Delurking in defense of Ron

[zsenya at yahoo.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 7371

AIGHGHHGH!
I have been receiving HP for Grownups in digest form for weeks now (I 
posted a bit in the beginning) but have to come out of lurkdom to 
defend Ron, I just have to.  

I think Ron is a wonderful character in that he is very *normal.* 
People talk about getting funny feelings about Ron, that there is 
something unsettling about him - perhaps there is something unsettling 
about every 14 year old boy?  To me, there is something much more 
freaky about Harry.  I mean, he's so polite and nice but he's been 
brought up in such an awful home and his worst trait seems to be a 
slight disregard for rules and a tendency to sulk a bit.

People who don't like Ron seem to think that he complains about things 
that he shouldn't complain about (like his wonderful family, for 
example), but I find those complaints make him more human. I have a 
wonderful family life and at 14 I really wished I didn't so that I 
could fit in better with my punk rock friends.

Another writer described Ron as "pale" and "relatively nondescript" I 
am gripping my computer tightly and gasping.  Are we reading the same 
books?  I wonder if myself and a friend of mine who have been writing 
Ron/Hermione fanfics have just projected a bunch of characteristics 
onto him that don't really have any basis in the books.  Who is Ron 
really, as JK Rowling writes him? True, we can't know his inner 
thoughts, because the stories are not from his POV, but he is a very 
vocal character. I think there is little doubt as to how Ron is 
feeling most of the time. I'm sure you guys have been through these 
points before, but, I mean, look at the way he sacrificed himself on 
the chess board, look at how he went down into the Chamber of Secrets
to find his sister, look at how he stood up to Harry in front of 
Sirius Black. True, GoF dealt with situations in which Ron could not 
really play a heroic part, but if he had been able to help, he would 
have. And he will. I am sure of it. And if he betrays Harry in any 
way, well, then, my heart will be broken, and I will just have to 
write my own Harry Potter books and forget about JK Rowling. So There. 

Also, re: a few of the other threads, (as I said before, I am a big 
Ron/Hermione shipper) wasn't it Anne Shirley herself who said 
something to the effect that she wanted the man she fell in love with 
to be a little bit wicked. Truth be told, if you look at all the Anne
books, Gilbert is a bit boring by the end there (don't get me wrong, 
he's still great, and has his moments, but he is very sort of, well, 
just there, being honorable and good, isn't he?)  To me, Ron is lovely 
and wicked.  Harry isn't perfect, but he's likely to suffer from all 
sorts of depression and intimacy issues as he grows up due to his 
upbringing.

Oh! And I was a big fan of Edmund in Lion, the Witch, and the 
Wardrobe.  Maybe there's something wrong with me but I couldn't help 
it.  He was so misunderstood - but he came around didn't he - he got 
to be a king with his siblings.  And actually, it is Susan who turns 
out to be the black sheep if you get to the end of the series.  I 
never did like her.

Re: the kiss - I don't think it meant anything.  If ANYTHING, it 
proves that Hermione likes Ron (hehe) - if you like someone you are 
probably completely afraid to have any physical contact with them at 
all, whereas if you just consider someone a friend, a little peck on 
the cheek is a nice gesture of friendship.    Poor girl probably 
trembles with emotion every time Ron is near - he's so tall and 
red-headed.

Okay, well, I hope nobody's upset (and I hope you recognize that I'm 
being good-natured - it's hard to come across in email)- I just felt I 
had to speak up in defense of Ron.  Poor guy!  My friend and I are 
actually working on a project now, which we plan to "debut" after New 
Year's which is a website devoted to fanfiction writing and our dear 
friend Ron.  I will post an official announcement when it is all done.

Happy Holidays everyone!