eros at first sight [was] nautical hazards//judgments//Cho

[Petra Pan]

No: HPFGUIDX 50238

Maria:
> 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

You do now!  Molly'd be proud... <g>

Maria:
> - 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 

Petra:
> Does this mean you dislike Cho solely 
> because Harry has a crush on her?  
> <snip>
> 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?
 
Maria:
> OK... I thought about what Petra Pan said for a
> while, and came up with a possible reason for
> why I dislike Cho Chang. I am still not sure if
> that is the real reason, but that comes much
> closer than anything else. 
> 
> First off, I dont dislike Cho because of what
> she is like  I dont know what she is like. I
> dont like her as Harrys romantic interest.
> 
> You see, I hated to see Harry melt like ice
> cream in the sun as soon as he laid eyes on
> her. For two and a half years of his life we
> watched Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and many
> other people grow and develop, weve grown to
> love some of them and dislike others *for a
> reason*, and here comes Cho Chang of whom we
> *and Harry* know *positively nothing* (at the
> moment) except that she is extremely pretty 
> and Harry falls for her like Romeo for Juliet.
> In GoF, Cho Chang is still as pretty as before,
> but we find out that shes nice. So? There are
> loads of nice people out there, and the fact
> that Harry knows that Cho is nice doesnt mean
> he knows any more about her than he did when he
> first saw her. 

Petra: 
> In other words, what choices has she made
> that led you to dislike her so?

Maria: 
> Cho didnt make any choices. Thats part of why
> I dont like her. Shes just this neutral
> character in the background that for some
> reason occupies Harrys thoughts and *this
> annoys me*.

Petra Pan: 
> 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?

Maria:
> Its not a poor opinion of Cho. Its
> the inability to have an opinion.

Y'know, this is sooo much clearer than 
"I've always disliked Cho Chang."  ;)

Petra Pan:  
> 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.

Maria: 
> I dont read Cho as an undeserving person. She
> might be great, she might not be, but before I
> know her better, I wont like her.

Here's where we differ - I'm no 
Pollyanna and I can be ticked 
off very easily sometimes, but 
I'm opposite on this issue.  
Which is why it never occurred 
to me to read your "I've always 
disliked Cho Chang" as "Since 
I don't know her, I will dislike 
her until she's proven herself 
because this is my MO...and 
I'm sticking to it."

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

Petra Pan: 
> 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?
> <snip>
> 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.

Maria:
> OK, I dont dislike every non-Gryffindor, and I
> dont dislike Cho per se, but rather the idea
> of Harry melting into a puddle of goo as soon
> as she looks at him, since, as you justly
> pointed out, we barely know her. So thats not
> prejudice <evil grin>.

Hope you see why I was confused. <g>

Interesting transference of 
responsibility though, eh?  
Do you still hold Cho responsible 
for Harry falling for her at 
first sight?  Most people do place 
the blame at the feet of the female 
though I can't find any support for 
doing so.  One possible exception - 
perhaps as part veela, Fleur is 
capable of turning on and off her 
innate attraction of male attention.  
Impossible to tell at this point.

So, do you dislike Harry for 
his 'love at first sight,'
a physical reaction that 
he has no control over?

Tossing aside for now the internal 
logic of the books, do you dislike 
JKR for writing that scene the 
way she did?

<wicked grin>

Petra, re: H/G arguments:
> 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?
> <snip>
> 
> '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.

Maria:
> See, I hate the idea of Harry/Cho *now* - but I
> might grow to like it if we have some more Cho
> in the foreground. 

This is where you had lost 
me on that last post - I am 
not sure from where I could 
have had this understanding 
of your point of view.

Maria:
> I am OK with Harry/Ginny
> *now* - but I wont be disappointed if it never
> works out. I dont like Harry/Hermione 
> because I like Ron/Hermione. But other than
> that, I honestly dont care whom Harry is with
> - *now*. I might change my opinion later. I
> would, however, like to see more Ginny
> development in the series.

For her own sake, yes, absolutely.

Maria:
> And I honestly dont mean to offend anyone who
> believes in love at first sight. I do believe
> in it, I just dont think that what Harry feels
> *is* love.

THAT topic would be rich fodder 
for another thread...

Petra
a
n  :)

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