JRK is right! Give Voldemort respect..

[Erin]

No: HPFGUIDX 98669

  Mandy, from up on her soap box, wrote:
> I agree with JKR on this one, and an glad that hardly anyone on 
> this site uses that particular name in reference to Lord 
> Voldemort.  <snip>
> Most of us on this site refer to Voldemort as LV, Dumbledore as DD, 
> and J.K. Rowling as JRK, for the sake of short hand.  These 
> shortening of names to initials, imo, are more acceptable because 
> they don't take away from the power of the name itself.  Of course 
> JKR might disagree.

Erin, stepping onto a soapbox of her own, responds:
Well, as someone who does occasionally use the nickname, in this and 
other groups, I don't really see a problem with it.  I think JKR's 
only problem was insofar as the nickname was linked to thinking 
Voldemort redeemable.  Although I use it, I don't think of him that 
way.  The nickname is merely a convenient way of shortening a long 
name for me- and I actually prefer "Voldy", as it contains one less 
letter than "Voldie".  

Yes, I could go with the initials LV, and sometimes I do.  But, let's 
face it; there are already *a lot* of initials on HPfGU.  PS/SS, CoS, 
PoA, GoF, OoP or OotP, HP, DD, JKR, LV, and ESE are only a few of the 
ones everyone knows.  Then there are the standard internet ones like 
IMO and IMHO, and that's not even mentioning all the acronyms for all 
the theories around here.  So if I can avoid the initials at least 
some of the time, I think it makes my posts a bit more readable.


Mandy wrote:
 I've always found it silly and it doesn't in any way describe the 
villain worthy of our hero's trials and tribulations. <snip>
> `Volide' is too cute, cuddly and imo disrespectful, and if we're 
going to honor JKR's works by discussing as much as we do, I think we 
should respect her wishes.  

Erin:
 I don't come to this list to slavishly "honor" JKR like she's the 
head priestess of some sort of religion. I joined so that I could 
discuss a topic/story I'm interested in with other reasonable 
adults.  

The fact is that once the author releases her work to the general 
public, and they buy and read her books, it's a bit ridiculous for 
her to go around retroactively dictating to the readers how to refer 
to the characters.

But I'm convinced she meant her request to be funny. That's the way I 
took it at first reading, and I was dismayed by all those who don't 
see it as funny at all, whether they are in agreement or disagreement 
with the request.

It's silly for fans to start telling off other fans.  You are not the 
language police, and JKR isn't either (and I really think *she*, at 
least, knows that). 

It's like the word Mudblood, which some silly newbie is always 
insisting on partially bleeping out or telling the list "Gosh, I sure 
do hate that name!  It's a bad word!"  Well, no, it's not.  It's a 
made-up word, just like Lord Voldemort is a made-up person.  Neither 
of them are real.   

It's just a work of fiction.  I'm an adult, and I'm not actually 
going to be scared of Lord Voldemort no matter what I call him.  
Calling him by a nickname won't make me fear him less, as I never 
feared him in the first place.


Mandy:
> JKR wants Voldemort to maintain an aurora of menace and terror and 
> to dumb him down with a silly nickname is wrong and disrespectful 
> to the character and authors intention. 

Erin:
I agree that Rowling would like Voldemort to remain frightening to 
the reader. And that's perfectly understandable.

But the burden is on her shoulders to give him that aura, not on the 
fans to maintain it.  Show us how scary he is in the books, don't 
just tell us how scary he's supposed to be on your website. 

LV got off to a good start in GoF, but in my opinion, he really lost 
ground in OoP.  


Mandy wrote: 
> I understand the need by some readers to diminish the villain to 
make him more palatable and acceptable, but anytime the bad guy in a 
story is dumbed down it takes away from the hero of the story.  When 
Harry finally defeats Voldemort, the victory will be diminished if we 
all look upon Voldemort as a weak and cute, 'Voldie'.

Erin:
Well, in that case, what is JKR doing having practically everyone in 
the books calling him by name, having Dumbledore call him "Tom", and 
having Fudge refer to him as "Lord Thingy"?  Why is he creeping 
around for an entire year trying not to get noticed, then blowing his 
cover, cowering in front of DD, losing the prophecy, and getting 
nearly all his DE's captured?  He is weak at this point! He's 
weakened himself!  

IMO, if Voldy doesn't get a lot stronger in the next two books, 
Harry's victory *will* be diminished, and it won't be because of 
anything the fans have done.


Erin