deathtocapslock | POA: Chapter Three

The Knight Bus

*Harry is at large on the streets of Magnolia Crescent and there is anger burning in his heart. But don't worry the love is there too. Its mixing with the anger to create something really good and is sure to save the world.

*Oh no, Harry's stranded in a muggle world. As if the wizarding world is any safer.

*Damn, Harry is now a fugitive and expelled from Hogwarts! He violated the underage magic rule.

*There is a lack of notices from the MOM. I'm thinking this was still during the years that Fudge was still Dumpeydore's water boy.

*Well, now that he is a magical JD, an underage runaway BUT with a vault of gold, why not just use MORE magic? To hell with it all, right Harry? I'm sure the MOM can't pin down you're whereabouts at all. Too bad you aren't as smart as Riddle. I'm sure HE knew all the places he could practice magic without getting expelled. In fact, I'm sure most of Hogwarts (who aren't friends with the trio) know where they can practice magic without being expelled.

*You know, I'm thinking that this restriction is really just to handicap powerful muggle kids.

*Harry feels as if he is being watched. He turns to see a large dog and promptly falls down in surprise.

*The knight bus arrives just in time to prolong the mystery. Damn you Shunpike.

*Shunpike jumps out of the bus to deliver his speech. He is dressed in a purple outfit and his ears are really large and his skin is pimply. I suppose that was why he didn't get a job at the MOM. He was too ugly. We can't have ugly people running around the Ministry. Nope.

*Of course Shunpike has a thick, low class accent. Which is why he is working for a bus company. Don't you just love these books? We always know who is the upper crust from the low because Harry and pals have an RP dialect. Even Ron who should really be speaking with a lower class accent. But then again, his family were most assuredly former Kings of England fallen on low times. Nothing really, really bad can happen to the heroes. The Weaselys may be poor but their blood is the PUREST OF ALL!

*Harry tells Shunpike that he is Neville Longbottom. This is the only time Harry ever thinks of Longbottom away from school. Neville can always be good for an alibi.

*Harry asks Shunpike why muggles can't see the bus. Isn't it great that Harry buys into the prejudice of this world? It is a wonderful example of how loving and giving he really is.

*Shunpike is here only to give information about Black. He is a veritable scholar on Black crimes. He also very generously gives us information on Azkaban.

*Fudge is waiting at the Leaky Cauldron for Harry. Poor Shunpike he fawns all over Fudge. I guess he is still hoping for a better job. Clear up that acne, shrink your ears and learn better pronunciation Shunpike.

*A Harry Potter series bon mot: People who don't speak well deserve the low class jobs they get.

*Another bon mot: If you aren't connected by blood or friendship to someone better, you deserve the low class job you have.

*Fudge laughs off Harry's magical mistake. He states that Aunt Marge has been obliviated and the Dursleys will take him back.

*I shudder to think of what the aurors did to the Dursleys to convince them to take back Harry.

*Harry asks Fudge if he could give him permission to go to Hogsmeade.

*I love how Harry completely forgets all the trouble he has caused and immediately just thinks about his own silly problems. Harry needs to go to Hogsmeade, dammit!

*Fudge refuses to give permission. Damn Fudge, the aurors couldn't get a signed permission note from the Dursleys while they were messing with the Dursleys memories? This is HARRY POTTER you know. He just can't be treated like any old normal person.

*Harry is shown to his room and Hedwig is waiting for him.

*I guess staying with the Weaselys was too much for even Hedwig to handle. She would have rather taken shelter with the homeless Harry. Darn, that is saying quite a bit about the Weaselys.

*Harry then sleeps the sleep of the pure and blameless at the Leaky Cauldron inn.

Current Mood: cynical

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

sarahtales.livejournal.com

Also, the fact you keep saying things like 'this community is proposing' and saying that we're 'engaging in a pretty futile activity' is, I presume, what got you banned in the first place. Seeing that there are inconsistencies in the HP books (and there just are, there are in most books) is something that the community does, but it's certainly not all we do and we don't all share the same viewpoint all the time.

However, when we don't agree, we don't call the other person's behaviour 'sad' or suggest their reading experience is less rewarding than our own.

I wouldn't like to think you're just trolling us, but the way you're addressing people in this community really suggests it.

From: (Anonymous)

Honestly, I feel you've interpreted what I've written rather harshly. Perhaps if I rephrase it a little it might read better:

('You' here refers to the community not to any individual.)
Don’t you think, though, that if you claim you're doing more than having a laugh the problem with this affirmatory approach is that you only find what you’ve already decided is there? Wouldn't this be a pretty futile activity, and also sad if it meant you missed things in the books that could make reading them more rewarding and add to the sum of your pleasure?

Is this worth thinking about at all?

I don't know what trolling is, perhaps it is what I'm doing. I thought what I was doing was asking questions. I came to this community and was attacked, you know. Is it not permitted to question here? (wi)

(deleted comment)

From: (Anonymous)

I don't really get what you're saying here...

Discussion is fab. What I am asking is whether, when a group of people share the same view there isn't a tendency for them not to discuss but to agree, and if so, with it a danger that they are not able to be objective?

(It is so easy to misunderstand and be misunderstood in a written conversation, isn't it?! I'm trying to ask for more rigorous discssion, and yet I've given you the impression I'm asking the opposite!)

Is this worth thinking about at all?

I meant, "Is it worth thinking about the question I am asking?"

There is a lot of pleasure to be had in deconstructing and analyzing.

I agree, and I think in a group that is based in a shared viewpoint it's essential not to forget to analyze and deconstruct this shared viewpoint - just to keep your feet on the ground!

You also seem to assume that we're losing something if our response to a story is not positive (correct me if I'm wrong).

Okay:) No, I believe that one loses something if one's response to a story is limited by a narrow reading.

The banning only happened when you got personal.

Not that it's important, but that's not actually the case. (wi)

From:

merrymelody.livejournal.com

What's worth thinking about here appears to be why you seem so concerned with the way these community members have chosen to spend their time.
So by your perspective, they're sad and their activity is futile.
Great, now they (or rather, we) know. Is your mission accomplished now?

I'm not sure how you feel you've been attacked, since you've wandered in here, insulted the entire community and the way they chose to spend their time, accused us of prejudice and disregarded being banned - I'd say everyone has been tolerant far beyond what can be reasonably expected of them.

It's perfectly permitted to 'question' recappers and commenters' - there's no hive mind with a list of proscribed opinions.
It however, is not permitted to come into a community, the purpose of which has already been explained to you multiple times and patronisingly explain to them how they're missing and how there's much more to find - coincidentally what you have already decided is or isn't there.

(I'm also a little confused as to how you seem so convinced of your own originality when you don't seem to have committed to an intellectual opinion beyond 'I really really like Rowling and have created vast, intricate, contrasting explanations to explain why everything in the books rocks and is exactly as it's presented!' You do realise that that like, 90% of HP communities are patterned after your basic approach? Isn't it a pretty futile activity to remain here among the classist bullies?

Neither have you particularly convinced me of the pseudo-liberal cred you seem desperate to flash when you've replied to kaskait's RL experience of prejudice by accusing her of hypocrisy and getting concerned that she's not respecting a fictional character; as if it's much easier to get aerated and defend amusing fictional, stereotypical minorities than it is actually converse with real live ones.)

No-one here has a habit of trolling (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll) general HP discussion communities and telling them how they may think the books are actually well-written and enjoyable but are in actual fact incorrect and if we just explained to them that they've misread and although they don't know it, are actually miserable with their inferior readings.
Please don't do the equivalent to us.
I'm asking you, politely, as the mod, to leave and cease replying here.

From: (Anonymous)

I'm sorry that I've offended you. Do you think it's possible that you might have misunderstood me? This thing has escalated ridiculously. (wi)

From:

merrymelody.livejournal.com

Possibly. However, my concern isn't understanding you, it's moderating this community.
I don't know what you hope to achieve from your comments here, but it seems unlikely you'll get it.
No one objects to your basic opinions or you holding a different viewpoint to ours, although this isn't really the place for endless JKR defenses or for you to 'save' us somehow from not enjoying the text (I can see how you find it uniform and dull, but I'm sure you can appreciate how the vast majority of mainstream HP fandom and your arguments come across similiarly to us; and how this is a 'safe haven' of sorts that we're protective of.) especially when this is a place we enjoy and get a lot from.
They object to the way you've put them across.
This debate seems to be going nowhere, and valued members here have been offended, so from now on, I'll be deleting any further comments of yours that I see.
I'd really rather I didn't have to do that, and you'd respect this place enough not to stay where you aren't wanted, but whatever.

From: (Anonymous)

I've tried to go back to my question to Kaskait to apologise but can't find it. I just want to say I didn't intend to accuse her of hypocrisy or to accuse her of anything. It was stupid and insensitive of me to ask the question, and I apologise wholeheartedly. (wi)

From:

sarahtales.livejournal.com

You're assuming that we've already decided what's in there.

I don't know why you are assuming this.

We haven't.

'Trolling' is making personal comments in order to offend people. I believe you if you say that's not what you're doing, but that is what it looks like. Nobody has attacked you, and nobody has made any personal comments about you, but you have made personal comments about others. Again, I believe you if you say it's not your intention to offend, and since I came into this discussion quite late I hope you'll believe me when I say it really does look like you're attacking the others.

It's absolutely okay to question anything here, it's just not okay to do that.