Twist JKR?/ Dumbledore's peaceful expression

[ellecain]

No: HPFGUIDX 141741

> Alla:
> 
> LOL! Well, I would absolutely NOT believe them and I am not sure 
> whether I would even considered their offers in the first place, so 
> fishy it would have been to me, but you know what?  I would not 
have 
> done MANY things that Dumbledore did. :-)
> 
Elyse here:
Everyone keeps talking about these mistakes that Dumbledore made, but 
I myself do not believe that what he did amounted to a mistake.
Dumbledore was a wise man, he had imagination and vision. He was able 
to see so much that normal people could not because he *believed*.
This is what made him the greatest wizard Harry would ever meet. And 
that is precisely why Dumbledore is The Only One He Ever Feared.

o> Alla:
> I would not have  brought eleven year old psychopath to the school 
I 
> am in charge with, because I would be afraid that other people may 
> be hurt by my decision.
> 

Elyse: I really dont want to sound rude saying this, but there's no 
other way around it, so forgive me.
Who are you to decide whether an eleven year old is a psychopath?
I doubt a single psychiatrist would in his or her professional 
opinion (ie knowing they might be sued for it) would declare Tom 
Riddle a dangerous,unredeemable,psychopath,who should not be allowed 
the privilege of education, based on that little interview.
It would require a lot of therapy before he could be justifiably 
called a psychopath, and even then, nobody would have dared deny him 
an education (although since he was already in control of his magical 
powers, education is a moot point anyway).

He may have certain qualities that point in this direction, yes, but 
that could be because he never received proper guidance, never got 
the love, the moral and ethical persuasion that others did.
Is it too much to presume that he might make friends at Hogwarts 
where he would be among other wizards of his own kind?
IMO, this what Dumbledore believed or at the least, hoped for.
And based on this, Dumbledore chose to give him not his second 
chance, but his first one.

And we have been told that Riddle was a nice, uiet studious boy, who 
seemed to please all the teacher, was extremely intelligent and well 
behaved. He could be very charming when he wanted to, and in any case 
had all the techers wound on his litlle finger. If Dumbledore had 
warned them before he reached Hogwarts, would any teacher have 
believed him? They would have thought that Dumbledore was simply 
prejudiced; how could sweet,smart Tom Riddle be a psychopath?
And how could Dumbledore have stopped him coming to Hogwarts?
"He seems like a psychopath" would not be sufficient to deny Tom 
Riddle entry into Hogwarts. That would be like sending Snape to fetch 
Harry in PS/SS and come back without the boy saying "I thought him 
too dangerously unbalanced to deserve an education".

Alla:
> I would NOT have left a baby with muggles whose my Deputy 
Headmaster 
> was able to determine are " the worst kind " after wathching  them 
> for a day only.

Elyse: Yep, and let the "Chosen One" have the pleasure of choosing 
which way he wanted to die: at the hands of Regenerated!Voldemort or 
under Bellatrix's motherly gaze.
Come on, be fair. It was either certain death and victory for 
Voldemort or being abused, but staying alive. And I dont see how it 
was possible for Dumbledore to foresee exactly how bad their 
treatment of Harry was.


> Alla:
> I would NOT let the former member of terrorist organization 
anywhere 
> NEAR my students, because I don't know , I would be worried that 
> this man may had many dangerous psychological issues left over his 
> glory days and he may have take it out on my students.
> 
Elyse: Well, whats the point of being redeemed if no one is willing 
to give you a job and ostracize you because you *may* have 
psychological issues left over? By your way of thinking, we should  
give life sentences to all convicts, shouldnt we, because they *may* 
have psychological issues left over from their time in jail?
I read this fabulous Victor Hugo story years ago. I think it was from 
Les Miserables but I'm not sure. Its the story of a newly released 
convict who cannot get food or board despite having the money to pay 
for it, because,being an ex-con, nobody trusts him. The only person 
willing to take him in is a bishop, whose silver candlesticks the ex-
con promptly steals that night, because he is sure nobody will give 
him a job. The ex-con is apprehended and then he is brought in front 
of the bishop, who tells the police they were a gift. The ex-con is 
released and the bishop forgives him when the ex-con is remorseful.

I actually think this is what epitomises Dumbledore as the example of 
good. He was able to put aside doubt and believe that the man 
standing in front of him was really remorseful. He had faith. His 
believing in the best of people was what made him the most respected 
wizard of all time. He could look at a man, put aside whatever faults 
he has or had, and see the best that this man was capable of.

Alla:
> I would NOT be so naive as to underestimate how much one teacher 
> hated the father of my student, that he would be able to suddenly 
> overcome all those feelings by seeing a glimpse of that student 
mind.
> 
Elyse: I dont think he expected Snape to overcome those feelings, 
just to put them aside for the sake of the greater good, which Snape 
definately did. IMO, it is Harry who enters into the lessons with 
strong feelings, and refuses to put them aside to actually learn what 
Snape is teaching him, even when he knows it is for a good reason.

Alla:
> I would be , I don't know suspicious that one of my teachers came 
> from his vocation with completely changed personality.
> 
Elyse: We arent told that Quirrel cahnged personality completely. He 
might have been nervous before, an absent minded genius type,you know?
And in any case, if I had a ghastly experience with vampires, I would 
certainly come way with a sightly more wary personality. Once bitten, 
twice shy, I think, was the case with Quirrel.

Alla:
> So, to make the long story short, I am not Dumbledore :-) and I 
> believe that trust IS an essential feature of his character.
> 

Elyse: To make a short story slightly longer, yes trust is an 
essential part of his character. That is exactly why JKR should not 
make Snape evil. Because then she would imply that the essential 
feature of the epitome of good is such a tragic flaw. I think coming 
away from the books with a renewed faith that people can be more than 
just the sum of their past actions. Just because someone did 
something bad once does not mean they cannot make a different choice 
in future.

Elyse, who does not think Dumbledore made any huge mistakes

P.S. I know this is totally unrelated to the topic, but someone
(Betsy?) asked before, how people can say Snape would not do such-and-
such a thing because it would be OOC, and wondered how people could 
possibly *know* Snape so well. 
I want to know how come people keep saying Dumbledore /would/ do 
certain things, because it would/would not be in character. I know 
that we have more info on  DD than Snape but we still dont know all 
that much abot his character