Imperio

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 176883

---  "allies426" <AllieS426 at ...> wrote:
>
> ---  "R. Penar" <rlpenar@> wrote:
> >
> > In the Ravenclaw common room McGonagall Imperio's 
> > Alex Carrow and he hands over his and Electo's wands
> > and lies down on the floor.  So it got me thinking 
> > ...why on Earth didn't she Imperio him about 10 
> > months ago ...?
> > 
> > ...

> Allie:
> 
> I would imagine that the Carrows have been reporting
> to Voldemort or other high-up Death Eaters - an 
> Imperio would have been detected immediately.  The 
> wrath of Voldemort would have descended on the school
> and on the professor even more quickly.  At that 
> point in the common room, it was safe to do it 
> because the final battle was about to unfold.

bboyminn:

Right, you have to pick your battles. If the Carrows
had gone from 'ravenous wolves' to 'fluffy bunnies'
I think someone might have noticed. THEN the 
retribution for having Imperiused some of Voldemort's
men would have been swift and terrible; and it 
could have affected both teachers and students. 

Best to bide your time and pick your battles. Once
Harry is in the castle, I think 'all hell breaks
loose' is a far description of events to come. At
that point it is time to stand and fight, so
McGonagall is not so reluctant to attack a Death
Eater. 

General Comments on the Subject-

I still think this is the key to the morality of 
the Imperius in general; context matters. We seem
to have people who view everything as morally 
neutral, or who seem to be moral absolutest, typically
asking why it is OK for the good guys can do some thing
but not for the bad guys? My response is to point out
that the world is not morally neutral, and the Bad Guys
ARE /Bad Guys/.

Certainly you can tell the evil terrorist from those 
who are opposing them? Yet on an isolated basis it
might be necessary for the good guy to engage in
the equivalent of terrorism. Yet the good guy are 
the good guys, and their purpose is to oppose evil
and tyranny. The bad guys are the perpetrators of
said evil and tyranny, and while it is not always
clear, it is our moral, ethical, spiritual, and
legal duty to be able to tell the difference.

If you are so 'morally neutral' that you can't read
these books and see who the bad guy with the evil 
purpose and methods are, and who the good guys 
who oppose the purposes and methods are, then as I
said, I strongly think your moral compass needs 
adjusting. 

Good Guys may do something bad as a matter of 
momentary need, whereas for the Bad Guys bad things
are a preferred way of life. 

Again, if you can't tell the good guys from the bad
guys, you moral compass needs adjusting.

Steve/bboyminn