Respect (was: Less than 1000 posts in a month - why now?

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 180329

Susan:
> Betsy, I want to suggest that when you say that JKR is evil, that
> you are really attacking her...saying that she is not a bright
> bulb is a comment that would not be tolerated on this list by
> the list elves if you said it about me. I am in an incredible
> minority who thinks that Ms. Rowling should be treated as well
> as anyone on this list. The List Elves do not agree, so I am
> suppressed.... oh well...

Ceridwen:
I'm not Betsy and so can't answer for her, but the difference between 
you and JKR to me is that Rowling is a public figure and as such is 
subject to more public criticism than private individuals, while you 
are a private individual.  Rowling has made the choice to be visible 
and recognizeable; you haven't.  Speaking on a Yahoo! group with 
others of similar interests does not equate to being known by glance 
throughout the world, doing interviews at places like Radio City 
Music Hall and on the world-renown BBC.  Rowling knows the price of 
fame and went for it anyway; you are merely here as another fan 
discussing the books and have not opened yourself to criticism based 
solely on that.

Susan:
> Evil? You really think Ms. Rowling is evil? In my own humble
> opinion that seems to be a little over the edge.....

BetsyHp:
> Snip>
> > As for me?  I figure JKR's a big girl. I'm betting she can
> > handle little old me calling her to task on an internet group.
> > Looking at her bank balance might help. ;)

Susan:
> Betsy, this is an example of how I think Ms. Rowling is not being
> treated with the same respect that anyone on this list is entitled
> to...

> 
> When you say " Looking at her bank balance might help..."..To me,
> this means that she is a rich jerk who is entitled to any vitriol
> that anyone might dish out? No?

Ceridwen:
Since the discussion is centering around Rowling's interviews, I'll 
just jump in here to discuss both this and my thoughts about the post-
series interviews.

I had an equally disturbed reaction to Rowling after finishing DH.  
For six books, the Unforgivable Curses were just plain wrong.  It was 
even enshrined in both canon and wizarding law that using an 
Unforgivable was a sure ticket to Azkaban.  Yet Harry uses one, makes 
a smart-mouthed quip, and... nothing.  No heart searching afterwards, 
no repercussions from the legal or Divine.  The camping scenes were 
boring, not something I would expect from this series.  There was no 
resolution on-page between Our Hero and His Adversaries other than 
Voldemort.  While Voldemort was the biggest baddie, I thought the 
tensions between Harry and both Draco and Snape would be briefly 
explored and resolution settled.  The message I came away with was 
that the Creatrix favored one of her creations above all others, and 
that, in the end, there is no moral compass as people are calling 
it.  Evil is a word I'd use, but not in the traditional Judeo-
Christian way.  Evil in the sense that, in my opinion, she lost sight 
of the story, the morals she had been expounding throughout, and in 
what is supposedly a children's series, does not make it plain that 
either there are some instances where the usually bad thing is fine, 
or that the usual bad thing can lead to misgivings even if it is fine 
in context.

The interviews.  *sigh*  I wish she'd move on.  You've focused on the 
outing of Dumbledore, as it is what a lot of people point to when 
expressing their dissatisfaction.  It's probably the biggest post-
series reveal, but it isn't the only one.  It is the most memorable.  
I never got that in the text.  By the time she mentioned this, which 
would have slightly changed my perception of why DD was so reluctant 
to confront GG, I was already wishing she would get a hobby or join 
an author's survival group.  It was slightly amusing at first to see 
her go from bad-mouthing Snape to saying her favorite would see to it 
that he got a portrait in the head's office, but it got very old very 
fast.  I got so sick of Harry Stu during these interviews that he has 
colored my entire view of the character of Harry James.  Rowling 
doesn't have to continue these interviews.  I know I don't have to 
read them, and I don't, but they're brought up in the oddest contexts 
so that I see certain quotes even though I am definitely not looking 
for them.  If I want verbal tap-dances, I have kids who can more than 
adequately fulfill that desire.

(slight rant)  And that's another thing.  Why do people in the WW not 
move on to other relationships once one has ended?  Snape pined for 
Lily, Dumbledore pined for Grindelwald, neither was able to move on 
from his adolescent crush.  I totally bought the whole deep 
friendship angle of DD and GG, and it did make sense to me that 
someone, in this case DD, would be reluctant to confront a dear old 
friend.  The story worked without the reveal, though the reveal would 
have deepened the DD character and the whole DD/GG subplot for me in 
the book.  Why not put it in?

And Snape/Lily.  *eyeroll*  Going on SWM from OotP, I wouldn't have 
thought the two of them even knew each other outside of class.  There 
was no foreshadowing, in my opinion, of feelings on either side.  
Instead of being a Madonna stand-in, Lily ended the series as a 
shallow wench for me.  Rowling and I obviously have a difference of 
opinion on what a hero should be!  I thought it might be revealed 
that they knew each other outside of school, since that would be a 
twist and Rowling likes twists, but best friends?  She never 
convinced me.  I could go on and on, but I'll leave it.  It's too 
early. /rant

I know I left out a lot, but I hope this helps to sort out my 
reactions.

Ceridwen.