Yes, but is Dudley icky because he's spoiled, or is he spoiled because he's icky?
There's this kind of meritocracy running through the books and the fandom, I think - there's this idea that the Dursleys spoiling of their child, for example, is so repellent precisely because he's not what they imagine him to be: they say he's 'sensitive' or 'popular'; we know him to be a cruel bully. Or that prejudice against the Muggleborns is wrong because Hermione is more intelligent than a lot of the purebloods we've seen. Or that Draco Malfoy shouldn't be so arrogant when he doesn't have the skills to back it up. But this kind of provokes the idea that the only reason this behaviour is wrong is because of the merits or lack thereof of these characters, rather than because prejudice, for example; is never a good idea. I mean, there's little criticism from both audience and text when Harry for example, is the benefactor of favouritism, as he frequently is. Likewise, when/if Draco gets victimised, characters and fans are quick to mitigate it with 'he deserved it!' Which weakens the ideal that 'wrong' behaviour is immoral on it's own terms. Clearly, the only problem with bias is when it doesn't favour the characters the reader/Harry likes; and if Hermione and the other Muggleborns were slow and untalented magically, it would be perfectly all right to despise them.
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There's this kind of meritocracy running through the books and the fandom, I think - there's this idea that the Dursleys spoiling of their child, for example, is so repellent precisely because he's not what they imagine him to be: they say he's 'sensitive' or 'popular'; we know him to be a cruel bully.
Or that prejudice against the Muggleborns is wrong because Hermione is more intelligent than a lot of the purebloods we've seen.
Or that Draco Malfoy shouldn't be so arrogant when he doesn't have the skills to back it up.
But this kind of provokes the idea that the only reason this behaviour is wrong is because of the merits or lack thereof of these characters, rather than because prejudice, for example; is never a good idea.
I mean, there's little criticism from both audience and text when Harry for example, is the benefactor of favouritism, as he frequently is.
Likewise, when/if Draco gets victimised, characters and fans are quick to mitigate it with 'he deserved it!'
Which weakens the ideal that 'wrong' behaviour is immoral on it's own terms.
Clearly, the only problem with bias is when it doesn't favour the characters the reader/Harry likes; and if Hermione and the other Muggleborns were slow and untalented magically, it would be perfectly all right to despise them.