(no subject)

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

Am I the only one a little bothered by Dumbledore? Not only with the fact he could end up in the Guinness Book Of World Records for "Most Incompetent Headmaster of All Time" (though I'm sure there's worse. :P), but also because...he just bugs me. I know JKR was trying to write him as the "flawed Yoda", so to speak (and to be fair, he's nowhere near Yoda. XD), but it's also how...preachy he gets. Towards Fudge, for example. You know, in Goblet of Fire, with, "You place too much importance on purity of blood, yadda yadda et cetera et cetera" -- which considering how he treated Tom Riddle and the Slytherins is...slightly hypocritical isn't it? Probably bad writing on JKR's part, though. :/

Anyways, sorry 'bout the rambling. Thoughts?

Comments

I agree

[urbanman1984.livejournal.com]

Of all the important HP characters I might possibly hate him second most, after Hermione.

Re: I agree

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

:D!

(Although out of curiosity, why do you hate Hermione? :)

Re: I agree

[urbanman1984.livejournal.com]

Re read the series. Hermione is a psychopathic monster who goes around permanently disfiguring other kids on minimal provocation and who, amongst other things, destroyed her muggle parents minds and stole their identities (in a sense, killing them) in order to dissociate herself from the unworthy muggle world. Of all the important characters, only Voldemort has a more messed up personal history.

Re: I agree

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

Holy shit, the Marietta thing. I agree so very much. :(

Re: I agree

[charlottehywd.livejournal.com]

THANK YOU. And to think I used to be one of her biggest fans. The mind-raping her parents thing was the deal-breaker though.

Re: I agree

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

To be fair, she may have been doing it to protect them. Still...there had to have been another way, right? :/

Re: I agree

[urbanman1984.livejournal.com]

So how then was it any different in principle from Dumbledore and Grindelwald's ideas about how wizards ruling muggles was necessary because it was for the muggles' own good ie 'the Greater Good'?

Re: I agree

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

*Sigh* I'm gonna have to do it, right? Roll the clip. :P

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUpbOliTHJY

Still, you're definitely right. Besides, what could it have accomplished? Hermione could have just sent her parents to live with the Order or something...

But knowing Hermione, she always loves doing things the hard way. XP

Re: I agree

[condwiramurs.livejournal.com]

Oh yes. I admit that I am something of a fan of Hermione, but she is quite ruthless, and the mind-wiping her parents thing just OMG so wrong. (I find her interesting because of her ruthlessness, actually). She's the next Dark Lord (Lady?), definitely. So very righteous.

I forget if I recc'd this to you before, but for a dose of well-written ruthless!Hermione try Caveat Inimici over at FF.net.

Re: I agree

[charlottehywd.livejournal.com]

It's still incredibly creepy. I would think a talented witch like her could come up with something less of a human rights violation.

Re: I agree

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

I know, right?! Honestly, I think JKR gives Hermione too little credit, and Harry too much. :(

Re: I agree

[borg-princess.livejournal.com]

What pisses me off is that people sigh over how 'tragic' it was...FOR HERMIONE. What a huge sacrifice was made...BY HERMIONE.

Um, how about her parents? I know we never actually hear them speak or see their characters develop in any significant way, but they're real people whose lives were ruined by something they didn't even know about because Hermione lied to them all those years. And then she made a unilateral decision about what she thought was best for them. I cannot stand it- in the movie, she literally hits them from behind, while they're sitting there, happy and unsuspecting of what's about to become of them. Yet we're supposed to feel sorry for Hermione? She got rid of them like so much excess baggage! No dialogue, no chance to explain anything to them!

And people go, 'This way it saves them having to worry about her.' Um. OMFG. These people are her parents. They raised her for at least eleven years, they have a right to love their daughter, be concerned for her, worry about her, pray for her and everything else! It's like saying the parents of soldiers off in Afghanistan or Iraq or wherever would rather be mind-wiped, because it's easier than worrying about their children. Just. How sick and offensive is that?

Re: I agree

[charlottehywd.livejournal.com]

Well said. It's pretty disgusting really, and what amazes me more is that most of these people can't seem to see how incredibly offensive the treatment of non-wizards is in the books. I wonder if they have forgotten that they themselves are "just muggles"?

Re: I agree

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

Somehow it makes a sick degree of sense. :(

Re: I agree

[oneandthetruth.livejournal.com]

It's pretty disgusting really, and what amazes me more is that most of these people can't seem to see how incredibly offensive the treatment of non-wizards is in the books. I wonder if they have forgotten that they themselves are "just muggles"?

A couple of years ago I came across a comment several paragraphs long in which a woman insisted there was nothing wrong with Obliviating Muggles, that it didn't hurt them, cause any permanent problems, or violate their rights in any way. I remember thinking, "Back away from this person slowly. She's obviously completely delusional and very dangerous."

Seriously, that kind of mindset is what leads to "ethnic cleansings," that attitude that "this other group isn't worthy of consideration because they're inferior to us." Once you start justifying "harmless" activities like mind-wiping, it's only a matter of time before you start making excuses for torturing and killing--just like Scumbledore and Grindelwald, with their schemes for torturing and enslaving Muggles.

Re: I agree

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

*This*, just this! D:

Re: I agree

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

That was for borg_princess, BTW. (*Curses the funkiness of LJ commenting system* :P)

Re: I agree

[sunnyskywalker]

I can't find it right now, because I think it's in a comment somewhere, but gehayi has a fragment about "Wendell and Monica Wilkins" in Australia realizing they can't actually remember what any of their supposed siblings look like and having horrible nightmares and a terrible feeling that they're forgetting important things. Which seems like a plausible outcome of Hermione doing such a drastic modification for the first time.

Re: I agree

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

It really does. *Shudders at the thought* Poor Mr. and Mrs. Granger...talk about a case of We Hardly Knew Ye to boot, especially since they don't get much screentime. (Or pagetime, rather. ;-)

Re: I agree

[oryx_leucoryx]

That's another reason to ship her with Severus. Because if anyone can set her straight, that's him. Up to DH she was still redeemable, however horrific some of the things she did. Until it turned out Rowling believed all those things were just awesome.

And he'd be getting something in the deal he never had - a truly loyal friend.

Re: I agree

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

Holy crap, *this*!

Re: I agree

[urbanman1984.livejournal.com]

It certainly suggests JKR has certain problems. But this was not obvious until the whole mess of Deathly Hallows, where it finally became clear that she had no clue what she was writing and no interest or insight into providing a satisfactory resolution to the series.

Re: I agree

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

DEATHLY HALLOWS was really where she came undone, wasn't it? :(

Re: I agree

[borg-princess.livejournal.com]

I love this. Because Hermione really needs a check on her excesses, the ridiculous lengths she'll go to over a grudge or sense of vindictiveness, and what horrifying things she'll do because she feels she's justified. I love fics where he gives her a wake-up call. And I adore it when they become friends and he realizes that as annoyed as she might be, as much as he might hurt her at times, she'd never abandon him. Damn, but as much as I love romance, I love the parts preceding it, because he so needs one good friend who's on his side and doesn't see him as a means to an end.

On the flip side, I HATE fics where Hermione 'sets Snape straight', ie. scolds him for being so horrible to the children, attacks him for being rude and nasty, constantly argues with him over all the points he takes and challenges his authority in public and undermines him...UGH. It's even worse when the author makes him her lapdog (we did NOT need a repeat of the Lily situation) and bend over backwards to please her and change to make her happy.

Re: I agree

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

*Jots down fic idea* :D