Defending Ron WAS Re: Hermione

[uilnslcoap]

No: HPFGUIDX 85477

> As for Hermione, I like her.  Sure she is an arrogant, little swot. 
> What teenage isn't arrogant at that age?  I was.  Hermione is not 
> afraid to take on her firends and challenge them when it's 
important, 
> encourage them when they really need it and says no when they are 
> wrong.  Hermione is a far better friend than Ron could ever be to 
> Harry, who is nothing more than a drinking buddy who agrees with 
> everything Harry wants and does.  Don't get me wrong we need all 
need 
> faithful friends like Ron, but it's those friends that let us 
fester 
> on the couch, (which is cool for about a day) when what we really 
> need is a quick kick in the back side from the Hermione's of the 
> world.  We'd all be lucky to have a friend like Hermione.

I like Hermione, too.  But I feel compelled to shade Ron from the 
sycophantic (I would even say boorish) light you paint him in.

Ron often understands what Harry needs (or at least wants) better 
than Hermione does.  Look at how he brings up the idea that Harry 
mayn't want to date Cho just after their kiss.  I believe Hermione's 
brain goes, "Harry's liked her awhile + They kissed = He wants to 
date her."  Ron sees that the workings of Harry's thoughts on the 
subject might not be quite so simple and says so out loud.  Hermione 
gives better advice about girls, of course, but it's often Ron who 
understands when it's pointless to pester Harry about something and 
tells Hermione to let it go (which, to her credit, she sometimes does 
take as the proper advice and which indicates that Hermione herself 
believes Ron can be right about how to treat Harry).

Look, also, at the suffering Harry undergoes, when Ron departs due to 
their fight in GoF.  That lack of emotional support is just as 
harmful to him as the lack of Hermione's intellectual support (due to 
petrification) in CoS for instance where Harry only puts it together 
because he's lucky enough that Hermione's brain put it together 
before she got incapacitated.  He can't function too well without 
either of them.

Ron also has not been incapable of disagreeing with Harry in the 
past.  In OotP, he makes it clear that he doesn't believe Harry's 
accomplishments of the past four years were worthless or all based on 
luck even when Harry clearly starts to get angry.  I'm sorry I can't 
think of anymore right now, but I am certain if I had the books in 
front of me, I could find several more.

I just think it's harsh to say that Hermione's "a far better friend 
than Ron could ever be."  I believe that question could only be 
answered by Harry and it's clear that he likes them both very much.  
I think that both types of support are valid and necessary to Harry, 
and that just because one prefers one type to the other does not make 
it true that one type of friendship is "better" than the other.  
Although I like Ron's variety of friendship more, I would never claim 
that he's "a far better friend" than Hermione could ever be, that's 
all.

Devin