You Disgust Me, Dumbledore!

[chocedric.livejournal.com]

Hello again.

In advance, I want to apologize for not putting this entry under the cut, but honestly, I don't know how to do so. I am a totally blind user and am venturing into the world of Livejournal by myself. Is there a way of doing it just by using key strokes? If there is, please let me know and I will gladly edit the post.

Anyway, on to my rant for today.

Albus Dumbledore absolutely disgusts me. I know I shouldn't get so worked up about fictional characters, but when I read a book, I get sucked into their world. Somehow, though, I don't think you guys will mind, for I've seen many rants from you over characters you hate, and I think that's all fine!

Anyway, one line Dumbledore said in Order of the Phoenix made me absolutely despise him on a second reading, because I finally got the full implications of what he was saying.

Here I am going to paraphrase because I don't remember the exact quote.

What did I care if many nameless, faceless people died as long as you were happy? he says to Harry.

and it's then that Cedric Diggory's fearful, vulnerable, and shocked face springs into my miond and will not leave.

In other words, Dumbledore doesn't seem to care about anyone as long as his brilliant plan works. It makes me sick! He never got past his "greater good" philosophy he shared with his ex-boyfriend. And a student under his care had died the year before, and he's implying he didn't care as long as Harry was safe!

I know I seem to care about Cedric's death more than any other in the books, and now, I'm going to tell you why.

Every other character, Lily, James, Fred, Dobby, Moody, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, even Colin, for God's sake, knew they might die in the fight against Voldemort. They all marched into battle knowing the stakes were high. Cedric, on the other hand, even to the last moment, had absolutely no freaking idea what was going on. No wonder he looked so afraid! And also, why did JKR have to rub it in with the description of how Cedric looked when he was lying dead? Usually, death is described as something peaceful. The person has their eyes closed and a peaceful expression upon their face. Not Cedric, however. Even though I'm totally blind, that image of Cedric with his eyes wide, wide open and that terrified expression upon his handsome face has given me nightmares for years. And what makes it worse was that all his family, friends, and girlfriend had to see him looking like that! No wonder Cho was on and on at Harry, asking him what he'd been through in his final moments!

And Dumbledore caused all that to happen! No one can tell me that he didn't know Moody wasn't Moody. If they were good friends for as long as the book implies they were, it's complete bullshit that Dumbles didn't see through Crouch Junior. You can't tell me he was that good of an actor. And because of this, a seventeen-year-old boy was brutally and viciously snatched away from all his loved ones. I hope Mr. Diggory yelled and screamed at the old, pathetic man for tearing apart his family.

Cedric's death shook me up so much that I have actually started something that will hopefully make a difference to victims of violence in reality. Walk for Lost Dreams has been going on for two years now. It takes place in May and is a two-mile walk to raise money for the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts located in Philadelphia, PA. Portraits are painted and given to families of loved ones who have been lost because of cowardly acts of violence. The money is raised so that more portraits can be made.

But anyway, that's the impact that Cedric's death had on me, and I still can't get the image of his blank, lifeless eyes out of my mind. And it's people like Dumbledore that shouldn't be allowed to make important decisions. They should be doing tiny, menial jobs like taking out the trash (no offense to people who really do that, I'm just saying it would be a better job for him to have rather than a job with full power).

To end this entry, oh mighty Dumbledore, I'm going to throw one of your famous lines right back in your face!

You disgust me, Dumbledore! You do not care, then, about the death of Cedric Diggory? He can die, as long as you have what you want?

Comments

[oryx_leucoryx]

Dumbledore's speech to the school about Cedric had me going WTF? Here a kid just died, and Dumbledore used his death as an excuse for a recruiting speech against Voldemort and yet another chance to rub up against Harry Potter. His speech was ineffective, too. It certainly fell upon skeptical ears at the Slytherin table, as Rowling was at pains to tell us. I don't think he had a lot of credibility with a large segment of the student population, and it wasn't just fear of Voldemort that caused this. It was probably because they knew he could care less about them.

The speech was made an entire week after Cedric died. This may have contributed to the suspicions.

[the-bitter-word.livejournal.com]

Argh. That should have been "couldn't care less about them." He really didn't care. In fact, he seemed indifferent to the well-being and learning of the students he was entrusted to protect and educate. He left the school and his students to the care of incompetents and sadists, when not actively inviting danger and deadly situations (Triwizard Tournament, anyone). Even for the brutal world the students lived in, this indifference and even amusement at danger to students was rather galling. His lessons to Harry were along the lines of, are you beginning to feel sympathy for Voldemort now? how funny... to ignore the creature, as there's nothing you can do. (Now look back at me. I'm not Voldemort. You are telling me how shiny I am. Now, I'm in your head.) ... Snape saved your life? He did it for a life debt to your father. Yeah, that's it. A life debt...

He flat-out lied when it suited his purposes, then brushed those lies off as supreme cleverness and of little consequence. Liars always bother me, especially when their lies induce others to act for them or foster hatred.

[aikaterini.livejournal.com]

Not to mention that in HBP, he knew that Draco had been assigned to kill him, he had known from the beginning that Draco was the one responsible for Katie and Ron almost dying, yet he did nothing to protect the students. He even had the nerve to get mad at Harry for warning him about Draco and told him that he had everything under control, ever after two students nearly died on his watch. After Harry's *best friend* nearly died on his watch.

Dumbledore knew the entire time about Draco's terrible situation, but waited until the very last moment to offer him protection (which was ultimately meaningless since he was dying and thus wouldn't have been able to go through with it anyway). If he had only done that in the beginning, Katie and Ron wouldn't have been hurt and Draco would have been spared from his mission. But in the end, his master plan was more important than the safety and welfare of his students.