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Pet Peeves v.8

Discussion in 'Fanfic Discussion' started by Dark Syaoran, Oct 20, 2013.

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  1. Skeletaure

    Skeletaure Magical Core Enthusiast ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

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    Such discussions can get a bit vague. I think Draco's actions, viewed alone and in the abstract, could be morally excused by the blackmail element. However, when considering if a person is evil you also have to look at their character, not just their actions. Draco Malfoy is a self-interested racist who cares nothing for the pain and suffering of others. He is willing to harm others, to the point of murder, in pursuit of his own interests. He supports widespread discrimination on the basis of racial group.

    With all of that in mind, the blackmail almost seems coincidental. It forced him to do something he was inclined to do anyway. A weak stomach prevented him from going through with directly causing harm to another, but his actions still caused much harm indirectly. (So add cowardice to the list).
     
  2. crimson sun06

    crimson sun06 Order Member

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    Don't take this the wrong way but your arguments are getting juvenile. My liking or hating Draco's character has nothing to do with what I'm trying to say here. You might be a superhero who can take out the terrorist with thousands of followers holding your parents hostage, I was referring to the mortals here who'd be helpless when placed in a situation like this.
     
  3. prtclehysics

    prtclehysics Third Year

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    You seem to consistently miss the point that the parents were there willingly. Just as they were willing the last time around. That changes the equation. As for "superhero" that just what good people do. You don't negotiate. You don't talk terms, especially for one person. You just do whatever in your power to make sure that the "terrorists" hurt for ever harming you. It's love. It's what was missing in the HP books. Talked about a lot. But missing.
     
  4. crimson sun06

    crimson sun06 Order Member

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    Again that is a debatable issue. I agree with you that he is a racist and a bully, but hardly did he graduate above the level of a schoolyard bully till his sixth year, where circumstances for obvious reasons changed.
    Now I'd have been perfectly happy with him being an irredeemable asshole, but its obvious that's not how Rowling wrote him.
    So I'm all for chucking him into Azkaban and throwing away the key, but at the same time I understand where he is coming from.

    ---------- Post automerged at 03:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:07 PM ----------

    No what you're talking about is revenge and retribution. You're more concerned about getting even with the other guy than saving your loved ones. And FYI just because your loved ones make crappy choices doesn't mean you abandon them to their fate.
     
  5. prtclehysics

    prtclehysics Third Year

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    I hate to break it to you but people don't come out of those situations alive IRL. So yes, revenge & retribution. The "bad guys" never need to honor their word.
     
  6. Andrela

    Andrela Plot Bunny DLP Supporter

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    There's no need to debate, we have Rowling's actual word on the matter:

     
  7. crimson sun06

    crimson sun06 Order Member

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    Last time I checked Draco's parents came out of it alive.
     
  8. prtclehysics

    prtclehysics Third Year

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    As I mention previously, they were willing participants not hostages.
    Thanks Xandrel I hadn't seen that.
     
  9. crimson sun06

    crimson sun06 Order Member

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    Its canon that he was being threatened with the fate of his parents. So unless you tell me otherwise that argument doesn't hold much water and we are talking about Draco's actions not his parent's.
     
    Last edited: Dec 30, 2014
  10. prtclehysics

    prtclehysics Third Year

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    The fate that his parents willingly signed up for when they threw in with Voldemort. The fate that subscribes to views they refuse to abandon even after the second war. There comes a point when you have to decide what kind of person you're going to be. Draco chose to be a willing bondsmen to Lord Voldemort. When presented with what that meant he may not have cast a killing curse but his waffling makes him worse in my view not less.
     
  11. crimson sun06

    crimson sun06 Order Member

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    If you read Xandrel's post you'd know that Draco did change himself eventually. The beliefs he held were a product of a lifetime of sycophancy and beliefs fed to him by his parents. But now we are just running around in circles and I'm tired of it. If you read Xandrel's post you will find it more or less says what I've been harping for the last several posts.
     
  12. prtclehysics

    prtclehysics Third Year

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    I did read Xandrel's post and I got the complete opposite but it was nice discussing this with you
     
  13. dmacx

    dmacx Groundskeeper

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    EDIT: nevermind.
     
  14. Joe's Nemesis

    Joe's Nemesis High Score: 2,058 ~ Prestige ~

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    Um . . . No. That is a pretty shallow view and shows little understanding of the depths of truly wicked people like Voldemort.

    To put it simply, I think it's pretty obvious Draco loved his parents like any other kid. Abandoning them or seeking refuge with the other side would end in their deaths for their son betraying him. History is replete with examples of wicked men visiting death on families for the sins of one.

    And that leads to a Pet-Peeve - overly simplistic fixes without consequence. It'll make me hit the x every time.
     
  15. Download

    Download Auror ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

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    Not to mention how damn smug Malfoy was about the fact he had to kill Dumbledore at the start.

    ---------- Post automerged at 14:58 ---------- Previous post was at 14:57 ----------

    Eh, I see you went and mentioned that in another post.

    ---------- Post automerged at 15:15 ---------- Previous post was at 14:58 ----------

    I hate overly simplistic criminal trials.

    Nearly always stories with freeing Sirius in them have Sirius carted into the courtroom, he's given Veritaserum and under its influence he says he wasn't the secret keeper and he didn't kill Peter, and viola, he's free. It's like the authors haven't heard of the concept of modifying memories or being given antidotes.
     
  16. Starfox5

    Starfox5 Seventh Year

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    To be fair the wizards shown in canon seem rather... simple-minded and prone to play "follow the leader". Not that it really matters since the trial is not in front of a judge, but the Wizengamot. Bribe enough and who cares about proof? It does present a sort of explanation for Dumbledore not arranging a trial for Sirius after year 3 though - he might have known that even if Merlin himself had spoken for Sirius, Malfoy's gold would have seen him convicted anyway.
     
  17. Stan

    Stan Order Member

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    Ironically for all this talk of Sirius' innocence in canon, he had at least two Azkaban worthy crimes- attempted murder of Snape and illegal aminagus. So at least some of his twelve years in prison were justified.
     
  18. golan

    golan Temporarily Banhammered DLP Supporter

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    I don't think telling him how to get into the Shrieking Shack would count as actual murder before a court (probably not, I'm no lawyer) and being sent to Azkaban for being an unregistered animagus seems like too harsh of a sentence to me.
     
  19. Newcomb

    Newcomb Minister of Magic

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    Rita was scared enough of Hermione's threat to out her that she caved; she wouldn't have done that if the penalty hadn't been quite steep.

    On a separate note, I hit some kind of threshold tonight killing time reading fanfiction before going out for New Year's Eve...

    "Harry, maybe you should stay with the Weasley's for a while."

    "The Potter's have a long history of redhead fetishism."

    "Harry, why are the Malfoy's sending you mail?"

    "Does anyone else think the Gaunt's tried to do unspeakable things to snakes?"

    ...

    What the hell is so hard about using and not using apostrophes in the right places?
     
  20. Stan

    Stan Order Member

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    Being sent to Azkaban for being an illegal animagus is canon. Hermione states this when she blackmails Skeeter in OOTP.
     
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