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

[Shaun Hately]

No: HPFGUIDX 87145

On 15 Dec 2003 at 13:50, Derek Hiemforth wrote:

> This is ridiculous.  No one would stand for this, IMO.  The violin
> itself breaks no school rules, isn't the school's property, isn't
> being used to disrupt classes, etc.  This isn't normal school
> discipline, this is outright thievery.
> 
> And this is perfectly analogous to what Umbridge does to Harry, IMO.

I take your point, Derek - but as somebody who was at a British 
style boarding school in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, I can 
tell you that if at my school, the situation you described had 
happened, we *WOULD* have stood for it.

We wouldn't really have realised we had a choice.

In such a case, it's quite likely we would have approached the 
teacher and tried to explain the situation to them and explain we 
thought it was unfair. We might even have gone over the teachers 
head (if there was anybody more senior available) and made a formal 
protest.

But in the end, if the teacher stood firm, we'd have pretty much 
accepted it. Even if we thought it was unfair.

Now not all schools are like that, and not all students are 
compliant like that - but I think a lot of people might not grasp 
what some schools are like in that regard. There are a lot of 
schools - particularly traditional boarding schools - where the 
students view the rules as ironclad and almost as forces of nature 
- that doesn't mean they always obey them - but the idea of 
actually *questioning* them may seem very very alien.

And I can certainly see that applying at Hogwarts - mostly because 
the students who are there currently have very limited experience 
of dealing with capricious authority - they are used to Dumbledore 
being in charge, and the vast majority of teachers (exception 
Snape) being fair and reasonable. That's the type of environment 
when the rules start to seem very natural, and very solid things 
that you don't really question.

I was allergic to the material my school trousers were made of. 
Every winter I suffered *incredible* amounts of discomfort, and 
broke out in rashes because of that material. But I wore those 
trousers for two and a half years, never ever considering for a 
moment that if I told someone about the problem, something might be 
done about it. I knew the school rules were that we wore that 
brand, and that brand alone - and it honestly never even occurred 
to me that there might be an exception made.

Things like that aren't that uncommon.



Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought
Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html
(ISTJ)       | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 
"You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one
thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the 
facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be 
uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that 
need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil
Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia