Draco = Evil?(was: Elkins' Draco Malfoy Is Ever So Lame. )

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 125032


>>SSSusan:
>As long as you would also cut James & Sirius some slack for the 
pensieve scene with Snape by saying they were just *kids.*  If you 
do, then you're consistent in your view.  If you don't, then I'd 
point out that they're close to one & the same thing: mean, nasty, 
bullying behavior from 15-year-olds.<

Betsy:
Hmm.  I had to think about this one, 'cause I've posted on this very 
subject and don't want to get caught out in an opposing quote! <g>  
But, I believe that I do give Sirius and James *some* slack.  In 
that, I fully believe that James *does* grow up and finally makes his 
stated ideology his own.  I think Sirius had a little further to go, 
and I'm not sure if he made it or not.  The fact that he does move 
out of his parents home a year after this incident gives me some 
hope.  I think Lily was a big help for James, and poor Sirius got 
Azkaban - so I think James matured a bit more than Sirius was given a 
chance to.

Though, I'd also point out that Draco has never done a similar thing 
to Harry.  Not that he wouldn't want to, of course.  But that JKR 
never wrote such a scene for Draco (which would *really* solidify his 
reputation as a nasty little bully) is an example of Draco's general 
failure to fulfill the "school bully" role, correctly.  (Strangely 
enough, I think Fred and George fit that bill a bit better.)  Also, 
as far as we know, James and Sirius never recieved punishment for 
their behavior.  (And we *do* know that Sirius almost killed a fellow 
student, without much punishment.)  Which is also not typical for 
Draco.

>>SSSusan:
>And here's where we still differ.  If Draco's "losses" were in 
everyday, run-of-the-mill, non-morally-charged things like being 
passed over for the Quidditch team or for Prefect or for getting 
points taken away unfairly by a teacher who just doesn't like him, I 
might be able to feel bad for him.  As it is, I see his "losses" 
coming out of his own poor or immoral or cruel choices.  So I just 
still see very little to like about him or his behavior.<

Betsy:
Yeah, I don't see a real meeting of minds occuring here either.  I 
just don't see Draco as being *that* cruel, or full out evil anyway.  
He's petty, yes, and rather nasty.  But none of the pranks he's 
pulled (or attempted to pull anyway) would have resulted in a 
student's death.  (Even the dementor trick was meant to just throw 
Harry off his game.  I don't think Draco and Flint *really* thought 
Harry would pass out and fall off his broom.  They weren't real 
dementors after all.) 

The worst thing Draco attempted to do was to ambush Harry on the 
train.  I doubt he was considering *killing* Harry (would fifth years 
even know how to kill with their wands?), though he probably would 
have kicked him while he was down.  So far, nothing JKR has had Draco 
do has passed into horribly bad behavior, IMO.  Bad behavior, yes - 
but not *horrible*.

And, as I've gone into before, Draco's punishments are so often *way* 
above and beyond whatever crime he commited it almost negates the 
wrong he did (or attempted to do) in the first place.  So, I still 
like the boy, and hope he's got a brighter future than Death Eater 
dead man waiting for him.

Betsy