Child Abuse (Draco) (was Re: Christmas present pattern...)

[Tonks]

No: HPFGUIDX 131843

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Chris" <labmystc at y...> wrote:
>    I would not pat Harry on the back here, nor call it heroic. But 
I  will say, "It's about time!" I am all for being the better 
person,  walking away from a fight, trying to settle a situation 
peacefully.  As a matter of fact, it was an integral part of my 
martial arts training. However, may ask I all of you who are against 
this sort of behavior: When is enough enough? (snip)


Tonks:
I do not believe in physical violence in any form.  I can understand 
the rage that might make someone resort to that, but I still think 
that it is wrong.  I was never bullied as a child, perhaps because I 
am a female and it was a different era.  I have met people and 
children who were or are being bullied and I just don't know the 
answer to it.  

I do not understand the mentality of someone who would bully another 
person.  I do not understand how anyone could live with themselves 
for doing that.  Oh, yes, intellectually I can understand.  I can 
say so and so is that way because..  But on the level of empathy and 
putting myself in the place of the other to understand them, I just 
can't get it.  I can understand someone committing a *crime of 
passion* like a murder for finding your wife with another man, or 
killing someone who hurt your child.  What I can't understand are 
people who are not in the state of rage who do terrible things to 
other people.  I can't understand Umbridge. I just hate her.  I feel 
guilty for hating her, but hate her I do. 

I wish I knew the answer to how to deal with very evil people 
without becoming one of them.  I really believe that when we give to 
the other what the other gives to us, if that is returning evil for 
evil, it means a lose/lose situation.  If someone else's behavior 
causes us to retaliate in kind than we have lowered ourselves to 
their standard and no one is the better for that.  I think that when 
that happens somewhere in the cosmic sphere the forces of evil, by 
what ever concept you know them, are rejoicing.  In other words, LV 
is happy because we have used *his* methods, and not DD's.  

I hope that JKR will find a way in these books to teach us all the 
way to live in harmony and peace.   I hope she will give us all an 
example of how to be better people day to day.  She worked for 
Amnesty International and must have learned something there that she 
can pass on to us, and I suspect that she will. 

Tonks_op