The hate poll...why?

[uilnslcoap]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at y..., "saintbacchus" <saintbacchus at y...> wrote:
> I made the "Who do you hate most?" poll because I
> noticed a lot of animosity towards Cornelius Fudge and
> that got me wondering if people hated him more than
> Voldemort. The discussion of Voldemort seems to be
> less emotional, somehow. So far, the poll seems to be
> bearing out my observation, so what I want to know is,
> why? Why do Fudge and the Dursleys inspire so much
> anger compared to Voldemort the genocidal maniac? I'm
> not suggesting that one answer is right or wrong, just
> that it strikes me as an odd result.
> 
> Maybe Joel Robinson is right, and "hell works best
> when it's more subtle?"

You know what I think part of it is?  I think that it's possible 
people don't like the Dursleys and Fudge (I voted for old Cornelius 
myself) because their faults and weaknesses are within the normal 
range of human understanding (prejudice, cowardice, etc.).  Homicidal 
mania and megalomania is beyond our understanding.  Eddie Izzard, in 
one of his stand-ups said, "You kill one person, they put you in 
prison.  You kill 10 people, they take you to Texas, they hit you 
with a brick, that's what they do (I'm actually from Texas and this 
doesn't strike me as fair, but to continue with Mr. Izzard).  You 
kill 20 people, they put you in a hospital and stare at you through a 
little window forever.  And above that, we can't deal with it."  Mass 
murder is simply beyond our comprehension, I think.  We don't have 
the kind of hatred for it that we do these more immediate matters 
because we've (almost all of us, I hope) never encountered it.  It 
leaves us cold because there's no life experience to match it up 
with.  Whereas I can imagine a person denying the obvious truth to 
keep life seeming easy or holding a prejudice against those who are 
different, I cannot imagine a person who would seriously say, "Kill 
the spare."  Not really, anyway.

On the darker side, perhaps it's because I can actually sympathize 
with people like Fudge.  I don't think I would react as he does when 
he is told Voldemort is back, I hope I wouldn't, but I can imagine 
it.  I simply cannot imagine being Voldemort, on the other hand.  To 
not possess any moral compass, but to think of power and self-
preservation as the only guides is an utterly foreign concept.  Thus 
I react badly to Fudge because I see where he's coming from, and 
dislike him making the utterly human choice that I can imagine myself 
making.

One other thing about Fudge: it is people like him that allow 
Voldemort to flourish.  If he would wake up, Voldemort would not be 
as huge a problem as he's going to be soon.  Fudge's non-action (the 
cause) is leading to giving Voldemort an easier time (the effect).  
If we attack the disease of Fudge's denial, we reduce the symptom of 
Voldemort's rampage.  Therefore, I hate Fudge more because he holds 
the power to help stop Voldemort and does not use it.  I hate the 
cause more than the effect.  This point is less universal than the 
above ones, however, and I think is a personal matter, though others 
might share this viewpoint.

Also, Voldemort is not really making a point of denying what he is or 
what he is doing.  Fudge and the Dursleys are hiding behind money and 
respectability to a degree.  It seems more cowardly to me, and 
cowardice is high on my list of things to disrespect.  I respect 
action and forthrightness over inaction and deception (not that 
Voldemort doesn't deceive, but that's a different sort of deception 
than the one I'm talking about), and even can respect Voldy's actions 
(to the slightest, most minuscule degree) over Fudge's inactions 
insofar as taking any action is better than taking no action in my 
book.  Naturally, however, I'd rather see Voldemort eliminated than 
Fudge, and certainly, I don't want to convey the idea that I respect 
Voldemort's PRINCIPLES, but I do respect his ability to get things 
done.  I'm sure Dumbledore in some small way does as well.  Isn't it 
almost a cardinal rule to respect that which your enemy does well so 
that you aren't caught off-guard?  On these grounds, I also dislike 
Fudge more than Voldemort, but again, this is more personal and less 
universal.

Mostly, though, I think it comes down to being able to grasp the 
evils that the character you hate is cursed with.  Those with a more 
universal grasp, of course, will hate Voldemort for all the trouble 
and misery he brings.  I (and at least some others, it seems) take a 
different tack and see the more immediate, human evils as worthy of 
hate (though probably only because I can understand these evils and 
am blind to what being in a Voldemort reign of terror would actually 
be like).

Devin