Whose side are we on?? :was: Arthur right or not?

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 156081

Lupinlore:
> Oh, certainly the WW seems backward in a lot of ways. But for none 
of
> the adults to even *acknowledge* what happened to Harry?  That's...
> well, for a lack of a better word, contemptible.  You say the WW
> deplores Umbridge, but I certainly see no sign of them deploring 
what
> happened to Harry.  Even McGonnagall, who has special
> responsibilities in this instance, lets it go without so much as
> a "Sorry about that, Potter."  Once again, I don't think 
contemptible
> is too strong a word.

Ceridwen:
What I didn't get was that they all passed over what happened to 
Ginny in CoS, with barely more than a warning not to trust objects 
that have their own minds.  I think this was a set-up for the later 
reactions to Umbridge.  No one liked what happened to Ginny, no one 
liked what happened to Harry.  But, stiff upper lip, pip-pip, all 
that, nothing more to see here, move along...

Snape's 'heart on the sleeve' speech might not only be as personal as 
we all seem to think - what if it's the way the WW actually looks at 
things?  "Don't wallow, don't live in the past, it's time to soldier 
on."  The only incident I can think of offhand, excluding 
Dumbledore's funeral, where there was more than an explanation was 
the memorial for Cedric Diggory - not that my memory is all that 
good.  Once that was over, everyone moved on.

For 'contemptible', try ignoble, despicable, abject, base, miserable, 
ignominious, mean, vile or beggardly.  I'd go for 'ignominious' here:
*Marked by shame or disgrace
Deserving disgrace or shame; despicable. 
Degrading; debasing*
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ignominious

I'd choose that one because it *is* disgraceful.  You might go 
for 'vile':
*adj 1: morally reprehensible; "would do something as despicable as 
murder"; "ugly crimes"; "the vile development of slavery appalled 
them" [syn: despicable, ugly, unworthy] 2: thoroughly 
unpleasant; "filthy (or foul or nasty or vile) weather we're having" 
[syn: filthy, foul, nasty] 3: causing or able to cause nausea; "a 
nauseating smell"; "nauseous offal"; "a sickening stench" [syn: 
nauseating, nauseous, noisome, loathsome, offensive, sickening]*
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/vile

Ceridwen.