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Con_Stripes · 06-23-2009, 11:46 PM

Truebridge had the class set up differently today, there were tables arranged in clusters of three- seven desks, no real rhyme or reason in it. He was sitting at his own desk, apparently completely engrossed in reading a book.

You should probably sit down and get ready for class.

nimbus1991 · 06-24-2009, 05:00 PM

Lucas noted down the list that Professor Truebridge had written on the board.

SPOILER!!: List of Groups

Now time to get to work. He thought with a smile and sorting the groups from the top. This should be fun.

Quote:

Good

The Order of the Phoenix- Definitly COOL!!!
Wizengamot - Ah! They weren't that BAD.
Official Gobstones Club - It a sports group. How can that be bad.
Dumbledore's Army - Another definitly COOL!!!
Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers - They've done alot of work on potions. or so it seems.
The Order of Merlin - Dude anything related to Dumbledor is SUPER COOL!!!
Q.U.A.B.B.L.E (Quidditch Union for the Administration and Betterment of the British League and its Endeavors) - As I said sports groups are always good.
S.P.E.W (Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare) - Poor creatures need help too.
The Medieval Assembly of European Wizards - Seems good.
Society for Distressed Witches - Hey! They're distressed. They need help.
International Confederation of Wizards - 'Course they're good. Collaborations like that have to be. I guess.
International Task Force - Like an international spy group. COOL!!!!
The Dark Force Defense League - Ahem! Dark force Defence. HELL YES!!!
Hufflepuff,Ravenclaw,Slytherin,Gryffindor - Students can never be BAD!!!

Neutral

The Knights of Walpurgis - Knights are good but what's that Walpurgis.
Troll Rights Movement - I don't think they'd be bad.
The Wizarding Examinations Authority - Niether good nor bad. You know what I mean.
The Headless Hunt - Can't be called bad.
B.O.G (Brotherhood of Goblins) - No Idea.
International Federation of Warlocks - They can't always be right can they?

Bad

Inquisitorial squad - EEP!!! Umbridge is a serious NO NO!!!!
Society for the Reformation of Hags - HAGS.....NO way!!!!
S.T.V ( Society for the Tolerance of Vampires) Vampires are not good. No sir, they are not.
Snatchers - Do I have to say anything?
Campaign for Greater Freedom for Wizards - Freedom for Wizards is good. Not just the way they want it!!!!

Unsure

Slug Club - No idea whop they are???
S.S.S (Society for the Support of Squibs) - Can't decide.
Order of the Mark (or Seal) - Never heard about them!!!
Order of the Fang - Never heard about them!!!
Order of the Talon - Never heard about them!!!
Order of the Stripe - Never heard about them!!!
Order of the Mane - Never heard about them!!!
The Order of Air Voyagers for Intrepid Wizards - Never heard about them either.

Lucas rechecked his list when he was done. Oh! That was one long list. He thought and smiled to himself.

Cassirin · 06-25-2009, 12:32 AM

Copernicus gnawed at the end of his quill and tried to think deep thoughts about good vs. bad. Those were such completely subjective terms and would depend entirely on his own personal morays. To Cope, doing good meant that the purpose of the organization was to work for the betterment of society or a group. Doing bad meant seeking to harm or remove privileges from others or to cause division. And anyone who was merely doing the job they were paid to do would probably fall under neutral.

Quote:

Good
The Order of the Phoenix
Quidditch teams (If bringing entertainment is beneficial to society)
Official Gobstones Club (Same as previous)
Dumbledore's Army
S.P.E.W (Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare)
Society for the Reformation of Hags
S.S.S (Society for the Support of Squibs)
S.T.V ( Society for the Tolerance of Vampires)
Order of the Mark (or Seal)
International Task Force
the Dark Force Defense League

Bad
Death Eaters
Inquisitorial squad
The Knights of Walpurgis
Order of the Fang
Order of the Talon
Order of the Stripe
Order of the Mane
Snatchers
Hufflepuff
Ravenclaw
Slytherin
Gryffindor

Neutral
Wizengamot
Ministry for Magic
Slug Club
B.O.G (Brotherhood of Goblins)
Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers
The Order of Merlin
Q.U.A.B.B.L.E (Quidditch Union for the Administration and Betterment of the British League and its Endeavors)
Society for Distressed Witches
The Medieval Assembly of European Wizards
The Order of Air Voyagers for Intrepid Wizards
International Confederation of Wizards
International Federation of Warlocks
The Wizarding Examinations Authority
The Headless Hunt

Unsure
Troll Rights Movement
Campaign for Greater Freedom for Wizards

Well. That would start some fights.

dan arjay · 06-25-2009, 01:05 AM

Daniel scratches his head. As if the thinking of the clubs weren't enough. Now they have to decide whether they are good or bad. He scratches his chin and scribbled all the clubs he had known and heard from his classmates.

SPOILER!!: Daniel's Club list

MarcyMoo · 06-25-2009, 01:15 AM

Lucy grabbed her quill, dipped into her ink, and began sorting everything out.

SPOILER!!: list

Suziella · 06-25-2009, 02:30 AM

Simone, sucking on the tip of her quill, thought for a few minutes before she began to categorize her list. It took alot of thought, but it was well worth it.

SPOILER!!: list

'Good'
The Order of the Phoenix: Because Dumbledor was good.
Quidditch teams: Cause quidditch rocks!
Official Gobstones Club: Gobstones rock too.
Dumbledore's Army: Because Harry Potter was amazing.
Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers: Because they invent new potions.
Q.U.A.B.B.L.E (Quidditch Union for the Administration and Betterment of the British League and its Endeavors): Again, because...Quidditch rocks.
S.P.E.W (Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare): Because Elves have feelings too!
Society for the Reformation of Hags: It would be amazing to get hags to be nice.
S.S.S (Society for the Support of Squibs): YAY for squibbs!
S.T.V ( Society for the Tolerance of Vampires): Because Vampires are awesome.
Society for Distressed Witches: It's always good to help out someone in need, especially when they are distressed, and emotionally broken.

'Bad'
Death Eaters: Because Lord Voldemort created them.
Inquisitorial squad: Umbridge. YUCK!
The Knights of Walpurgis: The Death Eater's original name was dumb.
B.O.G (Brotherhood of Goblins): Because goblins are creepy.
Order of the Fang: Fang...'nuff said.
Snatchers: Snatched Harry.
The Wizarding Examinations Authority: do i really have to explain? EXAMINATIONS!

'Neutral'
Wizengamot: They do good and bad.
Ministry for Magic: They do good and bad.
Slug Club: because the guy who founded it...wasnt always good.
The Order of Merlin: They do good and bad.
International Confederation of Wizards: They do good and bad.
International Task Force: They do good and bad.
International Federation of Warlocks: They do good and bad.
Hufflepuff: They do good and bad.
Ravenclaw: They do good and bad.
Gryffindor: They do good and bad.
Slytherin: They do good and bad, but mostly bad.

'Unsure'
Campaign for Greater Freedom for Wizards
the Dark Force Defense League
The Headless Hunt
The Medieval Assembly of European Wizards
The Order of Air Voyagers for Intrepid Wizards
Troll Rights Movement
Order of the Mark (or Seal)
Order of the Talon
Order of the Stripe
Order of the Mane

Finished! It was surprsing at the amount of "unsures" there were on her list, but really she didnt really know what those groups did, therefore...she was unsure. She shrugged and put her quill back down on her desk.

Hermione345 · 06-25-2009, 03:15 PM

Linda sighed again.It was boring now.

Paintbrush · 06-25-2009, 03:56 PM

Natka chewed on the end of her quill as she stared at the list, wondering what to do with it and how to group the various...groups. She divided her parchment into four subheadings, and decided to simply go through the list one by one to group them.

Yes, that should be the best way.

SPOILER!!: The List

SPOILER!!: Grouped List

Rosa Chispa Princessa · 06-25-2009, 04:46 PM

Wow, thats long list, better get to work Herminny thought as she dipped her quil in ink and got to work:

Good:
Order of the Pheonix
Quiddich Teams
Official Gobstones Club
Dumbledores Army
Most Extrordinary Society of Potioneers
Brotherhood of Goblins
Q.U.A.B.B.L.E
Society for Reformation of Hags
Society for Support of Squibs
Society for tollerance of Vampires
Society for Distressed Witches
Troll Rights Movement

Bad:
Death Eaters
Inquisitorial Squad
Knights of Wulpurgis
Order of the Fang
Snatchers
Midieval Assembly of European Witches
Order of the Air Voyagers for Intrepid Witches
Order of the Mark
Dark Force Defense League

'Neutral'
Wizengamot: They do good and bad.
Ministry for Magic: They do good and bad.
Slug Club: because the guy who founded it...wasnt always good.
The Order of Merlin: They do good and bad.
International Confederation of Wizards: They do good and bad.
International Task Force: They do good and bad.
International Federation of Warlocks: They do good and bad.
All of the Hogwarts houses because it depends on the person, not the house

Unsure:
Order of the Talon
Order of the Stripe
Order of the Mane

She finished but it took a while cause she had to look up half the stuff in her book to make an informed decission

harita · 06-25-2009, 06:41 PM

Bella sat quietly in her class and looked around. she was waiting for their professor to come.she saw Linda once or twice sighing and she smiled and shook her head.
both the girls kept quiet after they were hushed. well they surely knew that it was for their and their house's benefit so none of them hopefully didnt get angry and obeyed the class rules...

ZDARDSKY · 06-25-2009, 07:11 PM

Cyrus had almost finished his sketch of Katie slipping on the banana peel (it consisted of stick figures) when the History Professor slapped some random words on the board.

He hadn’t been listening, really? The first year rose in his seat to get a better look at his neighbors paper, ahhh, sorting them were they? Good thing Cy had literally NO experience with History… especially since it was British history. Cy was Australian.

He started to write stuff down anyways though…

Quote:

Good
The Order of the Phoenix
Wizengamont
Ministry of Magic
Quidditch teams
Official Gobstones Club
Dumbledore’s Army
Brotherhood of Goblins
The Order of Merlin
Q.U.A.B.B.L.E
S.P.E.W
Order of the Mark
Order of the Fang
Order of the Talon
Order of the Stripe
Order of the Mane
The Medieval Assembly of European Wizards
International Confederation of Wizards
International Task Force
The Dark Force Defence League
International Federation of Warlocks
Hufflepuff
Gryffindor
Campaign for Greater Freedom for Wizards

Neutral
Slug Club
Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers
Society for the Reformation of Hags
S.S.S
S.T.V
Society for Distressed Witches
The Order of Air Voyagers for Intrepid Wizards
Troll Rights Movement
The Wizarding Examinations Authority
The Headless Hunt

Bad
Death Eaters
Inquisitorial Squad
Knights of Walpurgis
Snatchers
Ravenclaw
Slytherin

Cy placed most of them randomly, and before he’d known what he was doing, most of his groups ended up in the ‘good’ column. Oh well, he wasn’t really wanted to rearranged it. He did know a few though… The first year yawned loudly as he waited for class to continue on.

She-Who-Is-Not-To-Be-Psycho! · 06-25-2009, 07:53 PM

Diane stared at her parchment for a good while before she started inscribbing. No hurry. Before she had been distracted with something another student had said. Now, when finished, she put the parchment asside for the professor to pick up.

Quote:

Good
Society for the Reformation of Hags
Society for the Tolerance of Vampires (S.T.V.)
Society for Distressed Witches
Campaign for Greater Freedom for Wizards
Dumbledore's Army
Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers
B.O.G (Brotherhood of Goblins)
S.P.E.W (Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare)
Troll Rights Movement
S.S.S (Society for the Support of Squibs)

Neutral
The Order of the Phoenix
Wizengamot
Ministry for Magic
The Wizarding Examinations Authority
The Medieval Assembly of European Wizards[*]
The Order of Air Voyagers for Intrepid Wizards
International Task Force[*]
Slug Club
The Order of Merlin[*]
Quidditch teams
Q.U.A.B.B.L.E (Quidditch Union for the Administration and Betterment of the British League and its Endeavors)
Official Gobstones Club
The Headless Hunt [**]
*(Note: Good in theory, flawed in practice)
**(Note: Very pointless.)

Bad
Death Eaters
Snatchers
The Knights of Walpurgis
Inquisitorial squad
Hufflepuff
Ravenclaw
Slytherin
Gryffindor

Unsure
Order of the Mark (or Seal)
Order of the Fang
Order of the Talon
Order of the Stripe
Order of the Mane
The Dark Force Defense League

Suddenly, Diane raised her hand. "Professor, a question. Isn't the International Confederation of Wizards the same as the International Federation of Warlocks?"

Crystal Ball · 06-25-2009, 08:54 PM

Mari thought for a few moments about the list, sort of see-sawing her quill between her fingers as she stared at the somewhat large number of organizations to shuffle into groups. She started writing then, going back to the idle motion with her quill every so often as she seemed to internally debate a few.

SPOILER!!: spoiler

Mari finished her list, dashing a little flourish on the uppercase G in B.O.G. before she put her quill down again. She looked around, wondering slightly what everyone else had written down. These sorts of lists could be very telling, she thought with a slight smile to herself.

LaFresita · 06-25-2009, 10:01 PM

Helena pulled out her notebook and began copying down the names, feeling like she should have contributed something, but also feeling distracted at the moment. She sufficed for completing the lists.

SPOILER!!: Lists

After looking over her list, Helena was eager to start a discussion about who placed what where - she knew that many people would disagree with her views, but she loved debating anyway.

Crayola · 06-25-2009, 11:07 PM

WHOA! They had to sort out that entire list? Into 'good', 'bad' or 'neutral'? Well, all of those categories were a bit relative, weren't they? She could beat half of her list was gonna be on the 'neutral' part of it.

SPOILER!!: Liiiist!

Yup. Most of it was on the neutral list. But also because she didnt really know what were half of those organisations. Eh. Ah well. Now to waiiit.

PadfootAndTheWolf · 06-25-2009, 11:16 PM

Chris copied down the list of organizations and clubs and then thought about any others he knew. "Professor would the Aurors be counted as a group or organization?"

Quote:

Good
Society for the Reformation of Hags
Society for the Tolerance of Vampires (S.T.V.)
Society for Distressed Witches
Campaign for Greater Freedom for Wizards
Dumbledore's Army
Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers
B.O.G (Brotherhood of Goblins)
S.P.E.W (Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare)
Troll Rights Movement
S.S.S (Society for the Support of Squibs)
Auror's (?)

Neutral
The Order of the Phoenix
Wizengamot
Ministry for Magic
The Wizarding Examinations Authority
The Medieval Assembly of European Wizards[*]
The Order of Air Voyagers for Intrepid Wizards
International Task Force[*]
Slug Club
The Order of Merlin[*]
Quidditch teams
Q.U.A.B.B.L.E (Quidditch Union for the Administration and Betterment of the British League and its Endeavors)
Official Gobstones Club
The Headless Hunt [**]
*(Note: Good in theory, flawed in practice)
**(Note: Very pointless.)

Bad
Death Eaters
Snatchers
The Knights of Walpurgis
Inquisitorial squad
Hufflepuff
Ravenclaw
Slytherin
Gryffindor

Unsure
Order of the Mark (or Seal)
Order of the Fang
Order of the Talon
Order of the Stripe
Order of the Mane
The Dark Force Defense League

She-Who-Is-Not-To-Be-Psycho! · 06-26-2009, 12:05 AM

OOC: ?? I must come out as a very reliable person if people chose me to copy-paste lol. But, DanialRadFAN01, the idea is that you organize those societies in good, neutral and bad in your opinion. =P

Diane lowered her hand but added, "Since it's a long list, should we explain our reasoning orally? I suspect this will be subject to debate."

Con_Stripes · 06-26-2009, 01:07 AM

Quote:

Suddenly, Diane raised her hand. "Professor, a question. Isn't the International Confederation of Wizards the same as the International Federation of Warlocks?"

Ethan raised one finger, "It is true that the terms are used interchangeably now, but there was once a distinct difference between the two. A Warlock is a term that is given to someone learned in martial magic and given as a title to Wizards who have performed great acts of valour. Likewise, though the terms are often used interchangeably, a Confederation is a union in which each member retains some independent control over internal and external affairs. A federation, in contrast, is a union in which external affairs are controlled by a unified, central body."

He shrugged. "In any case, the International Federation of Warlocks was a union within the International Confederation of Wizards and as it is less common to be officially titled as a Warlock, even if one is adept in martial magic, the Confederation has absorbed the Federation to some extent."

Quote:

Chris copied down the list of organizations and clubs and then thought about any others he knew. "Professor would the Aurors be counted as a group or organization?"

"It is a profession rather than a group in which a person belongs, though you are welcome to add it to your list if you like. Just imagine how big the list would get if we added all the individual ministry roles and the like in there."

Quote:

Diane lowered her hand but added, "Since it's a long list, should we explain our reasoning orally? I suspect this will be subject to debate."

"You are on the right track Diane, the debate will be coming." Truebridge nodded at her, secretly pleased that she was in Slytherin since most of his better students were in the other houses.

"Now it is time to share your lists with everyone, no need to comment on it at this point but do note that everyone who did their own work, has their own opinions and even their own definitions as to what constitutes 'good', 'bad' or 'neutral'. Can anyone suggest what problems might be caused by these terms? Does anyone have any thoughts about what makes something 'good' or 'bad' or 'neutral'? What does it mean to be considered as one of these when that is not the intention? Raise your hand if you have anything you'd like to share or talk about regarding this."

ZDARDSKY · 06-26-2009, 01:28 AM

Cy wanted to be roaming the castle as he usually did, but class was in session. The Aussie looked again at his list and sighed… he didn’t know most of these groups but he DID have reasoning.

Well, kind of.

The first years small arm shot into the air, his brown eyes were looking lively. “I know this sir.” Cy didn’t believe in inside voices, either. “Good is a person that tries to save things like thah’ Kelpie population,” That, was his only good example as he’d overhead Teal talking about it. “Or maybe, uhh, I don’t know…” He wracked his brains, “OH, being good is when you win a Quidditch match too! People love watching quidditch…”

Hmmm, that was about all he had on the subject. “SO, for thah’ purpose I put the Order of the Phoenix in thah’. Cause they are cool. Quidditch teams of course. And Hufflepuff. Because we ah’ good at Quidditch. AND, I think we all don’t want the Kelpie’s to pass on… deep down.” His booming voice quieted as he looked around the room wryly for and Hufflepuff eyes. They better be nodding along with him.

Neutral now? “A neutral group is a group that doesn’t give a care about anything.” Cyrus folded his arms. “So basically, they ah’ pretty darn useless. I put stupid clubs like thah’ Slug Club an’ the Headless Hunt in there.” The Aussie rubbed his chin as he moved on to his next portion.

The bad. Ohhh, the bad. Sometimes Cy considered himself to be a part of the bad. But, in the end he always considered himself to one day be a super hero rather than a super villain. That Anna Greingoth would be the super villain, obviously.

“Bad people ah’ people that areeee… meaner than a cat’s pee.” He nodded once fervently. “No mattah’ what they just like to break things and kill stuff.” The first year looked down at his list and sighed. “So I have the Death Eaters there… DUH. They killed a lot of guys and ladies.” This was true. Knights of Walpurgis? Cy didn’t really know, it was a guess.

Best to skip that one.

Snatchers was a guess too, so he moved on to the last two. “Slytherin are bad because… I said so.” He looked around the room rather tentatively. “And Ravenclaws ah’ bad only because they usually beat us at Quidditch... so they say.” And because Willow Kovac can be quite ghastly at times.

His response was quite serious, well, in his mind VERY serious. There really wasn’t anything comic about it. He was simply… speaking his mind.

PadfootAndTheWolf · 06-26-2009, 01:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NicoT

"It is a profession rather than a group in which a person belongs, though you are welcome to add it to your list if you like. Just imagine how big the list would get if we added all the individual ministry roles and the like in there."

"Now it is time to share your lists with everyone, no need to comment on it at this point but do note that everyone who did their own work, has their own opinions and even their own definitions as to what constitutes 'good', 'bad' or 'neutral'. Can anyone suggest what problems might be caused by these terms? Does anyone have any thoughts about what makes something 'good' or 'bad' or 'neutral'? What does it mean to be considered as one of these when that is not the intention? Raise your hand if you have anything you'd like to share or talk about regarding this."

Chris shook his head in agreement. They are a professon he wrote beside the spot on his list.

Chris thought about this for a moment. "Well some problems with the terms 'good', 'bad', and 'neutral' would be peoples views would differ, considering which groups they were part of. I mean a Death Eater might not think what they were doind was evil, they would think it was good. And a member of, lets say S.P.E.W could be viewed as good by elf activists but could also be seen as bad to those elves who dont want to be taken out of servitude." the Prefect said as he raised his hand.

Anna Banana · 06-26-2009, 03:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NicoT

"Now it is time to share your lists with everyone, no need to comment on it at this point but do note that everyone who did their own work, has their own opinions and even their own definitions as to what constitutes 'good', 'bad' or 'neutral'. Can anyone suggest what problems might be caused by these terms? Does anyone have any thoughts about what makes something 'good' or 'bad' or 'neutral'? What does it mean to be considered as one of these when that is not the intention? Raise your hand if you have anything you'd like to share or talk about regarding this."

Raising her hand, Anna said, "Well, professor, I think it all lies within the quote that goes something like...'There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.' I once read a muggle play containing that quote, and one of the themes of the story was that what's good to some people ends up being bad to others...and vice-versa," she said. She paused for a moment and glanced down at her parchment. There were quite a few points she'd made that she could easily see others disagreeing on.

"I think, maybe, it all stems from what sort of life experiences we've had. For example, let's say Student A tries out for the house's quidditch team and fails to make the team. Meanwhile, Student B did make the team. I think that might present a negative viewpoint about Quidditch organizations in Student A's eyes, whereas Student B would feel the exact opposite," she continued. "Neutral would probably be determined in the same fashion. Either that, or perhaps a person has experienced less and been exposed to less concerning that organization."

"As far as being considered as something you never intended to be considered as, that could be a result of stereotypes, which can be quite unfair. Word of mouth can sometimes completely tear down a person or a thing. The problem with that is that people could be missing out on a really good opportunity, but they've allowed themselves to fall victim to stereotyping," she said. Geez, she was starting to feel out of breath. Okay, just a few more sentences. "Anyway, it could also backfire, in that those who refuse to see the good or the bad in something turn their backs from the opportunity to better it."

Mrs. Weasley · 06-26-2009, 03:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NicoT

Ethan raised one finger, "It is true that the terms are used interchangeably now, but there was once a distinct difference between the two. A Warlock is a term that is given to someone learned in martial magic and given as a title to Wizards who have performed great acts of valour. Likewise, though the terms are often used interchangeably, a Confederation is a union in which each member retains some independent control over internal and external affairs. A federation, in contrast, is a union in which external affairs are controlled by a unified, central body."

He shrugged. "In any case, the International Federation of Warlocks was a union within the International Confederation of Wizards and as it is less common to be officially titled as a Warlock, even if one is adept in martial magic, the Confederation has absorbed the Federation to some extent."

"It is a profession rather than a group in which a person belongs, though you are welcome to add it to your list if you like. Just imagine how big the list would get if we added all the individual ministry roles and the like in there."

"You are on the right track Diane, the debate will be coming." Truebridge nodded at her, secretly pleased that she was in Slytherin since most of his better students were in the other houses.

"Now it is time to share your lists with everyone, no need to comment on it at this point but do note that everyone who did their own work, has their own opinions and even their own definitions as to what constitutes 'good', 'bad' or 'neutral'. Can anyone suggest what problems might be caused by these terms? Does anyone have any thoughts about what makes something 'good' or 'bad' or 'neutral'? What does it mean to be considered as one of these when that is not the intention? Raise your hand if you have anything you'd like to share or talk about regarding this."

Abby raises her hand. I think you already know what one of the problems will be professor. Looking at everyone's list, I think we could spend most of the hour trying to agree on the definition of good, bad, and neutral. I notice a lot of students put SPEW in the good category. I, on the other hand, put it in the Bad category. My reasons are simple. Even though Hermione Granger's reasons were good, she was acting against the house elves wishes. The majority of them did not want to be freed. They were happy with their lives. Hermione based her opinions on the treatment of house elves based the way Dobbie and Kreacher were treated. It is true they were treated badly, but that did not mean all house elves were treated that way. I don't remember one time she asked the house elves what they wanted."

Cassirin · 06-26-2009, 04:00 AM

Copernicus raised his hand. "Professor, I find the terms 'good' and 'bad' to be very arbitrary and objective. In fact, in trying to quantify just exactly what they meant to me, I ended up categorizing groups in ways that surprised me. For example, I consider a group or organization that works to better society or the status of a group within society as 'good', while a group that works to divide or strip rights from another as 'bad'. But under my working definitions, all four Hogwarts houses could be defined as 'bad' because they cause divisions among the student population."

LaFresita · 06-26-2009, 04:09 AM

Helena put her pale hand into the air with much less hesitance than usual. And she was actually smiling slightly. Professor, I believe that the terms 'good' and 'bad' are often used to relatively with one's own opinions. I think that something should be considered 'good' or 'bad' judging by how much use it has brought us. Obviously, the Death Eaters caused nothing but mayhem and destruction that did nothing for the benefit of our generation, so they would fall under the 'bad' category. The Ministry, on the other hand, though they may have had faults of their own, was created specifically for the benefit of wizards, witches, and muggles alike, whether they screwed up once in awhile. Since they usually are completing the goal of making the world a better place for both worlds existing harmoniously, I think it's safe to assume that they are 'good'. Helena liked voicing her opinion like this, but she didn't think she had ever talked so much at once in her whole life.

TeafortheSoul · 06-26-2009, 04:24 AM

Celandine hesitated when raising her hand. "I sort of arranged my list partly based on the intentions of the groups and that was hard because sometimes the intentions and the result totally didn't match up. Death Eaters didn't consider themselves bad or evil, they considered the scourge of Mu...muggleborn and Muggles in general to be bad, their intentions were to protect and strengthen our way of life. Not all of them were fantatical either, the fanaticism in groups like that usually ebs and flows with the influence of the most powerful members, in that case the Dark Lord."

She bit her lip, "But that doesn't make them inherently good either, because even though in their eyes their intentions were supposed to be for the good of wizardkind, their methods were definitely what is universally considered bad. I personally think anything that is destructive is bad, anything that aims to destroy something else in order to protect themselves is bad, anything which causes division and discord is bad, anything that uses violence and does not promote understanding and empathy is bad."

Good was much harder to define.

"Activist groups are often 'good' I guess, but it really depends on their methods and how much empathy and understanding they use. Fighting fire with fire isn't really a good thing even though sometimes your choices are stripped away from you and there isn't an alternative."

Ameh · 06-26-2009, 06:02 AM

Raiden raised his hand slowly, his brain trying to make sense out of what he was about to say.

"Sir, what Celandine said is... kinda what I was thinking. People who are doing what we might define as 'bad' doubtfully think that they themselves are doing something that should be looked down on. And sometimes just because the majority says something is bad and should be looked down on doesn't mean that it actually is. I mean yes, the Death Eaters killed people and stuff, so they're... well they're bad. But I remember reading that a lot of people were really against Harry Potter and Headmaster Dumbledore back when Lord Voldemort was just coming back. Sometimes... we don't look at things in the right light." He paused, trying to organise himself again. "I think... that for the most part, if what you're trying to do causes harm to others, then you can be considered bad. Because nothing good can come from harming others. Which means trying to take rights from people, or intentionally hurt them physically or mentally or monetarily is... well that. Good things can only benefit people."

Sure, he was probably wrong, and looking at the world like everything was fair and just. But really, why SHOULDN'T it be?

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