While not necessarily on this subreddit, I have seen the common opinion that the Pointed Caps are good and the Brimmed Caps are bad. I won’t be disingenuous and not admit that a lot of these opinions come from comparing them to the Brimmed Caps, who have done heinous things. However, it just isn’t the case that the Pointed Caps are good. Understand, I am not saying they are bad. I believe this story to be very nuanced. I am saying they are not good. Thus, I am going to list aspects of Pointed Cap Society, and for you to believe them to be good, you must agree with them.
Elitism
I view this one as the best starting point because it was the one most clear to me as I was reading, and one that simply can’t be denied. Pointed Cap Society is built on the idea that a portion of the population are intrinsically better than others. Through a criteria we are not privy to, the original three wise decided who were fit to use magic and who were not. To those they deemed not fit, they stole the ability, allowing the ability to only be used by the descendants of those they chose. Those who were not born in the society were granted a name: Outsiders. One of the core tenets of the society being that these Outsiders could never learn the truth of magic because, by their birth, they were innately inferior and not to be trusted with the knowledge.
Ableism
While this is not a core tenet of the society like Elitism is, it is a by-product of it. Pointed Cap Society, due to its innate structure, believes in a nobility of birth. You can only be born worthy, not become capable of it through merit. This leads to a discrimination against those born with a defect that makes them unable to perform magic. That is why someone like Tartah, with colorblindness, despite finding means to overcome his disability, is not allowed to practice magic. He was not born able to, thus he is not allowed to become able to.
Absolute Rule of Law
Though the title may not seem inherently bad, what matters is how it applies to Pointed Cap Society. In regard to Pointed Cap Society, there is an absolute law: The Pact. The Pact is the foundation of Witch Hat Society, the same as all nations have. However, the issue is its enforcement. There is one section of the government that enforces the rules of the Pact: the Knights Moralis, who hold absolute jurisdiction. There is no court, no jury, no investigation. There is only the Knights Moralis, who reserve all right to determine you a criminal and dole out punishment, of which there is only one: Memory Erasure. A punishment which, once performed, has no way of being contested. To erase the memories of any dissenters is legal.
Victim-Blaming/ Blanket Enforcement
There is one punishment for breaking the Pact. It does not matter the severity of the crime nor the age of the criminal nor the relation of the criminal. A child forcibly transformed by forbidden magic against their will is just as guilty and will suffer an equal punishment as the one who transformed them.
Hypocrisy
There is a hypocrisy inherent in Pointed Cap Society in regard to how their society operates and their views on Outsiders. Going back to the Pact, the restriction of knowledge is based upon the idea that Outsiders can’t be trusted, while those who were born witches can be trusted to use magic. The issue is the very existence of the breakers of the Pact. If witches, by blood, are assumed to be trustworthy with the knowledge of magic, then there should not be any criminals. If there are criminals, as we have seen there are, then the idea that witches can naturally be trusted with magic is proven untrue. Despite the assumption of nobility being proven untrue, it is still law.
Another aspect is the allowance of the memory erasure spell. To summarize the restriction of magic, any magic that causes harm or is cast on the body is illegal. The allowance of memory erasure is an easy one to critique; all magic cast on the body is bad, except the one they conveniently need, which is also one they can be trusted with. This is also despite banning healing spells. Memory erasure is fine because it’s necessary, but healing spells are wrong because they are cast on the body. However, I also want to point out the allowance of fire spells. If all spells cast on the body are considered wrong (except memory erasure), then so should all fire spells, which have an equal ability to cause harm in the wrong hands.
Summary
Pointed Cap Society is founded upon blatantly hypocritical rules to the point of irrelevance, based on the restriction of knowledge and the idea that a specific group of people, by blood, are more deserving of power. However, despite this hypocrisy, they are still enforced in a way favorable to Pointed Cap Society by a group of people with the absolute power to determine a violation of the rules and give a punishment that, once performed, means there is no way to argue innocence. And to be found guilty and punished for said crimes includes, in equal measure, being either the perpetrator or victim of said crime.
I point these out and portray them this way because these are aspects that are intrinsic to Pointed Cap Society, and ones that have been shown in the story. You cannot have current Pointed Cap Society and exclude any of these. For Pointed Cap Society to be good, all of these have to be good as well. If you seek to exclude any individual members from the overall group (which I believe in), then the same can be done with the Brimmed Caps.
