  If a sufficiently open-minded police officer -- ot team uncovered things...
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[DHBirr]

Jorlem wrote:

---

So, here's an interesting thing from today's entry in the series:

Rappaport’s Law further entrenched the major cultural difference between the American wizarding community and that of Europe. In the Old World, there had always been a degree of covert cooperation and communication between No-Maj governments and their magical counterparts. In America, MACUSA acted totally independently of the No-Maj government. In Europe, witches and wizards married and were friends with No-Majs; in America, No-Majs were increasingly regarded as the enemy. In short, Rappaport’s Law drove the American wizarding community, already dealing with an unusually suspicious No-Maj population, still deeper underground.

Oh, joy.  Can you say "self-fulfilling prophecy," boys and girls?  If they consistently regard the rest of the U.S. population, including the legitimate majority government, as the enemy, they're just begging to be rounded up into camps as hostile aliens, and with rather more justification than in WWII....  (How much damage could one pro-Imperial-Japan Nisei do with a gun or some IEDs?  Now, how much damage could one wizard do, if his spells aren't at first even recognized as attacks?  Ouch.)
By the way, on the subject of "no idea about history," one news article several years ago claimed that a fair number of Britishers interviewed on a city street had no idea against whom the American Revolution had been fought....  Gross historical ignorance:  it's not just here in the U.S.  
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Big Brother is watching you.  And damn, you are so bloody BORING.

[robkelk]

Edit:  That would be an interesting basis for a fanfic... how many North American "runaways" and "child trafficking victims" have actually been dragged into the Magical World and not let back out?  If a sufficiently open-minded police officer -- ot team uncovered things...

A team made up of Delandra, Lisa, Sana, Peggy, Skuld, Rei, and Makoto? Hmmmmm...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Jorlem]

And here's a rather interesting excerpt from today's Magic in NA entry:

Legislation introduced at the end of the nineteenth century meant that every member of the magical community in America was required to carry a ‘wand permit’, a measure that was intended to keep tabs on all magical activity and identify the perpetrators by their wands.

We also have confirmation that wizards fought on both sides of the Great War, canceling each other out, more or less, a bunch of new magical creatures including the Thunderbird (it is related to the Phoenix), and "The Great Sasquatch Rebellion of 1892".
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.

[Bob Schroeck]

robkelk wrote:

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Bob Schroeck wrote:

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Edit:  That would be an interesting basis for a fanfic... how many North American "runaways" and "child trafficking victims" have actually been dragged into the Magical World and not let back out?  If a sufficiently open-minded police officer -- ot team uncovered things...

A team made up of Delandra, Lisa, Sana, Peggy, Skuld, Rei, and Makoto? Hmmmmm...

While I would love to see it, you have a submarine and a space station both to attend to first. 
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Bob Schroeck]

Mm. Couple questions come to mind now that it's all done. The Ilvermorny School gets several namechecks... but what about the Salem Witches Institute (I think it was), who had a contingent at the World Cup? Where do they rank? And the Wampus cat, eh? Any relation to the Wumpus?
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Jorlem]

Bob Schroeck wrote:

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Mm. Couple questions come to mind now that it's all done. The Ilvermorny School gets several namechecks... but what about the Salem Witches Institute (I think it was), who had a contingent at the World Cup? Where do they rank? And the Wampus cat, eh? Any relation to the Wumpus?

They're not a school, they're a play on Women's Institutes.  Source.
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.

[Bob Schroeck]

Ah. Thanks.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Labster]

We also have confirmation that wizards fought on both sides of the Great
War, canceling each other out, more or less, a bunch of new magical

creatures including the Thunderbird (it is related to the Phoenix), and

"The Great Sasquatch Rebellion of 1892".

This fact is memorized by young wizards today with the mnemonic rhyme, "In 1892, Sasquatch drank the witches' brew."
-- ∇×V

[Jorlem]

vorticity wrote:

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We also have confirmation that wizards fought on both sides of the Great
War, canceling each other out, more or less, a bunch of new magical

creatures including the Thunderbird (it is related to the Phoenix), and

"The Great Sasquatch Rebellion of 1892".

This fact is memorized by young wizards today with the mnemonic rhyme, "In 1892, Sasquatch drank the witches' brew."

One of the many interesting bits of lore recorded in Big Foot’s Last Stand, by Ortiz O’Flaherty.
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.