Fred and George: The Bullies You Do Know

[cindysphynx]

No: HPFGUIDX 43067

Darrin wrote:

> First, how can you be prejudiced against a single person? Their 
> chilliness, and that's what it is, nothing more, toward Cedric in 
>GoF is sour grapes. Is it perfect behavior? No, but it certainly 
>doesn't make them bullies. 

Well, now.  Are the twins bullies?  I guess we have to define our 
terms a bit.  I'll play it safe.  To me, a bully is someone who 
engages in bullying behavior, including any form of victimizing 
weaker individuals.

So are Fred and George bullies?  Well, I think so.  They play 
practical jokes on people, including weaker individuals like 
Neville.  They stomp on unconscious individuals, IIRC.  They hiss 
newcomers.  They pick on a helpless muggle.  So yeah.  They engage 
in bullying behavior, therefore making them bullies.  Amusing 
bullies at times, granted.  But I don't think one can escape being 
labeled a bully by being charming and witty every now and then.

 
Darrin:

> To compare Fred and George being cold to Cedric in a small group 
>to Draco's actions is unconscionable. 

I beg your pardon?  

"Unconscionable" means "Not restrained by conscience; unscrupulous; 
beyond prudence or reason; excessive."  Surely we can disagree about 
a few scenes in a book series without anyone calling anyone else's 
scruples into question.  

As for me, I can see how reasonable people might differ on this 
point.  There is some similarity between Draco's actions and Fred 
and George's actions, I would say.  The difference in perception is 
likely due to the fact that Harry considers himself an ally of Fred 
and George and a foe of Draco.  

Draco:

> Now tell me that when Draco makes fun of the Weasleys' wealth, it 
>is somehow on par with Fred and George's pranks. Anyone that says 
>so is again, being unconscionable.

Again, I am not sure I agree with you, and I hope this doesn't 
reflect poorly on my own conscience or morality.  ;-)

Anyway, I do see some parallels between Draco's conduct in 
belittling the Weasleys for their poverty and Fred and George's 
pranks.  Take the Canary Cream business, where the twins 
deliberately steered a younger, less powerful student toward their 
joke.  Take the Ton-Tongue Toffee, where the twins deliberately 
victimized Dudley for being hungry, overweight, and not magical.  I 
certainly think reasonable minds can differ on this point as well, 
but I have to wonder whether the conduct of the twins is every bit 
as hurtful to those on the receiving end as Draco's taunts about the 
Weasleys' poverty.

 
Darrin:

> 3) Draco is racist. I cannot put in any plainer than that. To 
> apologize for Draco is to apologize for a stone-cold racist. 
> Therefore, to credibly compare anyone to Draco is to necessarily 
> prove that person or persons is also racist. Fred and George are 
>not. They do not tinge their humor at anyone group in particular.

Hmmm.  Draco is a racist, but he is many other things as well.  For 
instance, he is an elitist.  So it seems quite logical to reach the 
question of whether Draco's elitism is similar to the elitism Fred 
and George display in victimizing someone like Dudley.  

Whether Draco is a racist is the beginning of the analysis of his 
character and the extent to which he can be compared or contrasted 
with other characters, IMHO, not the end of the analysis.

But again, we certainly should be able to disagree on this point and 
even be willing to hear the ideas of others without our tone 
becoming overly strident, I would hope.

Darrin:
 
> 4) Fred and George have never behaved with any kind of superiority 
> complex, as Draco does. If anything, they are compensating for 
> inferiority complexes, considering they have Percy, Bill and 
>Charlie to live up to. <snip>  Thus endeth THAT argument.

Well, let's not spike the ball quite so quickly, as I don't see the 
referee signaling a touchdown just yet.  I mean, you know what 
happens to players who spike prematurely, don't you?  They call it a 
*fumble.*  ;-)

See, I think the twins have a superiority complex when it comes to 
Muggle relations.  Maybe there are good reasons for this, but I 
sense it nonetheless.  So is there some reason why the twins 
superiority complex vis a vis muggles is different from some of the 
elitism Draco has displayed?

Darrin:
 
> My image of Fred and George is that nothing would have given them 
> greater pleasure than if Quirrell had fired a snowball right back 
>at them, maybe even with a little harmless magic oomph. 
> 
> When Draco gets his comeuppance from a teacher, his first instinct 
>is to run to Daddy. A bully is a coward deep down.
> 
> F&G aren't cowards.

Yes, but what have F&G ever had to run *from?*  They get away with 
*everything.*  Hey, who is to say that there isn't some bias in 
favor of Fred and George and against Draco?  Fred and George sneak 
all over the school, and nothing happens.  Draco is out of bounds in 
PS/SS, and he is immediately trekked off to the Forbidden Forest, 
where he meets up with the Dark Lord in Vapor Form.  Maybe Draco has 
a *point* about disparate treatment after all.  ;-)

Cindy -- who is wondering how on earth she wound up *defending* 
Draco, and who is wondering whether her efforts to play Devil's 
Advocate have led to a a proliferation of snowballs in Hades right 
about now