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

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 156001

> Ceridwen:
> So, the twins are the agents of Karma?

Lupinlore:
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.

Ceridwen:
The ton-tongue toffee incident was funny, true.  But it put the twins 
in a very bad light to me.  I like the twins, I was very disappointed 
with this.

<SNIP>
>
> Ceridwen:
> Heroic Deeds... Triumph of Good Over Evil... Hero's Journey... etc.

Lupinlore:
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.

Ceridwen:
Apparently, I like the idea of a Hero's Journey.  And part of that 
journey, at least the decent ones I've read, seems to be the inner 
journey as much as the outer journey as the Hero learns about life as 
well as his task.  It's like Dumbledore on the Tower insisting that 
Draco not use the term 'Mudblood', even in such a dire situation.  It 
seems so petty considering that Draco is contemplating killing him, 
yet it's important to Dumbledore, and I got the idea that he thought 
it was important for Draco to learn this fact.

Ceridwen:
> ...Vanquishes Teh Eeevil, then curls up into a ball and complains 
until someone coaxes him into a good mood.

Lupinlore:
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:
You and I seem to differ on the incompetence of the Potterverse 
adults.  I think they're trying to do their best, but are impeded by 
human failings.  Now, the adults who really came off as incompetent 
to me, completely in denial, were the Nightmare on Elm Street 
parents.  There they killed old Freddie, then their kids are dying 
off in their sleep and yelping about nightmares and guys with wicked 
fingernails, and they just say, 'Yes, honey, whatever, let the dog in 
on your way out'.

I can see Harry wanting to retire from life as he's known it for a 
while after the defeat, and who can begrudge him?  A little R&R never 
did any harm.  Going fetal and sticking his thumb in his mouth and 
wanting his friends to coax and cajole him into a better mood would 
only mean, to me, that the battle wasn't that serious to him, all it 
was was an excuse to get people to cater to him.  Help, rest, 
privacy, being available to talk when he needs it, is far different 
than humoring him like he was some incompetent, imbecilic child, in 
my opinion, and very lacking in respect to Our Hero.

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

Lupinlore:
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.

Ceridwen:
I wish I could command words like that, I really do!  Instead, I'm 
reduced to nodding along with Mad Magazine's lines that we all think 
of later, instead of when we need them!

Ceridwen.