Fred and George: The Bullies You Do Know

[darrin_burnett]

No: HPFGUIDX 43068

Penny said:

> 
> Darrin said:
> 
> <<<<<<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.>>>>>>>
> 
> Er. .... first off, could we have an "IMO" or a qualifier of some 
sort, Darrin?  <g>  There *are* listies who might disagree with your 
assertion that Draco is a racist & nothing more.  



No, because I don't think one is necessary.  What I will do is 
clarify.

Canon clearly shows Draco's racism, in the context of the Wizarding 
world. There is no evidence he feels blacks, for instance, are 
inferior.

But, in the context of Wizard society, he is a open racist. He uses 
the word "mudblood" casually, calmly and with no remorse. Mudblood 
is, given the reactions of those around it, equivalent with the n-
word in the real world.

Draco openly calls for Mudbloods and Muggle-lovers to be killed, 
which if you substitute n-word and n-word-lover, is direct descendant 
of the racist beliefs of the KKK and the old Jim Crow laws.

I never said he was nothing more than a racist. But he is a racist. I 
would be interested to hear from listies who dispute this.


> In any case, it makes no sense logically to say that comparing 
anyone, on any level, to Draco means that you are saying that the 
other person being compared is also a racist.  That makes no sense to 
me.  Logically, this just doesn't work.
> 

No, the question was about what motivates Draco's actions versus what 
motivates Fred and George's pranks. Draco's actions are motivated by 
his racism and his elitism -- he believes he is better than the 
Weasley's because he has more money -- while the Twins' actions are 
not.

My logic is sound. To try and ascribe the same motivations behind the 
Twins' actions, you must first establish that they are doing it 
because they feel their targets are inferior.

I say you can't do that.

> Darrin again:
> 
> <<<<<<<The pranks on Percy and Ginny have been taken to task as 
picking on 
> weaker kids. Hold on, the twins put beetles in Bill's soup and 
> constantly tweak their mother, so older sibling and authority 
figures 
> are fair game as well. Thus endeth THAT argument.>>>>>>>>>>>
> 
> Just because they don't confine their pranks to younger, weaker 
victims doesn't make the pranks being pulled on the younger, weaker 
victims any less detestable or worthy of condemnation.  Again, it's 
an issue of logic.  Noone was saying that they *only* pick on younger 
& weaker kids; Elkins, IIRC, was merely stating that their pranks on 
younger kids were particularly distasteful to her.  I agree.  
> 


NOOOO... the argument was that they only pick on weaker kids. I threw 
Bill out there to establish that this isn't the case. 

Darrin
-- Sometimes right and wrong is just that damn simple