What's wrong with being bad ?

[Ava]

No: HPFGUIDX 102283

> Barbara bd-bear wrote : 
> > My read on this must be similar to Darrin's because I remember 
> > reading multiple times where unnamed Slytherins were laughing 
with 
> > Draco when he'd make fun of Harry or Hermione.
> 
> Del replies :
> There's a vast difference between actually doing the bullying or
> mocking, and simply laughing at it. Many of us on this list admit 
to
> have laughed at some things in the books that were both funny for 
us
> and painful for whoever they were happening to. And after all Draco
> *is* funny sometimes, if you don't happen to be a friend of 
Harry's. 

   Ava:   And I'd bet anything that that humorous aspect was not 
lost on Rowling.  The child who reads these things and can't help 
but laugh - may ask him/herself - what part of ME is in that?  And 
is that or is that not OK?  (I ALMOST said "what part of me is a 
Slytherin?"  but dearly departed Sirius & Potter certainly knew how 
to be bullies, & they weren't Slytherins.)

> Del, wrote:
> > Yes, let's discuss the degrees of bullying, and then let's have 
a 
> > poll to ask how many of our members NEVER indulged in some 
degree of
> > bullying !  * * *

> Barbara bd-bear answered :
> > I am surprised at your statements asking "How many of us," as if 
> > that is a right of passage every kid goes through. I NEVER 
indulged 
> > in bullying and certainly never did the things you suggested 
above. 
>
> Del replies :
> Well, I must admit I'm amazed !
> But then maybe it's another one of those cultural issues. I 
remember
> being surprised, when I went to Canada, at how much gentler the 
kids
> seemed to be there. Maybe it's just France then 
 
Ava:  [oh, well, bien sur, & all that]
 
back to Del:
, or maybe it's just
> the schools I went to in France. But I can tell you that it was a
> sport in those schools, to say witty nasty things about other 
kids.   ***
 
> Barbara bd-bear wrote : 
> > I was, however, the object of bullying and peer-abuse and I can 
tell
> > you, it doesn't matter what "degrees" you talk about, it's all 
> > painful. 
> 
> Del replies :
> Yes it's always painful. But I still stood it better when they
> confined themselves with calling me names. There were things much
> harder than that.

    Ava:  Heaven forfend that I should bring up current events (I 
won't).  But it would seem to me, as Del suggests, that there are 
far worse things than name-calling.  And other than a few 'filthy 
Mudblood''s slung around, most of the Slytherin bullying seems like 
pretty generic nastiness, nothing that would particularly lead one 
to believe these are junior DE's (which I thought was the original 
issue).  Lets not forget, even Sirius' nasty purist family was 
generally reluctant to join the DE's.  How much more so, a Slytherin 
student who maybe isn't quite so inculcated with this view of the 
world.  

And even in that vein - childhood behavior does not necessarily 
determine how the adult turns out.  I grew up in a neighborhood 
where - shall we say - my family celebrated the 'wrong' holiday in 
December.  To put it mildly, this discrepancy did not go unnoticed.  
Years later, a former neighborhood kid who participated in certain 
distasteful name-calling, swastika-drawing & eye-blacking made it 
his business to apologize to my brother for his inexcusable 
behavior.  It happens.  Fortunately.  And since we have fair warning 
(via the Sorting Hat) that the survival of Hogwarts (and by 
extension, I imagine, the WW), depends on cooperation between the 
houses, I would venture to guess that something of that sort will be 
necessary before the end.  We know it's possible - just look at 
Phineas Nigellus, bless his heart.

Ava