Is Dudley...slow?

[Genita]

No: HPFGUIDX 117728


ericoppen wrote:
> I've sometimes wondered if a lot of Petunia's attitudes couldn't be 
> explained by saying that Dudley's...slow of wit. 
> If she and Vernon knew they had a child with special needs, that 
> would explain a lot of their resentment of Harry. Here they are, 
> with the child they had longed for turning out defective, and, to 
rub 
> it in, they get their already-unwanted nephew, son of Petunia's 
much-
> resented sister-who-was-the-star-of-the-family, dumped on them, and 
> he's bright and normal!...
 
> Having a child like the sort I'm referring to is really, really 
hard 
> on the parents, and some of them take refuge in proving that denial 
> isn't just a river in Egypt.


I don't think that Dudley is slow or a Special Needs Child. Rather, I 
think that Vernon and Petunia are all together too lax,and lenient. 

However, I know what it is to be a special needs child. I was one. 
Also, it should be said that not ALL Special Needs children possess 
the nasty, inappropriate, disgusting,shameful attitude and behaviors 
that Dudley has displayed. If I had dared to behave as Dudley has, I 
can assure you, my father would've blistered my rear SO hard, it 
would've been fair to say I wouldn't have been able to sit for a week-
 literally! ( It would've been seen as shaming him AND the family 
directly!) 

Yes, it IS true that in some families, having a Special Needs child- 
to them is cause of shame, and something to be hidden, and denied. In 
some cases used as a reason to punish a child needlessly for selfish 
reasons! 

I think that Petunia's resentment and bitterness with having to take 
Harry in stems from her hatred and bigotry- in that she fears 
anything 'different', 'abnormal', or 'freakish'...- rather- this is 
MY personal opinion of Petunia- is that she's a hypocrite AND a 
bigot!- IF her son was a Special Needs Child, it would make common 
sense to think that the Special Needs thing would make her OWN son 
these things that she detests and loathes Harry for...Vernon? He's a 
guilty of the same bigotry, hypocrisy that his wife enjoys indulging 
in, herself. 

I also think it needs to be said that not ALL Special Needs Children 
show the shameful, nasty, repulsive, filthy trashy behaviors that 
Dudley shows in the novels. Rather, I think that Dudley was taught 
hatred at home, and no clear cut boundaries were established, nor was 
there any clear cut consequences for his actions...- 

I think you're forgetting that being a Special Needs Child is equally 
as hard on the child, as it is the parent! More so on the child. - 
that's just my take on it- Vernon and Petunia are doing the kid a 
grave disservice in their poor,substandard parenting,and teaching him 
bigotry, hypocrisy,and that bullying IS acceptable behavior- when in 
fact none of the above are desired qualities or characteristics!

Nita