[HPforGrownups] Dumbledore and Sytherin's Bad Rap

[TaliaDawn3 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 41903

In a message dated 7/30/02 8:26:13 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
voicelessblue at yahoo.com writes:


> Hi everyone, I'm Wendy, and I'm new.  Anyway, I thought I'd start off 
> with something that's been irritating me since I've read the HP 
> series.  One of which is Dumbledore.  The other is Slytherin's Bad 
> Rap.    
> 
> I realize Dumbledore is a good guy, but I don't think he realizes how 
> much he effects the "Slytherin situation", meaning the way 
> Slytherin's are treated within the school.  First of all, he 
> completely alienated the Slytherin's in PS/SS, and it was painfully 
> obviously that he favored the Gyffindors.  The trio not only didn't 
> get punished for breaking rules...they actually got rewarded!  Some 
> people may aruge that Snape does the same thing, but you can't 
> compare Snape's personal power to Dumbledore's.  That last scene in 
> PS/SS was horrible...when Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gyffindor all 
> stand up and cheer not so much because Gyffindor won, but because 
> Slytherin LOST.  It was awful, and I was horrifed that Dumbledore 
> perpetuated it.  I mean he gave exactly enough points to beat 
> Slytherin.  I somehow doubt it was just a coincidence.  
> 
> The rest of the school seems to hate the Slytherins, and I don't 
> think it's completely justified.  The main reason why they hate them 
> is because of the fact that their in Slytherin.  That's just not 
> fair.  I think there's a scene where Fred and George actually HISS at 
> a first year who just got sorted into Slytherin!  They didn't know 
> anything about the little kid except for the fact he was in 
> Slytherin.  Growing up in this sort of environment, how can a person 
> NOT think that if Dumbledore can't protect them from this prejudice, 
> then maybe Voldemort could?  I'm not making any excuses for them, 
> because their ambition probably plays a large factor in their 
> decision as well...but still.  Can you imagine because loathed your 
> entire school career because you happen to be ambitious?  Being 
> sorted into Slytherin could still mean a person could be loyal, or 
> brave, or intelligent.  If a Gryffindor can be intelligent, or a 
> Hufflebuff brave, who's to say a Slytherin can't be loyal?  
> 
> Okay, maybe I just feel this way because I'm skeptical of Gyffindors 
> and their self-righteousness.  Gryffindors always say that 
> Slytherin's are prejudiced, yet hyporcritically enough, they are 
> prejudiced against Slytherins.  Slytherin often is synonymous to 
> Death Eater for them.  So maybe their families are Death 
> Eaters...does this make them evil by association?  Even if Slytherins 
> aren't necessarily good people...well, why do they have to be?  So 
> they aren't noble and honorable, not everyone is.  This doesn't mean 
> they are basically evil people...and it doesn't mean they should be 
> condemned. 
> 
> I feel bad for Slytherin.  Actually, I also feel bad for Hufflepuff, 
> because they're hard work and loyalty is often overlooked, and 
> they're often written off (you'd think they'd understand how 
> Slytherin feels).  In the first book, Hermione said the best houses 
> were Gyrffindor or Ravenclaw, and I guess most people just assume 
> that as well.  Even though logically each house is supposed to be 
> equal, it's almost as if there's a heirarchy to them before one is 
> sorted: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflefpuff, and then Slytherin.  
> Unless you're related to Slytherin alumni, in which you'd think 
> Slytherin is best.  I don't really understand Hufflepuffs as I do 
> Slytherins, but I still feel sorry for them.  
> 
> 
> Wendy, who is Slytherin Sympathetic

I totally agree with you - on everything.  The fact that Dumbledore always 
rewards the Trio for breaking the rules shows that he has a loyalty to 
Gryffindor.  One would think, in times like these, that Dumbledore would try 
to show the Slytherins that he doesn't *hate* them, which is what I think the 
Slytherins think.  Although I don't think that they think Voldemort will 
*protect* them so much as treat them equally.  I think Dumbledore comtributes 
to the Slytherin/Gryffindor rivalry.  The fact that we are supposed to want 
Gryffindor to win everything makes most of us overlook the prejudice 
Slytherin has to deal with.  I would think, that as Headmaster, Dumbledore 
would be neutral.  But the series has shown us that he is not.  I think the 
Slytherins are mean because they have to be.  They have to defend themselves 
some way.  All the other students (and presumably the teachers) think that 
they're all going to be evil.  They hate them just because they're Slytherin.

~*~*~Talia Dawn~*~*~
(Who was - correction *is* - hated by people just because she was a 
"band/drama fag" and therefore cannot stand it when people hate people just 
for activites they are in!)


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]