Ron/Sirius parallels

[Kimberly]

No: HPFGUIDX 11378

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Monika Huebner <monika at d...> wrote:

> 
> Thanks Penny for pointing this out. I am always amazed about the 
fact
> that a lot of people see Snape as an innocent victim of this 
practical
> joke. Like you I cannot believe that Dumbledore would have reacted 
in
> the way he did if Snape was all innocent. Of course he wanted to
> protect Lupin, and maybe that was one of the reasons of why he kept 
it
> quiet. But Sirius was also one of his most promising students, so he
> might not have wanted to expel him and destroy his future. But I 
also
> dislike and distrust Snape, so I'm more inclined to put part of the
> blame on him.

I wasn't blaming, though, I was just saying it was probably a result 
of anger and/or hot-headedness.  I certainly doubt that Snape was an 
innocent victim, he probably provoked it, but provoked or not, he was 
either angry, coldly cruel or really dangerously stupid, and I don't 
think he's cruel or stupid.  Temper, to me, seemed like the most 
reasonable, understandable reason for doing what he did.
 
> 
> Anger, aggression and violence is one of the core problems of PTSD,
> it's a classic symptom in male victims. That's why men with PTSD 
often
> get stigmatized, they are considered to be violent jerks, but the
> truth is that they can't control it because it is a physiological
> reaction. And after a while, they don't even need a trigger that is
> directly related to the original traumatic event, they build up a 
kind
> of trigger network that will contain elements which have nothing to 
do
> with the original trauma. Sirius is in constant attack mode in PoA,
> but if you look at it more closely, it shouldn't really surprise you
> why this is.

<snip>
 
> The need to seek vengeance is also a classic PTSD symptom. This is 
why
> I think he had ASD (Acute Stress Disorder) when he went after
> Pettigrew. The symptoms are the same as for PTSD, but the onset is
> immediate and not delayed. Think about it: his whole world had just
> been shattered, his best friends had been murdered and he thought he
> was responsible for it. Here we have a classic PTSD case with the 
need
> for vengeance and overwhelming survivor guilt.

<snip>

> 
> Hmm, I don't know. If he really had Acute Stress Disorder (and I'm
> pretty convinced that was the case) he would actually have been
> seeking vengeance. That's the "disorder" part in the name of the
> syndrome. But he couldn't control it, it was purely instinctive and
> that's why I think he wasn't responsible for doing it. It would also
> support the PTSD theory: since he didn't get help immediately after
> the events, his symptoms would have persisted and developed into
> full-blown PTSD.

Thanks for the information on this, Monika.  I don't know anything 
about either PTSD or ASD, and those things may well explain *why* he 
behaves the way he does.  I can't know for sure.  Either way, though, 
whether it's just his nature to have a hot temper, or if he has a hot 
temper because of these problems, the behavior is still there.  I 
accept that he may have particular reasons for being volatile, but 
that just reinforces that he is, in fact, volatile, which is all I was 
asserting.  I wasn't trying to place blame and say he's a bad person 
because of it.  Sirius is one of my favorite characters.  I enjoy 
trying to decide which is more appealing - Sirius or Lupin.  Some days 
I lean toward the wild, unpredictable Sirius, some days I like the 
more pensive, care-worn Lupin.  If somewhere there's a man who's a 
combination of the two, I'd sure like to meet him!  Yow!

Kimberly,
Who suddenly feels a need for chocolate - it's good for more than just 
Dementor-curing!