Sirius, Sirus, and more Sirius/ Blood protection/ Dumbledore and Harry

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 158547

 > > >>Betsy Hp:
> > > > This is probably part of the breakdown of our views.  For 
me, 
> in 
> > > > the story-book pantheon of "bad parents" the Dursleys 
> just      
> > > > aren't that bad. 
> > > > <snip>
> > 
> > > >>Alla:
> > > Yes, this is part of the breakdown of our views - I 
> consider      
> > > beating child ( Harry's remark that experience taught him to 
> stay 
> > > away from the reach of Vernon's hands - paraphrase) and 
> starving   
> > > him to be very high on **horrid scale** of bad parents.
> > 
> > Betsy Hp:
> > But since the Dursleys neither beat nor starved Harry, they 
don't 
> > manage to rank, IMO.  There needs to be bruising, fainting, 
etc., 
> to 
> > make it into the pantheon for me.  Harry doesn't even manage an 
> > emotional breakdown because the Dursleys don't love him.  If the 
> > Dursleys are to rank, Harry needs to bleed.  And he doesn't.
> 


Alla:
So, basically what I hear you saying is that you would need 
**abuse** more spelled out for you to be convinced that it was 
indeed abuse? It is fair, after all for me to be convinced that 
the blood protection is the only possible thing I needed it to be 
more spelled out as well.
 
But I suppose for me it is spelled out very well. Harry says that 
experience taught him to stay out of reach of Vernon hands. Um,do 
you see any other reason for him to stay out of reach of his hands 
other than that he beat him? Not being sarcastic here.

And Harry at the beginning of CoS when he was locked in the room 
was not starved? 

And of course JKR said that Harry was abused, Dumbledore as much 
as says it IMO in this infamous scene.
 
I am telling you - I would not put it past JKR to make me 
sympathize with Petunia in book 7, after all she made a miracle of 
making me sympathise with Dumbledore again in book 6 and cry after 
his death, but so far I consider Dursleys to be monsters, 
caricature, fictional monsters, but monsters nevertheless and if 
they all drop dead at the beginning of book 7, I am not anticipating 
that I would be too upset.
 
This is of course emotional reaction, but I believe reaction based 
on the textual events.

> Tonks:
<SNIP>
> I think it is a very good thing that Harry grew up in the home 
that 
> he did. Not for Harry's sake, but for the sake of the children who 
> are reading the books.  IMO, Harry is in a rather typical family. 
<SNIP>
 What a 
> disservice JKR would have done to the children of the world if she 
> has put Harry in some *fairytale* goody, goody family all 
sweetness 
> and light and kisses and hugs all the time.  Most children do not 
> grow up in that type of home. And even those few who do usually 
have 
> times when they feel misunderstood and unloved.  All children can 
> identify with Harry and learn from him, something they might not 
be 
> able to do if he had been raised by a fairytale family.
>

Alla:

What I hear you saying is that Dursleys are a typical family and 
most kids are growing up in families like that? I am really not sure 
how to respond to this.

I will just say that there are many many families which are **not** 
like Dursleys .

I am not sure what is wrong with sweetness and hugs, but there is 
pretty big road IMO between sweetness and light all the time and 
locking a kid in 
the room with locks and starve him and try to hit him with the 
frying pan.

JMO,

Alla.