Being Good and Evil (was:Re: Harry's arrogance (was Evil Snape)

[houyhnhnm102]

No: HPFGUIDX 154480

Alla:
> > As I told someone off list, I don't like generalisations, 
> > but from my life experience people who hate other people 
> > because of their different ethnicity ( that is my experience,
> > so I will stick to that) generally do not change. So, 
> > Draco to me is a disgusting little bigot and whatever he 
> > gets, he deserves.

houyhnhnm:

It is rare for someone who has been taught bigotry from an 
early age to overcome it.  That's why it is especially moving 
when it happens, and I've known a few such cases.  In fact 
I was thinking of one today in relation to Malfoy and son. 
There was a white Southern Baptist preacher, raised a racist, 
who spoke at an MLK celebration I went to a few years ago.  
The refrain of his speech was "I loved my daddy, but my daddy 
was wrong".  After all, there is "more joy in heaven over one 
sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons 
who need no repentance".

Betsy Hp:

> Houyhnhnm, I think I love you. <g>  This really makes 
> so much sense to me.  I think what bothered me was that 
> we're so close to the end and there hasn't been a moment 
> of, "hmm, maybe that wasn't such a good act, even though 
> I'm a good guy."

houyhnhnm:

Er, I'm a *female* houyhnhnm, so I'll take that 
in the magical sense.

She did it with Fred and George in one book.  I didn't 
care much for the twins from the get-go.  I didn't like 
the disrespectful way they treated their mother.  I 
didn't like their slacker attitude towards their 
studies or the way they tried to corrupt those around 
them or the way they experimented on first years. 
I could go on and on. And yet we were supposed to 
see them as such lovable scalawags.

Then in HBP, Rowling had them starting chains of events 
that led to the mutilation of their older brother, the 
near poisoning of their younger brother, and the death 
of Dumbledore.  Of course, she didn't spell it out and 
a lot of people still don't get it.

It may take something really bangy in book 7 to drive 
the point home.  If she does kill Harry (or another 
highly beloved character) off, and if he dies *needlessly* 
as the result of the selfishness/insouciance/recklessness
/smugness/carelessness of one of the *good* characters, 
that might do it.