Not Really SHIP: Ron and Harry Are Inconsiderate Idiots (Re: Ebony's Essay)

[Eileen]

No: HPFGUIDX 50164

I am crazy to be doing this. Completely and utterly
crazy.

But I read Ebony's essay, and couldn't resist. 

Now, if anyone's interested, the debate on Deathmarch
recently has been scintillating, if at times rather
nasty. From an R/Hr perspective, Angua's series on why
Hermione isn't the right girl for Harry left me with
my jaw dropped. They are much better ship debaters
than I am over there, having memorized different
passages and chapters than me, and I feel no need to
duplicate that discussion. 

You see, I know "The Yule Ball" much less than Ebony,
I'm sure. I love that chapter, but my shipping
rabidity does not extend to reading it closely, except
for that exchange between Snape and Karkaroff. On the
other hand, I can almost rattle off "The Pensieve,"
"Padfoot Returns," "The Madness of Mr. Crouch," and
"Veritaserum." <small grin>

But when I read this, I couldn't help myself: 

Linda McCabe wrote: 
"And females, especially bookish females can feel very
insecure about their own looks.  That conversation
wouldn't endear him to me in the least."

Ebony wrote:
> I couldn't have said it any better myself.  

I'll third that. I wouldn't touch Ron with a ten foot
pole, myself. But then, I wouldn't touch Harry with a
ten foot pole. Neither of them strike me as Prince
Charming. My shipping toast is after all, "Here's to
Harry and Ron, the dates from Hell!" 

But the girls of the Potterverse are of a different
mettle. They are not me. If I were Hermione, I would
not give Ron and Harry a second look as potential
"soulmates." But, I'm not Hermione. And it seems clear
to me that Hermione can stand behaviour from the both
of them that would send me screaming in search of
Neville.

Ebony cites Ron's dismissal of Neville as particularly
sickening. I totally agree. But then, Harry's attitude
towards Neville sickens me much, much more. There are
very few scenes in canon that make me as angry as that
place in PoA where Harry calmly and cooly lies to
ditch Neville, making it very clear to Neville in the
process that Harry considers him worth less than dirt.
Oh that must have sunk in waiting for Harry to return,
counting the minutes, and realizing that he is not
coming. 

Does Harry mean to do this to Neville? No. He's too
excited about going to Hogsmeade to care. Does Ron
mean to be so cruel to Neville? No. He's having fun
gossipping.

Inconsiderate? Hell, yes! 

Horrible. Just Horrible. 

Though for my money, Harry's worse. Ron was gossiping
with his sister and his best friend. Harry was cruel
to Neville in person. 

But, no, neither of them are very nice. That's why so
many people sat up and cheered when Harry finally
realized how inconsiderate he had been towards
Neville. Perhaps we will see changes in Harry's
behaviour? I hope so. Same with Ron. 

>Having problems in your own life is not an excuse 
>to be nasty to others.  I have no idea how 
>even the most rabid Ron fan can defend the mean 
>things he says before, during, and after the Yule
> Ball.  They are totally indefensible IMO. 

Oh agreed. But you see, I have no idea how even the
most rabid Harry fan can defend the mean things he
does and thinks throughout the entire series. They are
totally indefensible. 

Except on the grounds of "I wasn't thinking." Which
seems to be Ron's grounds as well. 

Now, I'm not, as I said, that interested in the trio
HPFGU-wise. Where Avery discussion is, there am I. The
prospect of writing much more on Harry and Ron boggles
the mind. So, I am not going to go through every
obnoxious thing those two have said, done, and thought
over the four books, except to say that they annoy me
very, very much. I'll let the (heartbreaking for me)
Neville comparison stand for examination, and maybe
I'll get the energy to further explain why Harry
irritates me later.

Harry is an introvert. Ron is an extrovert. They have
their different ways of treating the rest of the world
as dirt under their feet, but they both are guilty of
exactly that, imho. 

If I were Hermione, I'm not sure I'd want to be
friends with either of them. But then, she has a
prickly personality, herself, if not so self-absorbed.


>H/H shippers have repeatedly conceded both Harry 
>*and* Hermione's personality flaws.  Rarely do we
>receive reciprocation on Ron's part. 

Well, you have reciprocation here. In fact, I could
talk on and on about Ron's bad points for a long time
if I had the inclination, since I share (or as a
schoolchild did share) most of them. 

But I don't expect *anyone* to concede that *either*
Ron or Harry is as flawed as I read them. 

I should probably sum up by saying that I love Ron,
Hermione, and Harry. Perfectly Angelic Characters Make
Awful Novels etc. I am awed that Rowling has managed
to write children's characters that are so flawed and
yet ultimately so loveable. Harry and Ron bug me
because I can't help but love them. Over the next
three books, I hope to see both of them mature and
learn to be considerate and empathetic. While others
are forecasting doom, my gut feeling is that JKR is
going to be going in that direction. 

Eileen

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