It really baffled me how many people said that Draco was pretty much irredeemable after OotP. (Though not as much as those people who said that Percy was on his way to becoming a Death Eater.)
He had a fight with his family! He might as well have spent a lifetime raping and torturing Muggles! Or something... Why, I bet Fudge is a DeathEater, too! And Umbridge! And Marietta! And Dudley! I know he is a Muggle, but he's mean to Harry, so he must be Evil.
That's exactly it. In addition, I wouldn't resent the supposed heroes nearly as much if the text punished their faults, too. A bit of bias for the good guys I can deal with, but JKR has taken it to such extremes that I'm really not comfortable reading it any more.
Well, yeah. The bad guys have to encapsulate every possible bad trait at once: they're stupid, ugly and untalented; but somehow the popular bullies. They're a challenge to the trio, but also beneath their notice. Umbridge, for all the talk of political metaphors surrounding her character, was both liberal and conservative at the same time (she approved for example, the 'old' method of punishment - corporal, like the conservative Dursleys; but also advocated updating teaching standards, like a liberal. The important thing, of course, is she represented the worst traits of both sides.) Fudge is weak-willed, but the bone of contention in OotP is that he won't obey Dumbledore. The Death Eaters can make a plot as intricate as GoF's (when Moody could have handed Harry a portkey any time during a year!) but can't beat a bunch of teenagers. And of course, the bad guys have to be punished, over and over again. Brain damage, Crucio, attacks by animals and teachers and students? Not enough! We still have two books left! *shudders*
I mean, the worst case of "Muggle-baiting" we've seen canonically isn't that scene at the World cup - it's the Twins giving Dudley Ton-Tongue Toffee. And it's worse precisely because it's presented as funny and harmless and deserved, and no one seems to see anything wrong with it. The worst kind of wrong isn't that which immediately is opposed, but that which no one sees reason to oppose at all.
Dudley, Draco and Snape aren't likeable, thus they has no rights. Amnesty International can't say fairer than that!
Harry has a martyr complex, I think. In addition to a superiority complex.
Like Buffy! Jeez, the parallels are piling up...
Really just like HP, isn't it, except without as much of the "disagreeing with Our Hero is a capital offence!" vibe. At least in some seasons...
I don't know, Xander was presented as being in the wrong (and OMG JUST JELLUS) whenever he confronted Buffy over Angel, for example...
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He had a fight with his family! He might as well have spent a lifetime raping and torturing Muggles! Or something...
Why, I bet Fudge is a DeathEater, too! And Umbridge! And Marietta! And Dudley! I know he is a Muggle, but he's mean to Harry, so he must be Evil.
That's exactly it. In addition, I wouldn't resent the supposed heroes nearly as much if the text punished their faults, too. A bit of bias for the good guys I can deal with, but JKR has taken it to such extremes that I'm really not comfortable reading it any more.
Well, yeah. The bad guys have to encapsulate every possible bad trait at once: they're stupid, ugly and untalented; but somehow the popular bullies.
They're a challenge to the trio, but also beneath their notice.
Umbridge, for all the talk of political metaphors surrounding her character, was both liberal and conservative at the same time (she approved for example, the 'old' method of punishment - corporal, like the conservative Dursleys; but also advocated updating teaching standards, like a liberal. The important thing, of course, is she represented the worst traits of both sides.)
Fudge is weak-willed, but the bone of contention in OotP is that he won't obey Dumbledore.
The Death Eaters can make a plot as intricate as GoF's (when Moody could have handed Harry a portkey any time during a year!) but can't beat a bunch of teenagers.
And of course, the bad guys have to be punished, over and over again. Brain damage, Crucio, attacks by animals and teachers and students? Not enough! We still have two books left! *shudders*
I mean, the worst case of "Muggle-baiting" we've seen canonically isn't that scene at the World cup - it's the Twins giving Dudley Ton-Tongue Toffee. And it's worse precisely because it's presented as funny and harmless and deserved, and no one seems to see anything wrong with it. The worst kind of wrong isn't that which immediately is opposed, but that which no one sees reason to oppose at all.
Dudley, Draco and Snape aren't likeable, thus they has no rights. Amnesty International can't say fairer than that!
Harry has a martyr complex, I think. In addition to a superiority complex.
Like Buffy! Jeez, the parallels are piling up...
Really just like HP, isn't it, except without as much of the "disagreeing with Our Hero is a capital offence!" vibe. At least in some seasons...
I don't know, Xander was presented as being in the wrong (and OMG JUST JELLUS) whenever he confronted Buffy over Angel, for example...