In defense of DD (WAS musings on Dumbledore ...)

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 158649

---  "Diana" <dianasdolls at ...> wrote:
>
> Reading these posts I believe that Dumbledore's 
> character and motivations have been greatly misread by
> some readers.  
> ...
> 
> Dumbledore may be a genius and a great wizard, but he
> is still just a man.  And a very old man at that.  ...
> I'm just saying that DD's long life experience is 
> definitely relevant to how he came up with his decisions 
> regarding ... Harry's safety .... Dumbledore's greatest 
> fault, to me, seems to be his faith in the goodness of 
> people.  ...
> 
> > ...edited...
> 
> Think back to the death of James and Lily at the hands
> of LV.  Dumbledore was left to arrange for the safety 
> and long-term care of Harry.  Wherever he placed Harry,
> it had be somewhere that was truly safe from LV. ....  
> DD was very wise to use Lily's sacrifice to protect 
> Harry so he had a chance to grow up. 
> 
> Remember that DD instructed the Dursleys to raise Harry
> as their own son, which they did not.  DD knew the 
> Dursley's might not be gushing with love and kindness 
> for Harry, but I think he believed they would at least
> treat him kindly.  

bboyminn:

Excellent, a very fair and well balanced view of 
Dumbledore in my opinion. I think people are being way to
harsh in judging Dumbledore. We as reader have the benefit
of deep hindsight, and plenty of non-critical time for
analysis, but Dumbledore was on the spot, he had to make
a decision immediately and it was clear the potential
danger to Harry was very very real. There is no way to 
get around that fact.

As to Dumbledore's apparent lack of interest in Harry 
over the years, let's not forget that Harry's babysitter
was a member of the Order and a friend of Dumbledore's. 
She saw Harry in a much clearer and at a much more 
intimate level than we have been allowed to see him. I'm
sure she saw a boy who was somewhat put-upon but 
weathering it well. It is likely that Harry was not 
overly depressive or anti-social. He was probably a very
quiet, well spoken, well mannered polite boy who did his 
best to stay out of trouble. 

Given Mrs. Figgs much more intimate knowledge of Harry,
I think Dumbledore judged that miserable as it may have
been at the Dursley's, Harry safety far outweighed his
comfort. I suspect if he had seen Harry becoming anti-
social or excessively depressed, he would have done 
something. But he had a plan, and that plan was to keep
Harry isolated from the wizard world and to keep him 
safe. As long as the basic plan was working, and as long
as  Harry was weathering the storm effectively, he saw no
need to change it. He saw no need to put Harry life at 
greater risk simply to make Harry's life more comfortable.

I have already said, in another post that I think Harry 
had his coping mechanisms. I think he was clearly able to
outwit both Dudley and the Dursley's. He became very good
at knowing just how much he could get away with. By 
asserting himself, by standing his ground in his own 
subversive way, Harry was able to hold on to the best 
part of himself. Harry clearly knew that despite being
put-upon, he was superior to the Dursley's in every way,
and I think that gave him strength.

Yes, it is sad what Harry had to endure, but as I've said
several times, he seems to have found his own methods for
weathering that storm.

I would like to respond to the other aspects of your post,
but I'm pressed for time and have to leave right now.

Thanks for the thoughts.

Steve/bboyminn