Suspension of disbelief - Idiots of War

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 182392

---  "dumbledore11214" <dumbledore11214 at ...> wrote:

> 
> Alla:
> 
> ... I would add some bad reasons to that - like adults of 
> Order not questioning Dumbledore nearly enough IMO, BUT that
> is how many people you listed?
> 
> I counted seven, ..., and last time I checked there are much
>  more people in Wizarding World than that.
> 
> And also last time I checked Voldemort DID threaten WW as whole. 
> Where are all those people?
> 
> ...
> 
> Alla
>

bboyminn:

In general, I too agree with what Carol said, without Harry
and what happens to him, there is no story, or at least not
a multi-billion dollar story loved by many millions of readers.
Likely, the books would have been no more than a minor schoolboy
story. 

Let me say on the subject in general, that real-life real-
world adults are idiots. It's easy, in a sense, to not seem an
idiot when you are not involved. Look around the world
today, and that much is clear. But when their is a call for 
action, universally, adults are idiots on both a large and
small scale. If you don't believe me, just ask your kids.

However, this was not an easy war to fight. First, most had
considered Voldemort defeated and gone, why search for clues
about a wizard who no longer exists? Only a very few 
seriously considered that Voldemort might still be around but
with his powers broken. Still, being a brilliant wizard, at 
some point, broken powers can be overcome and restored. So,
were is the incentive for anyone to do what Dumbledore did?

And how do you make people believe what they don't want to 
believe. Are they more likely to believe the school head-
master or the government? Recent events in our time tell us
how easily the public will bow to the wild unsubstantiated
stories of the government. (Sorry, don't mean to get real-
world political, but it serves as a perfect illustration.)

Also, Voldemort played his hand very wisely. He infiltrated 
the wizard world by stealth and trickery. It would have been
so much easier to fight him if he and the DE's had come
storming down the center of the street with wands blazing.

But how do you fight the war that Voldemort did present? Should
Arthur start cursing and killing every one at the Ministry he
suspected was a Death Eater, and how are other people at the
Ministry suppose to know that he is right? They would likely
think Mr. Weasley was corrupted by DE's, and was taking out 
the Ministry. Naturaly, Mr. Weasley's assult would last about 
10 minutes before the Ministry killed him. Dead soldiers don't
fight very well.

So, they acted like the French Underground. The French 
Underground was certainly not in a position to confront the
Nazis in a full frontal assault. They had neither the manpower
nor the fire power for that. They certainly couldn't go to 
the French police or the French government, who had already
bent over and kissed Hitler's...er...perhaps better not to go
there.

Where were the front lines in this war? Where were the battle
grounds? Where was the army? Were, exactly, was Voldemort?
Well, in a sense, there was none of these. This was a very 
back door, skulking in the shadows, slinking through the
night, sort of battle. Like the French resistance, it was 
small battles and small baby steps to keep the occupation 
disorganized and off kilter until such time that a real force
of resistance could be found and deployed. 

WE don't see this 'shadows' battle because Harry is cut off
from it, so he doesn't see it. What Harry doesn't see, we
don't see. But just because we don't see it though doesn't 
mean it's not happening.

In the case of the French resistance, it was to hold out until
such time as the Americans and the British could mount their 
invasion. In the case of Harry Potter, it was until Harry 
found a way, or until such time as outside forces could be
rallied to step in, or until internal forces could be 
sufficiently rallied. But internally, that power should come
from the Ministry, but the Ministry was thoroughly co-opted
from within. So, not much hope there. Dumbledore, the 
internationally powerful and respected voice, was dead, so not
much hope on that front. 

Efforts were slowed in the wizard world just as they were
slowed in France by the fact that you didn't know who you 
could trust which made everyone doubt everyone, and that 
made marshaling a real force of resistance very difficult.
In the case of the wizard world, every moment of doubt and
hesitation allowed Voldemort to grow stronger, and as he
grew stronger, it made forming any resistance that much more
difficult.

But notice that once Voldemort was out in the open and
congregating with his DE's in a single central place, 
Hogwarts, the wizard world rallied pretty quickly, and did
launch a full frontal assault. 

So, why did adults act like idiots, well, because they were.
They were leaderless, and without focus, direction, or clear
purpose. I find their actions very true to life.

Keep in mind the British wizard world is small, they don't 
have large standing armies with Generals to guide them, and 
even if they did, who is to say that Voldemort would not have
co-opted them first? 

It's easy to say, why didn't the adults do something, but 
what exactly and how? It's not an easy task, especially when
the central organizing authority in your world is corrupted
by Voldemort.

The story is what the story is; like it or not, either way is
fine. 

Steve/bboyminn