[HPforGrownups] HP and the democratic equilibrium(Re: Umbridge, brooms and DEs)

[Laura Ingalls Huntley]

No: HPFGUIDX 87144

> Laura
>> Wait.  By that reasoning, you could say the same thing about 
>> *anything*
>> a student brings to school, right down to their *clothing*!
>
> K
>
> Not if you read the whole argument I made. My point was that being 
> allowed
> to have a broom at school (and similarly an instrument) as opposed to 
> haing
> to use the school version is a privilege - and pricileges can be 
> withdrawn
> at any time *especially* as a punishment. Being allowed to have a 
> broom at
> school is to me similar to being allowed to go to Hogsmeade or being 
> allowed
> to play in the quidditch team and as such not a right but rather a 
> privilege
> granted by the school and subject to being withdrawn by the school if 
> they
> feel like it. Now I'm not saying that the punishment was fair or in
> proportion to the 'crime' - just that it was within the rights of the 
> school
> staff.

You know, I resent the implication that I didn't read your entire post. 
  ^_~  Actually, I suppose I was thrown off by the violin analogy 
(which, as I discussed in my last post, isn't really the same situation 
anyway) in which having the violin definitely wasn't a privilege 
conferred by the school.

Although, *is* setting a punishment that is far too severe for the 
crime really within the rights of the school (I'm talking about banning 
Harry "forever", not just the confiscation of his broom)?  I suppose 
this is a hard question to answer, esp. as schools in the US (where I'm 
from) and the UK differ so greatly, and Hogwarts may not even follow 
the form of a UK school down to the legal details anyway.

I suspect that in a strictly legal sense, Umbridge was well within her 
rights as an educator in the Wizarding World.  However, I think if she 
had tried to do something so unjust to say -- Draco, for instance, 
Lucius could have gotten the punishment revoked rather easily (and not 
just because Lucius could probably get the most reasonable, fair 
punishment revoked if he liked).

I agree with Shaun, however, that it is unlikely -- given the social 
relationship between Hogwarts students and professors -- that any of 
this would occurred to Harry.

Laura