[HPforGrownups] Tom Riddle/Voldemort

[Jean Lamb]

No: HPFGUIDX 70066

> From: "koinonia02" <Koinonia2 at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: A new interpretation of the prophecy

?Several people have said this and I must say I don't agree. Tom
Riddle *is* Lord Voldemort. They are one and the same. Riddle made a
choice to become what he now is. Riddle/Voldemort has been
responsible for the death of many people. How can you separate the
two? It isn't as if some power overtook Riddle and he is being forced
to do the things he does. He is evil and he needs to pay for the
crimes he committed. You can love all you want but love doesn't
excuse evil actions. Voldemort, also known as Tom Riddle, must pay
for those crimes.

--Not necessarily. Hitler was highly interested in architecture and
painting, before he turned his attention to world domination. He flunked the
school of architecture exam (can't remember what institute exactly) by a
fairly low margin, and stood a chance of passing it if he had retaken it
after oh, say six months of study. If he had either passed the test the
first time or decided to go after it again later on, again with success, we
might associate his name with a lot of hideous stadiums and public buildings
rather than Evil. Now, German politics after WWI would undoubtedly have gone
down the toilet anyway (hyperinflation, the Great Depression, the nastier
clauses in the Versaille Treaty), but Hitler himself might have played
Albert Speer to whoever came out on top, rather than encouraging the Zyklon
B business.

Back to the Potterverse--If Riddle, for instance, had received decent
therapy, encouragement in some other line, and perhaps the latest in
anti-psychotics, he might well be known for other things than being
Voldemort. (I have a schizophrenic son. His alternatives without the proper
medication are bleak, to say the least.)

Jean Lamb, tlambs1138 at charter.net
"Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for you are crunchy and good with
lemon drops."