nautical hazards//judgments//Cho [was] SHIP: Harry/Ginny

[Petra Pan]

No: HPFGUIDX 50173

maria_kirilenko:
> But I don't think I like Harry with
> anyone. I remember that I got very
> mad the second I read the line "She
> was shorter than Harry by about a
> head, and Harry couldn't help
> noticing, nervous as he was, that
> she was extremely pretty. She
> smiled at Harry as the teams faced
> each other behind their captains,
> and he felt a slight lurch in the
> region of his stomach that he
> didn't think had anything to do
> with nerves."  (PoA, "GRYFFINDOR
> VERSUS RAVENCLAW") . 
> I don't know why - it's *not*
> because I want Harry for myself
> <g>, or have a specific preference
> for whom he will end up with, but
> since then I've always disliked Cho
> Chang 

Does this mean you dislike Cho solely 
because Harry has a crush on her?  
You'd hardly be the only person to do 
so in this fandom but this has always 
given me great pause.  

How do those of you who feel this 
way about Cho reconcile your 
poor opinion of her with the book's 
theme of the importance of choices?  
In other words, what choices has she 
made that led you to dislike her so?

I'd also like to know if there are
any canon whatsoever that could
support the pinning on Cho of her own 
current status as the biggest anchor
on every ship hoping for patronage by
Canon!Harry.  Is it actually Cho's 
FAULT that Harry's romantic interest 
is focused on her at this point in 
this series?

See, I am equally puzzled by those 
who dislike Ginny with as much 
strength.  Neither Cho nor Ginny are 
intrinsically undeserving people.  In 
order for me to read them as such, I 
would have to NARROW and FLATTEN my 
viewpoint.  Is there justification 
for doing so in any quest to better 
understand the big picture that 
is HP canon?

Should the pursuit of enlightenment 
in RL be subordinate to the pursuit 
of happiness on behalf of fictional 
characters?

maria_kirilenko:
> (do you think it might be because 
> she's not from Gryffindor? I
> wonder...).

Well, I dare say only you can speak 
for yourself on this point, no?  
Perhaps the answer to this may shed 
some light: do you dislike every 
non-Gryffindor?  Do you hold a 
prejudice against any other non-
Gryffindor?

Of course, the problem is, except for 
those Harry holds in enmity, we don't 
really know anyone outside of the 
Gryffindors well enough to say 
whether they are 'dislikable.'

Well...do we?

So, how can such dislike be 
explained?  Or justified?  To have a 
strong opinion, positive or negative, 
about people we barely know is the 
definition of prejudice after all.

<cue digression>

You know, the older I get, the more 
forgiving I am of those who prejudge.  
It happens - we are mere mortals who 
are still works in progress.  It's 
what we CHOOSE to do once we 
recognize our own prejudices (be it 
racial or otherwise) for what they 
are that is truly telling of who we 
are.

Look at how Molly adapted to finding 
out that she mistook Hermione for a 
'scarlet woman.'  I admire her grace 
in facing the embarrassment of 
having her error in judgment 
pointed out and adore her the more 
for choosing to incorporate the new 
information into an improved grasp 
of the situation.

<end digression>

maria_kirilenko:
> I don't think I would mind
> Harry/Ginny, however, although I
> probably won't know exactly until 
> something happens.
 
<snip> 
 
> Ginny knows much more about Harry
> than he (and we, too) knows about 
> her. We know she's a nice person
> (goes to ball with Neville although 
> she has a chance to go with Harry)
> and that she has a sense of humour 
> (is amused by Weasley's Wizard
> Wheezes), but that's all. Harry and 
> Ron dismiss her because she's Ron's
> little sister (only 1 year or less
> younger than Ron, BTW), but I hope
> that something will happen so we,
> and with Harry, can find out more
> about her. 
> 
> Who knows, maybe he'll like what he
> finds out.

Seeing that you've just made a case 
for H/G (using principles that do not 
apply solely to Ginny, BTW) are you 
sure you're not a closet H/G shipper?

<wicked grin>

'Cause your earlier statement "I 
don't think I like Harry with anyone" 
now reads like a description of an 
opinion you...uhm...no longer hold.  
And therefore no longer justifies 
your dislike of Cho.

The statement "Harry may like what he 
finds out" is applicable to just 
about every character.  Especially if 
one holds the belief that every human 
have the capacity to evolve, no 
matter where the starting point.

This is why I'll board no ship before 
JKR's Harry and his beloved (whomever 
that may turn out to be) do so.

Petra
a
n  :)

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