Snapers or Sirists (was Defending Snape, Dissing Sirius)

[marinafrants]

No: HPFGUIDX 34670

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "kiricat2001" <Zarleycat at a...> wrote:
> Don't you all think it interesting that most Snape fans can't seem 
to 
> cut Sirius any slack, and most Sirius fans only want to give Snape 
> enough rope with which to hang him? If someone bashes one "S-man", 
> the defense of that character almost always includes an attack on 
the 
> other "S-man."

Well, being one of those emotionally-split people who love both S-
men, I've thought about this quite a lot.  Here's my take on it.  
When I'm deciding whether or not I'm going to cut a character slack 
on any action, there are three things I'm mainly concerned with: the 
action itself; thed motives and circumstances that caused it (which 
includes the intended goal); and the character's subsequent feelings 
and behavior about it.  So let's take these one by one, shall we?

1. The action itself.  For Sirius it's "the prank."  For Snape it's 
joining the DE.  Now, while we don't really know anything about 
Snape's DE career, I'm willing to believe that allying yourself with 
your world's Ultimate Evil(TM) is a bigger sin than a high-school 
prank, even a potentially deadly one.  So Snape is worse off than 
Sirius on that one.

2. The motives and circumsances.  We have sketchy information about 
the prank, but the impression I get was that Sirius did it because 
he thought Snape was a git, and that he didn't intend Snape to be 
killed or hurt, he simply failed to think through the consequences.  
This doesn't speak well of 16-year-old Sirius' temper or 
intelligence, but since we have no information at all on how and why 
Snape joined the DE, we really can't say who's doing better or worse 
here.

3.  Subsequent reactions.  Again, we have sketchy information, but 
we do know that Snape quit the DE, turned himself in, and became a 
spy for the good guys "at great personal risk."  In other words, he 
recognized his mistake, regretted it, and tried to make amends.  
There's no evidence of Sirius doing any of these things -- in the 
Shrieking Shack he still talks about the prank as if he doesn't 
think he did anything wrong.  So Sirius is doing worse than Snape 
here.

Of course, there are other factors to consider, like Snape's day-to-
day nastiness; Sirius, as far as we know, does not spend most of his 
available time purposely frightening small children, which is mark 
in his favor.  But then, I don't love Snape becaue I think he's a 
nice fluffy-bunny type of guy.

The upshot of it all, I guess, is that I'm willing to cut both guys 
some slack, but not a total clean slate.  Which is fine with me.  
It's that combination of genuine nobility and very real personal 
flaws that attracts me in the first place.

Marina
rusalka at ix.netcom.com