In Defense of Hagrid

[kchuplis]

No: HPFGUIDX 143914

I'm a tad baffled by the entire reaction to the Hippogryff Incident. 
I admit I've only read the books once. I'll pay attention this next 
time more closely, but I can't see the teacher being responsible for 
a student blatantly disregarding important instructions. It isn't as 
though Hagrid wasn't forthcoming on the danger of the creature. 

Since we are holding these teachers to contemporary teaching 
standards and not the less litigious times of yore, I would suppose 
that there would be some kind of understanding about personal 
responsibility. I have to sign a waiver that says "it's not your 
fault if I am maimed or killed" before I began taking horse riding 
lessons. It's the same for the 8 y.o.'s there (well, the parents sign 
it). Harry is a special case as his guardians wouldn't care but I 
think we can assume that the other parents are well aware of the 
dangers of wizardry. Half their friends were probably killed by the 
first reign of LV. Their kids fly around on brooms without safety 
harnesses. Life, overall, is just a little more hazard prone at 
wizarding school and in the wizarding community (let's look at St. 
Mungo's and see how even innocent wizardry can land you there). 

Now had Hagrid just said "All right everybody let's just come on up 
here and take turns pettin' this baby. C'mon, cowboy up and don' be a 
baby." I'd consider him negligent. But he made quite clear that 
impolite behaviour toward the hippogryff could get you killed. I 
would think someone as intelligent as Malfoy would know that "big 
ugly brute" is not polite behaviour. Maybe it's because I had a forth 
grade teacher who yanked people out of their chair by the ear if they 
looked like they were thinking about possibly breaking a rule, but 
Hagrid's class, for the type of school they are in, and the other 
dangers they are facing, didn't seem overtly careless or cruel to me.



"kchuplis"