Defending Percy ( was Percy Weasley )

[delwynmarch]

No: HPFGUIDX 105062


Katie wrote :
> As far as we see in the books, there's very little Fudge knows about 
> that Percy doesn't. Percy acts as Fudge's spokesperson and ever-
> present assistant (even at trials) and I see no reason to assume 
> that Percy knows much less than Fudge.

Del replies :
Percy is only junior assistant, I seriously doubt Fudge discusses
things with him. But even if he does, there's a major difference
between Fudge and Percy : their age and experience. Percy is young and
quite gullible, he's soft clay between the expert hands of an old
politician like Fudge.

Katie wrote :
> "Blindly"? I would hardly say that. Percy has known, loved, and 
> respected his family (and Harry) for considerably longer than any of 
> the people he's currently following. Why does everything point to 
> them all having collective hallucinations? The Daily Prophet and 
> Ministry figures insinuate this, but I see little reason or proof 
> that Percy should doubt his own family and all others he formerly 
> respected.

Del replies :
Where are the proofs that LV is indeed back ? DD is going around
saying Harry saw him, but giving no proof whatsoever. There are no
sign of dark activity, everything is just as usual. The only one
creating trouble is DD himself. And yet his parents ask Percy to
believe DD. I ask again : why should he ? Yes Percy respected DD, but
he also respects Fudge. When asked to make a choice, he goes with the
one that looks sane and logical and who's not trying to create a
general panic with no proof to back his allegations. I see nothing
wrong with that.

I, Del, asked :
> > Could you define what you mean by morality ?

Katie replied :
> The difference between right and wrong. I think Percy tends to 
> believe in the importance and infallibility of the Rules, and stick 
> to them even when they are obviously wrong (as in the Ministry's 
> indifference to dementors attacking a student, for example.) I think 
> that Percy sees the "right" action as being that which accords with 
> the Rules and Authority. I don't see him as having an independent 
> sense of good and bad. 

Del replies :
What do you call an independent sense of good and bad ? There's no
such thing IMO. We all need to define our own Rules of morality in
order to define what's good or not, and they don't necessarily match
our neighbour's. That's even the reason why some debates on the list
get hot sometimes : because we don't all have the same rules of morality.

So Percy believes in respecting Authority, what's wrong with that ? It
never led him into trouble before, quite the contrary. So why should
he suddenly change ?

Concerning the Dementors : Fudge obviously doesn't believe there
*were* Dementors. Umbridge organised that on her own, and I'm dead
sure Fudge didn't know about it, and Percy even less.

Katie wrote :
> And what proof has Percy that Dumbledore has lost his marbles?

Del replies :
He goes around telling huge stories about LV being reborn, when
there's no sign of LV, reborn or not, anywhere to be seen.

Katie wrote :
> When did Percy determine that Harry was as crazy as the Daily Prophet
> claimed?

Del replies :
You mention the Daily Prophet, and I agree that it is a force to
reckon with. Mrs Weasley believed the crap Rita published about
Hermione, and it is very possible that Percy believed the crap she
wrote about Harry.  So that when his parents came up with the story of
Harry seeing LV being reborn, Percy was already conditioned to not
believe him.

Katie wrote :
> Why should he immediately distrust his family and friends when he has
>  admittedly "little information" to condemn them? 

Del replies :
Because it's *logical*. The *only* proof his parents have that LV is
indeed reborn is that Harry saw him : very little information indeed.
On the other hand, there's a *huge* piece of evidence that LV is still
dead : he's nowhere to be seen. So if his family forces him to choose,
it's logical that he should condemn them. 

Katie wrote :
> Because the Ministry's policies WERE wrong and unfair under Fudge, 
> and Percy believed them all the same. Percy knows Dolores Umbridge 
> and her methods, and claims to have complete confidence in her. I'd 
> love to hear someone try to defend Umbridge's fascistic policies at 
> Hogwarts. 

Del replies :
There's a huge difference between a policy in itself and the way it's
applied. I have personally nothing against the concept of a High
Inquisitor, for example, but I am completely disgusted at the way
Umbridge filled that role. I don't think the policies were so
obviously  unfair that Percy should have been shocked by them. Can you
give me precise examples of shocking policies ?

You say that Percy knows Umbridge, but I disagree. He can't know her
from reputation, because nobody does, not even Arthur seems to know
anything about her. And he can't know her that well from work, because
he's barely ever met her. He's talked to her a few times at most, and
there's no doubt she showed him her honey side. Since Percy is such a
bad juge of character (he always was), he probably can't see beyond
her facade.

And I don't think that even Kneasy could defend Umbridge's actions at
Howarts :-) However, her *policies* were not that horrible. Drastic,
sure, but she made it sound back at the Ministry like the school was
going to the dogs and needed drastic actions, so there was nothing
wrong with her decisions, in theory. Percy wasn't talking to his
family anymore, so he had no insider's knowledge of what life at
Hogwarts was under Umbridge.

Katie wrote : 
> Rather than follow whoever happens to be in power, what Percy ought 
> to do is determine what right and wrong is, and follow that (and 
> consequently leaders who follow it as well.)

Del replies :
How is believing that LV is back "right" ? How is defending one's
governing body "wrong" ?

Katie wrote:
> I don't think Percy is primarily concerned with Harry as a "danger" 
> to his brother, because he gives no real evidence to support this. 
> Instead, he says that the "people who count" don't believe Harry, so 
> Ron ought to as well, to ensure future success. Percy isn't 
> encouraging Ron to protect himself, he's encouraging him to get in 
> with the right people.

Del replies :
DD is considered by the Ministry like a traitor to the nation, and
Harry like a liar. So yes Percy is encouraging Ron to get with the
right people : the ones who are apparently sane and patriotic. He sees
Harry as a danger to his brother in the sense that associating with a
state traitor might bring the state to consider you as a traitor too.
It's a bit like the Slytherin kids : many see them as bad simply
because they don't stand up against Draco. They are evil by implied
association.

Katie wrote :
> I doubt that no one has considered talking to Percy in a 
> respectful way. Molly adores her son and has tried to contact him, 
> but Percy won't even talk to her. He doesn't even visit his badly 
> wounded father in hospital. Yes, Fred and George are quick to 
> dismiss Percy, as usual, but all others seem to be making every 
> effort to talk to him and not succeeding.

Del replies :
Molly is the only one whom we know has tried to talk to Percy, and we
don't even have the details of that episode. Molly is not the
diplomatic kind, I can see her screwing that up very easily.
And there's one person whom we see making pointedly no effort to bring
Percy back to the fold : Arthur. It's Arthur who insulted Percy, yet
he doesn't seem to be willing to make any reconciliation effort. If
Arthur, the adult, is allowed to act so childish, then why should
Percy know any better ?

Del