Abusive Dursleys (was Innocent Alby?)

[juli17 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 123059

Becky wrote:

> I've seen cases where children were sent to school soaked in their 
> own urine, where children were punched by grown adults as a form of 
> discipline, and where children were dumped on strangers and left for 
> weeks at a time.  I won't go into the sexual mistreatment.  But 
> *that* is abuse, and to me, comparing what those kids have gone 
> through with what Harry endures at the Dursleys is almost 
> disrespectful.  Harry is badly treated, yes.  And I think it may be 
> fear of the neighbors that keeps the Dursleys from sliding into more 
> reprehensible behavior, which says something about their character.  
> But, I think we should be careful about throwing the word "abuse" 
> around.  Of course, this is only my opinion.

Julie says:

"Abuse" is one of those words, like "good" and "evil," that has a 
variety of meanings on a variety of levels. I think Harry was abused,
but it was a relatively mild form of abuse, mostly in the form of
neglect. Legally, the Dursleys could probably be forced to change
Harry's environment, or he could be removed from their home, if
their actions were presented in a court and verified. It's doubtful
though that they would ever be criminally charged, IMO.

Truthfully, throughout the books I have found the Dursleys to be
mean and small people, but not evil. The kind of abuse that ranks
as evil to me is the sort of horrifying and irredeemable things
that too large a number of parents, guardians, and others do to 
children, from broken bones, to cigarette burns, to sexual abuse
to much worse. Harry's situation is unpleasant, but I never found
it heartrending. I never felt his life or his sanity was in danger
(and witholding love, while certainly unkind, isn't really abuse, 
because you cannot force a parent--or guardian in the case of
the Dursleys--to love a child).

I also suspect Dumbledore knew how Harry was being treated,
and kept an eye on his progress. Had the Dursleys crossed the
line into truly serious abuse, I think Dumbledore would have 
stepped in. Otherwise, whether he was bound by an oath, or
by the boundaries of Lily's protection, or something else, he
bided his time, assuring himself that Harry was handling his
situation and that it was even a character-building experience
(as opposed to the silver-spoon situation of Draco, for instance,
who is building no character whatsoever). Kind of what others
have mentioned about the DU detentions--good coming from
a bad situation. 

Julie 


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