Isn’t it interesting that Rowling chooses to let Harry, her star protagonist, commit two out of the three Unforgivable Curses during the course of the story, while still a teenager, and face no punishment?
Wasn’t one of the huge red flags about Voldemort that he tortured others with no remorse, just to satisfy his own curiosity or emotional desires?
Harry Potter, our hero, clearly has a whole lesson about Crucio, Imperio and Avada Kedavra in Goblet of Fire, in which he learns, aged 14, that each curse carries a life sentence. In the same class, he witnesses the cruel impact of each curse used on an animal.
Nonetheless, the very next year is the first time Harry tries to cast Crucio, the torture curse, on another human. At the age of 15.
We know from the great detail that the lesson goes into that the sole purpose of Crucio is to cause pain. Harry does not use Crucio to try and obtain information. He uses it to hurt a woman who he dislikes (albeit for valid reasons).
The very next year, Harry again uses Crucio against an adult he dislikes, deliberately in order to inflict pain. Yes, it’s during combat. But he is knowingly breaking the law of his land. Is he banking on his celebrity status to be above the law?
Finally, in his seventh year, Harry uses Crucio against an adult for the third time. This time, he hurts the adult so much that they become unconscious from the pain. Amycus Carrow had insulted a woman Harry liked in front of him.
In case anyone has forgotten, immediately after finishing school, Harry Potter takes a career in law enforcement. There’s no suggestion he faces any punishment whatsoever for what are essentially war crimes. Is this what JK Rowling intended?
I wonder what Neville thinks about his friend’s actions, given his personal history with Crucio? Isn’t a central theme of Harry Potter “do the ends justify the means?” What does the rule of law mean if members of law enforcement are given carte blanche to commit war crimes with no punishment?
Doesn’t that retroactively excuse Dolores Umbridge’s actions when she herself, representing the law, attempts to bait Harry into committing a crime and threatens him with torture?
Shall we even get into the issues of Hermione committing kidnap and blackmail, Ron stealing, the Weasley twins underage gambling? Maybe Harry Potter isn’t the Good series it makes itself out to be when such morally grey characters are the central protagonists and the legal system rewards them.
LOS ANGELES, CA – Around the block from where Ezell Ford was killed by LAPD, officers from the Newton Division stopped, Brandon Dawson, 26, on Sunday evening. Dawson had just finished his shift as a dental assistant and was picking up his seven-month-old daughter from his grandmother’s house. He was strapping the baby’s carrier into the car when officers stopped Brandon asking why Brandon had parked in the private driveway. Brandon explained that there were no other spaces available and he had just pulled up to pick up his daughter.Photo via Linda WashingtonThe police asked for no papers, and told Brandon to put his hands up as they snatched the father’s baby. Soon after, Brandon would be tazered, beaten, and arrested by police on suspicion of assaulting a gang officer from LAPD’s Newton Division, according to Officer Lilliana Preciado. http://goo.gl/jO88Xs
“This latest yet unidentified St. Louis police executioner claimed that he followed Myers and his friends because he felt that the teens were acting suspiciously.” Ten minutes earlier he had taken the turkey sandwich Berhe Beyet made him and cradled it away from his friend’s playful snatching. Then stood breaking off a piece that he shared with another friend. By now, his mother has seen this tape of him standing in silhouette, and watched his peaceful chewing. On his way out the door he gives yet another friend a bite of what he did not know was his last supper, walking off into a night every parent in America cannot begin to imagine. A night every black person in America knows is coming and that the next one coming could be them—might as well be them—every time they imagine the high caliber bullet shattering his cheek bone, eye socket, aorta the medical examiner identified as the cause of death. http://goo.gl/XxJR1p
In 2013, Clinton was in an apartment complex when Dallas officer Clark Staller confronted him for a domestic disturbance allegation. Police claim that the two got into a fight in which the officer tried to taser Clinton twice, and when that failed to stop him, shot him 7 times. However, at least four witnesses contradict that story, and say that Clinton was following the officer’s orders. Officer Staller also has a record that casts doubt on the credibility of his account; a year before, he had received a 20-day suspension for being untruthful to a supervisor and entering inaccurate information on a police report, among other things. (Dallas, Texas)
On January 4th, 2013, Darrell Banks was mistaken as an armed suspect that the Philadelphia Police Department was after. He had just left a family member’s birthday party when officers Jeffrey McMahon and Montanez chased him into an alley. Police claim that Darrell had pointed an object towards the two officers and so Officer McMahon shot twice and injured his left side. However, Officer McMahon said he saw Darrell holding a black object but never saw him hold or point a weapon at them. The black object was later discovered to be his phone, showing that Darrell was unarmed. A couple hours later, Darrell died from his injuries. (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
In 2015, 19-year-old Darrius Stewart was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped by Memphis police officers for a broken headlight. Officers let the driver of the vehicle go with a ticket, but detainedDarrius in the back of a patrol car while they ran his name to look for outstanding warrants.
After coming up with some, officer Connor Shilling tried to handcuff Darrius, but apparently did so incorrectly. Police allege that Darrius struggled and swung the handcuffs back at Officer Shilling, so Officer Shilling drew his gun and fired. Darrius was taken to a hospital in critical condition and died there; Officer Shilling, on the other hand, only had a few cuts and bruises which did not need much medical attention.
Darrius’s mother has stated that her son had never been arrested, and that the warrants were for someone else with the same name, a fact that officers had brought to her attention before. The police could not confirm if the warrants they tried to arrest Darrius Stewart for were actually for him. (Memphis, Tennessee)
Byron Williams was riding a bike, on his way to visit his son early in the morning, when police officers Benjamin Vasquez and Patrick Campbell pulled him over for not having safety lights on his bicycle. Byron tried to run away on foot, leading to a short chase. When officers caught up to Byron, they ordered him to get on the ground, and he complied.
The officers then handcuffed him, using a knee and a hand to put pressure on his back. After a minute, a third officer arrived, and both he and one of the arresting officers knelt on Bryon lower back for about 30 seconds. Byron repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe,” at least 17 times.
More officers arrived, and they tried to pull Bryon to his feet, but his body reacted limply. Officers then dragged Bryon around the corner and dropped him to the ground. Bryon asked for an ambulance and was ignored as the officers laughed and discussed weekend plans. Officers then turned off their body cameras until the EMT finally arrived. By then, Bryon was lying lifeless on his back.
In 2017, Charles was killed after breaching a TSA security checkpoint at the Honolulu International Airport. Charles had run through the checkpoint, and was tackled by two Island Air employees and a private Securitas officer.
He was pinned down on his stomach for approximately three minutes before they noticed that he was unconscious. Despite attempts at CPR, Charles was pronounced dead prior to making it to the hospital. He was unarmed at the scene.
Though his death was officially ruled a homicide, the Kosi family never received any form of autopsy report and the people involved in the homicide were never identified.(Honolulu, HI)
NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE (9/23/20): Breonna Taylor’s life mattered. There is no justice to be found under this neocolonial system. We must bring it to its knees.
