An odd musing about Harry's attitude

[Jon]

No: HPFGUIDX 53863

I've been rereading the books (again!), and a something struck me as 
I read POA.

       Harry's treatment of authority figures he doesn't like.
I've noticed that if Harry doesn't like a person who is in 
authority, he shows complete disrespect to them; this despite any 
qualifications they may have or any reasons that they SHOULD be 
respected.  I can think of two examples off the top of my head:  The 
Dursleys, and Snape.  OK, so I know  Dursleys are foolish, nasty 
jerks barely one step up from Child Abuse charges, and that Snape is 
an annoying, bullying git who should be boiled in his own potions 
(sorry about that, I started having some fun with the descriptions 
for a moment... ;-)), but they are still in authority over him, and 
he ought to treat them with SOME respect.  Snape is a teacher and a 
learned (possibly very much so) man, and he has SAVED HARRY'S LIFE.  
The Dursleys may have treated Harry badly, but they did take him in; 
had he gone to Marge, he'd have been "straight off to an orphanage" 
(or something like that).  Harry, however, repeatedly disrespects 
and insults the Dursleys (in earshot and out), and shows nearly as 
much loathing toward Snape as Snape shows toward him.  Now, maybe I 
was brought up oddly, but I distinctly remember my parents 
drilling "respect your elders" into me for as long as I can 
remember.  Harry's had almost the opposite lesson, it seems; from 
his actions, it looks like he learned "respect those elders who are 
nice to you and whom you like."  It's been getting even worse; in 
GoF, not only does Harry not obey the diet the Dursleys are on, but 
he brazenly insults Uncle Vernon (sorry about the lack of specific 
examples, but my books seem to have disapparated somewhere...)  I 
don't remember what point I was going to make about this; but it 
seems interesting.  Please discuss - I want 3 feet of parchment by 
Tuesday.

Hobbit-guy (who, despite his defence of the characters, dispises the 
Dursleys almost as much as he does school essays)