Punishing Marietta

[lupinlore]

No: HPFGUIDX 120820


Okay, there has been a lot of back and forth about Hermione's hex 
that caused Marietta's pustule problem.  Much of the issue revolves 
around whether Marietta can be considered a traitor and/or if it is 
appropriate for Hermione to punish her for doing what she (Marietta) 
thought was right.  Let me pour more gasoline on the fire.

It seems to me that actions such as Hermione's hex can be undertaken 
for two reasons, both of which can be legitimate in certain 
circumstances and illegitimate in others.  

1) To enforce rules.  This implies that the rules are at least 
reasonably clear and that the party invoking the punishment has the 
right to enforce the rules;

2) To throw down a gauntlet and draw battlelines, i.e. this is where 
we stand and there is where you stand and all parties be prepared to 
defend your territory


Most of the discussion has been focused around (1), i.e. were there 
rules and did Hermione have the right to enforce them.  But it seems 
to me that Hermione's actions clearly fall under circumstance (2), 
the throwing down of the gauntlet.

Now, that raises all sorts of questions.  Is such an action 
legitimate?  Well, looking at the history of such behavior, the 
practical (and even in many cases the legal) answer is "Yes, 
providing you win."  To take one set of examples, the American 
Revolution, the Boston Tea Party is legitimate protest largely 
because the colonists eventually won, the Intolerable Acts are 
illegitimate attempts at repression because the British eventually 
lost.  Both were conscious acts of provocation, but the legitimacy of 
the action rests on its success or failure in eventually bringing 
about a certain outcome.  Even then differences of opinion remain, 
but the verdict of history tends to weigh pretty heavy.

Or, to paraphrase James Clavell, "Their is absolutely no excuse for 
defying legally constituted authority -- unless of course you win.  
If you win everything is all right."

So, where does that leave us with Marietta?  Well, to use the real 
world as my template (which I know some people don't like but it's 
what I do), my answer is: If Hermione's side wins, her action will go 
down in history as a legitimate and brave blow for defying the forces 
of oppression.  If they lose it probably won't matter because 
everybody will have worse problems to deal with.

True, that puts Hermione on tricky ground.  It's ground that has seen 
some pretty dark figures, such as Lenin and Stalin.  But it's also 
ground where she is in some mighty distinguished company, including 
John Hancock, Sam Adams, Thomas Paine, and most of the Sons of 
Liberty.  

Lupinlore