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

[Chris]

No: HPFGUIDX 131845


> 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 think the one overriding factor that many people overlook when 
discussing or thinking about violence is this: balance. I am a firm 
believer that good and evil in their various forms are always going 
to exist. As far as we humans go, deep down somewhere in our DNA, the 
capacity for it is hidden. Yes, some people such as yourself may be 
immune to those thoughts and feelings, and for that I honestly 
commend you. For every warhawk, there is a pacifist, and this is the 
way it should be. To have overwhelming peace in the world is a great 
dream, but alas, I think it is naive to think it will ever come true.
     I don't condone violence in any form, but I have resorted to it 
twice: the time I mentioned earlier, and when I interrupted and 
stopped a mugger from attacking a defenseless, elderly woman. People 
like this will always exist, and they have to be stopped when they 
act...

<snip>  

> 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.  

    Nobody ever said we have to give back *exactly* what we receive. 
This is one of the reasons I disagree with the death penalty. Killing 
someone for killing someone does what exactly? Does it teach that 
killer to stop being evil? Is it all that great a detterent of crime? 
    I think Dumbledore realizes this concept in his confrontation 
with LV in the ministry. Dumbledore refuses to kill LV, and says 
exactly "there are other ways of destroying a man." (p. 814) I look 
to Dumbledore as the conscience of HP. He does not kill LV, but he 
would do something else to destroy him. Render him powerless perhaps. 
    When confronted with evil, and I mean pure evil...to wring our 
hands, ignore it, and hope it goes away...this is wrong. Evil must be 
stopped, no matter what the cost. I would rather see my soul go down 
in flames stopping evil, than to let it continue and harm others.


> 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 both agree and disagree. I do not look at the forces of evil 
as having one goal, but two. The spread of evil, and the defeat of 
good. Yes, evil may have won one battle when reduce ourselves to 
being evil. However, if good wins in the end, it's just that! Good 
has one. Ultimately, Harry will have to murder LV, which he realized 
at the end of OoTP. However, in doing so, he will have stopped LV 
from conquering all. Yes, he commits evil through murder, but 
ultimately for a good reason. 
  
> 
> 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. 

  I think it being a better person is cumulative, sort of like Karma. 
You build up both good and evil acts in all their froms throughout 
your lifetime. Hopefully, at the end of that lifetime, the good far 
outweighs the bad.

Chris