[HPforGrownups] Being a DE (Was:Re: Peter and Gollum)

[Iggy McSnurd]

No: HPFGUIDX 82752



> > susanbones2003 (Jennifer) wrote:
> >
> > > 1) What the heck is the draw of serving Lord Voldemort? He's a
> > > horrible leader, and as you say pay and benefits are lousy. One
> way
> > > or the other, most of his followers end up on the wrong end of
> things
> > > or dead. What's his attraction?
>
> - Caipora
> There's no shortage of real-world examples. Look at the late Ida
> Amin. There was once a portrait in the paper of him and his
> goverment, five years later: half the groups had been killed by him.
> Yet he still had followers. Any number of tinpot dictators have
> similar records.

Iggy:

Then again, there's also the fact that there are some people in the world
who are inherently cruel, vicious, bullying, and enjoy torturing or bringing
harm to others.

These people are the types that are drawn towards the "Death Squad"
mentality, and will gather under the banner of someone like Pol Pot, Stalin,
Saddam Hussein, and any other cruel tyrant... like Lord Voldemort.  These
are the people who are praised by their leader for indulging in their darker
sides, and inhumanity.  They are the ones who become very efficient and
skilled at what they do either because they revel in it wholeheartedly, or
lean in the opposite direction and are cold, emotionless, and see it as a
scientific study.  (I've actually exampled the latter type of person in a
background I wrote for a role playing game character who would give Hannibal
Lechter the willies.)

And, as they often prefer to act against those who are seen as being
helpless, "too nice," or "weak," they draw together and bully others only
when they have the strength of numbers behind them... even if the person
acts alone, they have the threat of retaliation by a group backing them up.

Much like Dudley and his boyhood gang... isn't it?


Just my two centaur's worth.

Iggy McSnurd
the Prankster

"Subvert the dominant paradigm."

-- ABS FIRECAT  (and a particular favorite of those who play "Mage: The
Ascension.")