Fred, George, Harry, Ron & Hermione-all bullies?

[serenadust]

No: HPFGUIDX 43159

I've been away for a while and have made myself, in a very anal-
retentive, Percyish way, read every one of the 700+ posts which were 
written in my absence.  It's been surprising to me how durable this 
particular thread has been, and notable how strongly so many people 
feel about this topic.

I must say from the start that I was very impressed by the passion 
of Elkins post (as usual) as well as how well reasoned her arguments 
are.  In fact, when I finished it, I found that even I had come to 
like the twins a little less.  This was dismaying, since I'm very 
fond of Fred and George as I am of all the Weasleys, so I decided 
after reading all the back and forth arguements, to go back to the 
books to see if I've missed some subtle undertones to the twins 
antics.

In considering the ton-tongue toffee incident, I have to admit 
feeling a bit sorry for Dudley. I've always loathed him, of course, 
but in reviewing the canon I notice that he hasn't actually bullied 
Harry since CoS, and even then, he only taunts him for not having 
received birthday greetings from anyone at school.  By GoF, his life 
has definitely taken a drastic turn for the worse.  He seems to have 
left Harry alone for years, has become morbidly obese, and is 
completely miserable as a result of the draconian diet he's had 
forced on him.  So, in light of this, are Fred and George bullies?
No, no more than Sirius Black was in terms of the "prank" played on 
Snape (please, let's not get into that one again), or the trick 
Hermione played on Crabbe & Goyle in CoS.  In each case, the 
weakness of the target (I refuse to call them "victims"; that word 
is used far too promiscuously IMO in this discussion, and it's 
extremely disrespectful to the suffering of true "victims" to do so)
is used against him/them in order to put one over on them.  In real 
life, yes, Dudley could have choked on a 4 foot tongue and Crabbe 
and Goyle could very well have stopped breathing while stuffed in a 
closet under the influence of a very strong potion.  So if you take 
the position that F&G are bullies in this instance, then I guess 
Hermione is one too.

I have seen the term "mean-spirited" used to describe F&G's antics, 
but for the life of me, I don't see it as I understand the term.  Is 
there any indication in canon that anyone is frightened or 
intimidated when they come on the scene?  As far as I can tell, 
everyone is always glad to see them.  They are prime instigators for 
all the late-night parties and absolutely live to create a good time 
for others as well as themselves. In fact, they are making it their 
life's work.  If anyone would be upset by them, it would be Neville, 
who I think we can all agree is prime bully-bait. I mean, the poor 
kid practically has a target drawn on him back, but he seems to be 
as amused by the canary creams as anyone else.  He is not made an 
object of ridicule by this incident, and is actually the first to 
involuntarily demonstrate what apparently becomes a popular pastime 
(temporary canary-hood). 

To be a bully is to be mean-spirited in the true sense of the word.  
Bullies have no real interest in bringing anyone else pleasure, 
unless it's as a by-product of their true goal which is causing 
misery to their *victims*.  There are several prime examples of 
bullies in these books, but Fred and George are by no means among 
them IMO.  To be a bully you must wish to cause harm, pure and 
simple.

As far as the incident on the train goes, people do seem to have a 
problem with the multiple curses thrown at Malfoy and Co. by the 
trio, as well as the twins.  One post (sorry but I can't recall 
whose) suggested that they should have informed an adult instead.  
Really?  Which adult do you think would have been appropriate?  The 
trolley lady, perhaps?  Maybe, telling the boys death-eater fathers 
would improve their behavior?  In truth, all kids (and I still 
consider the 16/17 year old twins to be kids, in spite of the 
insistance of some posters they they are all but adults) know that 
in dealing with *real* bullies (and Malfoy and Co are worse than 
bullies by now, IMO), adults are all but useless.  The standard line 
in school is always to go tell a teacher or administrator when 
someone picks on you, but children who actually try this quickly 
find out that this policy usually makes the situation worse.  One of 
the best things about the Potter books is that JKR so totally gets 
this.  The kids in these stories understand that the solutions to 
their problems lie in themselves and their friends.  What happens to 
Malfoy, C,&G is a prime example of cause and effect, and it's the 
only type of treatment that makes an impression on true bullies.  If 
Fred and George are bullies because they stepped (NOT stomped) on 
the bodies of M,C&G, then Harry, Ron and George are also bullies for 
kicking, rolling and pushing the unconscious boys out into the 
corridor, and Hermione and the boys are bullies for their treatment 
of C&G in CoS.  You can't have it both ways.

Jo Serenadust, Weasley-defender