bullies? twins, padfoot and prongs

[cat_kind]

No: HPFGUIDX 118423


Clare Durina:
> I have been feeling indignant at the
> popular characterization of James and Sirius as bullies and the 
twins
> as well. Being "cool" does not make one bad, and being enviably
> attractive or talented does not make one vindicive. I think that
> they were immature, carried-away boys. And while Sirius does have a
> mean streak, it just makes him a more complex and convincing
> character. 
(snip)
> Anyway, a bully picks on someone because he is weak and squashing 
him
> makes the bully feel stronger. 

catkind:  
This is interesting.  It seems to me that a lot of characters in the 
books display bullying behaviour of one sort or another. 

I'd agree with Clare's definition of bullying above up to a point: 
she says a bully picks on someone because he is weak.  I think this 
is an oversimplification - no one is perfect, and that includes the 
victims of bullying. There is often another reason as well. Maybe 
the bully wouldn't pick on the victim if they were not weak, but 
that doesn't mean the victim has to be sweet and virtuous.  I'd say 
picking on someone who is weaker than you is still bullying. 

It seems to me that James and Sirius bully Snape, because they carry 
on tormenting him, and humiliating him publicly, when he is 
outnumbered and they are evidently stronger than him.  If we try to 
excuse them we find ourselves saying things like, "he deserved it", 
which sounds rather like a classic bully's rationalisation.  

Umbridge and Snape bully Harry and his friends.

George and Fred bully some rather unpleasant Slytherins.

I'd even say that Harry and his friends "bully" Malfoy and co on 
occasion - leaving someone dripping from the luggage racks doesn't 
seem like justified retaliation to me, nor does Harry and a Weasley 
beating someone up in retaliation for mere jibes.  They are 
obviously by far the stronger party.  And what about Harry's 
taunting Malfoy about his father?  

Malfoy is of course himself a bully, although usually more the 
verbal than the physical kind.  

Of course, most of these characters have many other sides to their 
personalities (well, maybe not Umbridge and Malfoy).  It would seem 
highly biased to label Sirius, say, as a bully, and write him off as 
that.  On the other hand, the fact that he is a complex character 
and "cool" does not change the fact that he was acting as a bully.  

Dare I say, many teenagers do, at one point or another. 

catkind