Ron: prejudices, meanness

[zsenya at sugarquill.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 16450

In response to Heidi's response to my email:

Well - I was sort of trying to make a point that Ron's statements on 
giants and werewolves were no different than someone making a broad 
statement about any group of people.  We can get into the finer 
points by pulling up definitions of words and picking things apart, 
but since I only put about 5 minutes of thought into my original 
response, and originally meant the first part to appear in a joking 
tone of voice, so I don't see any reason to spend an hour tearing it 
apart with definitions.  

I know that this is going off-topic, and I've already explained once 
(check the archives, I've no idea what message number it is - it was 
a few months ago), but I want to make it perfectly clear to anyone 
who might visit sugarquill.com that Arabella and I started it a) for 
fun and b)for convenience, and c) to start a service for writers.  
The "Purpose of Existence" was a bit of fun that we composed one 
evening and yes, we are up front about what we think in terms of the 
Harry Potter books.  

> Zsenya, you yourself are listed as a "headmistress" on the 
Sugarquill 
> site, so it would be a bit disingenuous to now state that things 
> which are specifically listed as "purpose[s]" on the Sugarquill 
Site 
> are, if mentioned by someone who is not part of your "staff", 
> prejudiced comments. 

I'm not saying that at all.  I was, in my original email, simply 
pointing out that for some reason, SugarQuill seems particularly, and 
rather passive-aggressively targeted and joked about here.  I'd like 
to keep it friendly.  
 
[snip]

> And why is being a "Sugarquill type" a bad thing. You sound oh so 
> defensive in your post, as if Penny's use of that phrase was a 
> negative thing. 

I don't mind telling you that I'm a bit upset and angry about the 
entire tone of your reply, although I'm actually quite flattered that 
there is now terminology referring to a "SugarQuill Type" .  I'm also 
sorry that my original post prompted such a reply, and once again, I 
apologize if my original post was considered to be out of line. A big 
deal is being made about something that I consider very minor.  I 
know that I DO sound defensive now, because in my eyes, I have just 
been attacked.    The SQ affirmations are all in good fun and that 
they are in no way meant to discourage discussion.  For example, I 
have very strong feelings against Draco Malfoy and don't find any 
redeeming qualities in the character as he exists in the canon, but 
that doesn't stop us from posting stories where Draco turns out to be 
cool, nor does it stop Draco fans from posting on our site.  

> And not eveyone is so paranoid as to see prejudices where none 
exist.

Which is EXACTLY the point I was kind of trying to make, which is 
that (to bring this whole discussion back to Ron) one of the 
arguments against Ron in recent threads is that he is somehow racist 
or prejudiced as a person because he has preconceived notions about 
giants, werewolves and house-elves.  I was trying to make the point 
that I think Ron's initial reactions are perfectly normal.  If you 
see a guy with a sleeping bag wrapped around himself in front of the 
homeless shelter, you assume he is homeless - but you don't assume 
he's a terrible person.  If you hear that someone is a werewolf, you 
might get scared because it's a known fact that in wolf form they 
turn into terrible creatures that can physically harm and destroy a 
person.  If, a bit later, you realize that the wolf is only dangerous 
in wolf form, and that the human part of him is trustworthy and 
accept that, then, in my eyes, you are not prejudiced, racist, or 
mean-spirited.  If Ron had called someone a "Mudblood" then I might 
feel differently.


Zsenya, who is going to shut up now and retreat back to her Island 
for some Tequila, chased down with Blue Moon beer...