Abusive Dursleys (was Innocent Alby?)

[xcpublishing]

No: HPFGUIDX 123011


Tonks writes:
>I am not saying that the Dursley's are wonderful people.  I am 
>saying that they are not as terrible as everyone thinks that they 
>are.  Harry hasn't had much in the way of material things and 
>material things do not mean anything to him as a result. That is not 
>a bad thing; in fact in some circles it is a very good thing.  Harry 
>is alive and well, so he was not starved. Harry is not a fat, little 
>indulged pig like Dudley, and that is a very good thing.

So as long as Harry is still breathing and has no bruises or broken 
bones, he isn't being abused.  That's precisely the attitude of many 
CPS administrations in this country, which is why so many kids are 
left in deplorable conditions.  Granted, there are only enough 
resources to help the most serious cases and that is how it is 
justified.  In my opinion, abuse is abuse, regardless of degree of 
severity.

Tonks again:
>Again this is the anger that some people feel toward God at times. 
>And DD had to put Harry with Patunia to protect Harry, it was the 
>only way.

I have extreme doubts about it being "the only way".  I think it was 
the easiest way and DD is as guilty as the rest of us for choosing it 
when anything else would have been difficult.   (And because JKR made 
him do it because it was better for the story.)

Tonks again:
>Harry stays at the Dursley's because that is his home and must 
>continue to be his home for his own protection. As to Harry's anger 
>in the beginning of OoP, that is his post tramatic stress reaction 
>to the experience in the graveyard and the death of Cedric.

I'm sure that's part of it, but a large part of it can be traced back 
to the Dursleys.  Why is it that Harry's single happiest moment was 
the thought of being able to live with Sirius?  Was it because Sirius 
was so fabulous?  I think it more likely that it was because the 
Dursley's were so horrid.  I believe if Harry had been stuck with the 
Dursley's too much longer, he would have found life on the streets to 
be preferable and ended up another teenage runaway.

JMM writes:

>I realize in all that this is just a story but...I always wondered 
why 
>social services of some type didn't step in.  I realize that there 
were no 
>outer signs of abuse such as bruises or broken bones but -- teachers 
must 
>have questioned the fact that one child in the family has everything 
and the 
>other doesn't even have clothing that fits and broken glasses.

I think this is one of those "he's breathing and has no bruises" 
situations.  Although I'll bet Harry had plenty of bruises from 
Dudley pounding on him.  However, I imagine the Dursleys were pretty 
good at making up excuses for any administrative personnel that might 
question them:  "He's incorrigible, we buy him clothes and he shreds 
them, says he doesn't want anything from us, he'll barely eat..."  
Petunia bursts into tears, Harry glares at them but knows if he opens 
his mouth he won't eat for a week...

Nicky Joe