Whose side are we on?? (was: Arthur right or not? ( was Hate crimes (was Re: muggle baiting v

[lupinlore]

No: HPFGUIDX 155969

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Ceridwen" <ceridwennight at ...> 
wrote:

<SNIP>

> 
> Katie:
> As I see it, that was KARMA. Pure and simple. 
> 
> Ceridwen:
> So, the twins are the agents of Karma? 

Sure, why not?  Karma has many agents, and often they are quite 
unlikely.  The whole Dudley-tongue episode was hilarious Karmic 
justice, pure and simple.

<SNIP>
> 
> Ceridwen:
> The Hero's.  Of course.  Which is why a lot of us want to see 
Heroic 
> Deeds, not petty sniping, from Our Hero.  We want to see him win, 
we 
> want to see the Triumph of Good Over Evil, we want to see the end 
of 
> the Hero's Journey, which means making mistakes and learning from 
> them - not learning that the Hero can get away with things, but 
that 
> the Hero learns from his mistakes and becomes worthy of the 
> label 'Hero'.

Well, that depends if you believe in and get into all this "hero's 
journey" stuff.  For me, it's hackneyed and annoying beyond belief.  
The type of thing described above, I think, is quite ok for Sunday 
School.  I don't particularly want to see it in popular literature, 
nor would I find it good writing if I did see it.  Rather I see it 
as slavish following of outworn formulas.


  The last thing I want to find out is that I was 
> rooting for just another petty, spiteful whelp who Vanquishes Teh 
> Eeevil, then curls up into a ball and complains until someone 
coaxes 
> him into a good mood.
> 

Why on Earth not?  If anyone deserves to be indulged in a little 
spitefulness, it's Harry -- especially after he destroys Voldemort.  
I would say its time for the people around him -- who so far, at 
least with regard to the adults, have been models of incompetence, 
stupidity, and contemptible emotional and moral deafness, to get off 
their duffs and start coaxing.

> 
> Ceridwen, who hates a few people for Doing Her Wrong, but still 
> hasn't taken them into the woods and shot their kneecaps off.
>

Probably a good policy as the RW, unlike the WW, has semi-competent 
law enforcement.  Verbal blistering, on the other hand, works pretty 
well, and if applied effectively allows you to watch with great 
amusement and satisfaction as people turn lovely shades of purple 
and splutter like defective pressure cookers.


Lupinlore