Harry Not Crying

[toogoodforthisearth]

No: HPFGUIDX 32917

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Eric Oppen" <oppen at c...> wrote:
> It's always been my impression that Harry doesn't cry for several 
different
> reasons.  Having _been_ a teenage boy myself (this admittedly was 
when
> dinosaurs roamed the earth) I can testify that crying is NOT 
socially
> acceptable for boys beyond about age five, unless in extraordinary
> circumstances such as a funeral.  I would bet that if Dinky Duddums 
tried
> that "wail and I'll get what I want" act in front of his peers at 
Smeltings,
> or even in front of Piers Polkiss (ISTR he shuts right up when Piers
> appears, if you'll pardon a bit of wordplay) his reputation with 
them would
> be mud.
> 
> Also, Harry is English---which also would discourage him from 
crying.  The
> English ideal (and any net.Englishmen or net.Englishwomen on here 
are
> welcome to correct me, but this is the impression I got while over 
there) is
> to display very little strong emotion---"that's for those bally 
wogs," and
> so on.  Sorrow and joy are both held in tightly, and anger, if 
shown at all,
> is supposed to come out in savage dry wit---think "Blackadder, 
really p*ssed
> off," or something like that.  The classic example is Lord 
Cardigan's
> scornful comment after the Charge of the Light Brigade about another
> officer, that he "screamed like a woman when he was hit," having 
just ridden
> back from the field over that officer's dead body.
> 
> Finally, Harry probably just retreated behind a wall of apparent
> indifference to survive at the Dursleys' residence.
> 
> Comments?

I know it was meant to be a joke to illustrate a certain type of 
Englishness but I just wanted to point out that the word wog is very 
offensive. I wouldn't want anyone coming to England and getting into 
trouble by using the word.

Helly