In Defense of Molly Weasley (Long)

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 175085

Lisa:
> guzuguzu:
> 
> guzuguzu:
> 
> My apology is towards the end of message 174935
> (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/174935).
> 
> Here it is again:
> 
> >guzu:
> 
> >I am sorry that the way I wrote my argument led you to taking the
> >opposite meaning from my intention. As a former stay-at-home 
mother,
> >I think my current employers would also take issue with that.
> 
> I apologized that my phrasing of my opinion caused problems.

Lisa:
> 
> An apology that boils down to "sorry you misunderstood" is equal to 
> no apology at all.  Is it really that hard for you to simply 
say "Oh, 
> I'm so sorry I offended anyone; I certainly never meant to do so?"  
> You see, once you were informed that people were offended, instead 
of 
> apologizing in any way, you began your next post with, "At the risk 
> of offending you again ... ."  You've really said nothing that 
makes 
> me believe that you were sorry you offended anyone -- just that you 
> were sorry we misunderstood your intentions.  Do you really wonder 
> why anyone continues to be offended by you?

Ceridwen:
I wasn't offended the first time around.  Nor the second.  Nor the 
third.  I thought the second and third apologies were unnecessary 
since there had been one.

The thing about the internet is that it's hard to judge what a person 
means, because we can't see expressions and we can't hear tone of 
voice.  The way some people express themselves in speech and in 
writing is often different than the way others do, and 
misunderstandings develop.  Sometimes, it's just best to take that 
person's word that this is what they mean, because they know what 
they meant.

For instance, you're coming off to me as being very rude.  I'm sure 
you don't intend to be this way.  It's just the way you phrase 
things, like snide asides with winks and nudges to onlookers.  But, I 
can't take this as your meaning because I can't see your face or hear 
your voice.  These are words on a group, and meaning may not be 
transmitted as intended.

> guzuguzu:
> 
> Your self-deprecating comment above, the
> one that starts off "but then, my past..." is exactly the type of
> sarcastic phrasing that you said was so offensive to you in my 
posts.
> 
> Lisa: 
> 
> Glad you caught that.

Ceridwen:
I think we all did.

On Molly Weasley's dueling abilities, I was surprised, not that she 
went after Bellatrix, given her protective nature, but that she was 
able to sustain a duel.  The first blush of anger, fear, adrenalin 
rushing through the veins, is over relatively quickly in real life.  
This wasn't just a rush up to the DE and utter the spell, it was 
taking over for three younger witches in an ongoing duel.

Maybe Bellatrix was reaching the end of her endurance by this point, 
but then, Molly had been fighting, too.  I can't see her just leaning 
against the wall waiting for something else to happen to her brood. 
So, for me, Molly's reaction to the spell that nearly hit Ginny was 
in keeping with her personality and what we've been shown to expect.  
We haven't been shown anything about Molly's sustained duelling 
abilities, so it caught me off-guard.

Ceridwen.