Should Harry have told on DJU? (was Re: Harry as last DADA teacher?)

[quigonginger]

No: HPFGUIDX 100531

Dzeytoun wrote:
> Well, I can't really agree with this fully.  I myself am only one 
> year younger than you (37 on June 15), and as I said I think Harry 
> was being an idiot.  Any teacher trying that with me would have 
been 
> in court so fast her/his head would have been spinning.  In fact, 
one 
> teacher who tried something much less severe DID end up in front of 
> the schoolboard, and I enjoyed every minute of it (and emerged 
> victorious - she got a formal reprimand and I got an automatic "A" 
> and was excused from ever taking a class with her again).
> 
> I tend to believe that this is not a matter of generation, or 
> nationality, or gender.  It is a matter of one's own personal 
> psychology and beliefs about what pride consists of, what is 
> embarassing, etc.  I  understand what you are saying 
intellectually, 
> and I am not in any way implying YOU were an idiot, as the 
situation 
> you describe was different from either mine or Harry's.  However, I 
> must admit that I have always found the "suffer in silence" 
attitude 
> to be baffling in the extreme, and sometimes tinged unhealthily 
with 
> masochism (once again not making judgments about your personal 
> situation).  I think I can honestly say that, in the situation that 
> ended up with me taking a teacher before the school board, the 
> thought of NOT complaining never even crossed my mind.
> 
Now Ginger (again):
Well, that shoots my generations theory. Geoff earlier alluded to it 
being a British thing.  I can see that as being in line with the 
stereotypical "stiff upper lip" that the British are known for.  

In the Dakotas, (motto: where the men are men and so are the women-
that's a joke, but a common one) especially in the smaller towns, we 
have a bit of a frontier attitude.  Kind of a "that which doesn't 
kill you makes you stronger"/"master your fears or they master you" 
hybrid.  Self-sufficiency is a way of life.  In a lot of ways, 
similar to the stiff upper lip.  Harry, being British, didn't strike 
me as out of charactor for the way he acted.  He just seemed 
British.  Now I realize that this is a stereotype, and there are 
probably a lot of British folks who would have headed straight to 
DD.  Harry, with his Dursley upbringing, seems the type to take it as 
a challenge.

Maybe that's where the difference lies.  What one sees as a personal 
challenge to be handled privately, another sees as a breach of 
justice, which should be handled through proper channels.  Harry's 
case with DJU, and your case with the teacher both qualify as a 
breach of justice (which you won-good for you!), but Harry doesn't 
seem to see her acting as a teacher, but rather as a personal enemy.  
Maybe because she went out of her way to discredit him personally?  

I agree with your "suffer in silence" with regards to Harry.  What 
else could he do but bear it with gritted teeth unless he went 
elsewhere to get help?  

Personally, I didn't suffer in silence, I fought back.  It served me 
well in later years.  I'm sure your experience has served you well.  
I am not afraid to fight, and you are not afraid to stand up for 
yourself.  We both came out for the better, but what has Harry 
learned from the experience?  That's the question that may make or 
break him in the future.

Especially with his last interview with DD, he has set himself up to 
be untrusting.  Considering that he started out that way, he is in 
for a real headache should he bite off more than he can chew 
(again).  Only time will tell.

Ginger, who has still not mastered her fear of car washes.