Why didn't DD reveal Voldemort's identity?

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 186856


> 
> Alla:
> I disagree with Marion on details, I certainly do not think that it will be as simple as that – just laugh at him and he will go away. But I do agree with her in principle. Sure, I think that  he may not go away just because people will laugh at  him, but to me  what I argued upthread has the potential substantially diminish his influence. Sorry, Pippin but all of the explanations of why Dumbledore did not disclose that Voldemort is Riddle to me  do not hold up.

Pippin:

Maybe Dumbledore is afraid that if he spreads a scandal about Voldemort's past, Voldemort will uncover the scandal in his :) People who live in glass houses...

But anyway Alla, Dumbledore has to have some reason for keeping the secret, besides spoiling the plot of CoS ;) Even if you think it is not a good reason, there ought  to be a reason that Dumbledore thought was good. As Percy says, he usually gives a reason for what he does.

 He says two things, first that very few people connected the   boy who had been Tom Riddle with Voldemort. That's in CoS. But in HBP, he says that most people who had known Riddle were afraid to talk. Now, those people must have connected Riddle with Voldemort, because why be afraid to talk about a  harmless schoolboy  who hadn't been heard from in years?

I think Dumbledore is talking about two different groups. Riddle was a school celebrity: one of Slughorn's proteges, a prefect, a top student with a shiny trophy for special services, and popular. So probably most of the students and all of Slughorn's connections knew him by name and reputation at least. But those people wouldn't have any useful information for Dumbledore. And they probably didn't connect the handsome  Riddle of  years ago with the enigmatic and dangerous-looking Lord You Know Who.

But there'd be another group of people who had interacted with Riddle on a daily basis: classmates, other prefects, teachers. Those people might have information Dumbledore didn't have, about Riddle's interest in things that Riddle was too wary to bring up with Dumbledore. About dark magic, or ways to escape death, for example. 

Alla:
> Now, I CAN possibly see the explanation that Dumbledore would be afraid that Voldie Tom would just simply kill off all people who knew him as Riddle. I agree that it will be very much like Tom, except, well it does not feel very Dumbledore like to me.
> 
> Now how many people still know Tom as Tom? I would bet that we can count them on the fingers of two hands, if that many.
> 
> Sorry, but after book 7 Dumbledore does not strike me as a guy who would worry much about few lives lost if greater good comes out of it.

Pippin:
And how will they answer Dumbledore's questions if Voldemort kills them first???? 

It is a reading against canon, IMO, to say that Dumbledore would not worry.  In HBP, Hagrid says he has never seen Dumbledore so worried. We know what he was worried about -- that it was proving harder to keep Draco from hurting anyone  than Dumbledore had expected. 


Alla: 
> The bottom line to me is this :
> 
> I am yet to read convincing argument as to why it is not worth it that Voldemort followers who believe in the "purebloods rule" will know that their leader is not pureblood since they have nothing but absolute contempt for anybody who is not pureblood.

Pippin:
Because people are not as simple or as logical as that. And wizards aren't even trained to be logical. I bet lots of DE's wouldn't care who is  in charge as long as it isn't Muggle lovers who won't let a wizard keep Muggles in their place.  

I am sure there isn't a celebrity in the world today who hasn't had a few unwelcome facts uncovered  about him and spread all over the internet, but actually turning something like that into a wedge that will discredit someone with his core followers is not so easy. 


Pippin