[HPforGrownups] Harry as Murderer

[John Fisher]

No: HPFGUIDX 158065

Eradicating evil (a practical necessity) is a far cry from revenge (an
indulgence of selfish rage), in my opinion.  I don't recall JKR ever
framing the killing of Voldemort as revenge, or even as something
necessitated by justice.  Killing Voldemort is simply the only
reliable way to stop him.  Perhaps that's a step removed from simple
self-defense, which can be handily accomplished with a number of
non-lethal spells in the wizarding world, but it's hardly a Deep
Violation of the Moral Law.

The wizarding world is at war, and Voldemort is Osama Bin Laden...I
mean, if OBL was capable of effortlessly killing scads of people with
his brain and a little stick.

The death penalty used to be the same way, about getting rid of the
rabid dog in a society that couldn't afford to lock him up forever.
Nowadays, it's generally touted either as an expression of justice or
as a deterrent, neither of which seems to really apply here.

-John

On 9/8/06, larryngocnguyen83 <lnnguyen at du.edu> wrote:
> Does anyone else find it disturbing that JKR justifies revenge killing?
>
> Yes, Voldemort is horrible, but DD (the seminal figure of moral good
> in the Books) and Harry in Book 7 continually talk about murdering him
> as a means of revenge, or eradicating evil. Wouldn't this seemingly be
> a glorified justification of the death penalty?
>
> Just a thought....
>
> Larry