Voldemort and cross cultural stuff

[Catherine Keegan]

No: HPFGUIDX 29235

At 04:50 PM 11/14/01 +1100, Tabouli wrote:
>   Has V now lost all the power he was collecting and must he now kill off 
> a lot of powerful wizards again to regain it??  Phew.  Though that would 
> explain his weak performance against Harry so far.

Another view is that V was busy killing all the acknowledged powerful 
wizards to prove himself and gain followers.  Plus, it got rid of anyone 
who could have stood up to him later.  Did anyone else get the impression 
that the whole wizarding community was just in shock that anyone would 
actually kill someone else?  Following a proven winner is far more 
attractive than jumping in at the beginning and hoping the guy proves out 
in the end.  In GoF V is portrayed as very, very weak in the beginning and 
(I thought) still kinda puny at the end but about to begin his rise to 
power.  V is also suffering from a huge amount of vanitas.  Too certain of 
himself when he began his duel and also performing for the sake of his 
followers.

>what I call the "generalisation police"

Can I pass on that title?

>People from the US tend to be more upfront about their achievements 
>because of their more achievement-oriented society - in Australia, this 
>gets interpreted as pushy and arrogant, because of their society's general 
>intolerance of  high achievers widespread enough to have a name - the Tall 
>Poppy Syndrome.

I know this is dangerously off topic at this time but thanks for the 
syndrome name.  Thanks for the insights into your culture.  I've worked 
with a bunch of Aussies over the years and your generalizations (ducks 
quickly) work for me.  Wish I could have turned to you for insights into 
them and your other cultural thoughts back when I was in the cube farm.

Catherine in California