A Sirius Offense

[judyserenity]

No: HPFGUIDX 35043

Penny  wrote:
>>> ... C'mon Snape-fans, you've got to concede that your man Snape 
>>> really really lacks interpersonal skills hugely.<<< 
 
And I replied:
>> Nope, not going to concede it. Remember, we are seeing things from 
>> Harry's point of view, and Snape and Harry despise each other....  
>> Snape knows how to interact with others when he feels like it.  
>> Remember how he was manipulating Fudge at the end of PoA?.

And Jo Serenadust replied:
> I think that what Snape is actually doing with Fudge would be 
> classified as shamelessly sucking up, not actual interaction....<

Oh, Snape is *definitely* sucking up to Fudge in that scene!  
Absolutely!  But, it takes good interpersonal skills to successfully 
suck-up, and Snape was doing great (Order of Merlin and all) until 
Sirius escaped and ruined it for him. 

Sure, we don't see Snape acting nice, but then, he probaby doesn't 
want to. If I may paraphrase Binns here: "Just because a wizard 
doesn't act nice to people, doesn't mean he *can't*."


Jo Serenadust also said:
> I have no expertise in PTSD, but it seems that common sense would 
> dictate that one's response to PTSD would have to depend on the 
> trauma which caused it in the first place.  For example, if it were 
> induced by say, being trapped and nearly killed in an earthquake, 
> then I wouldn't expect that an individual would be provoked to 
> violent behavior by it since the incident was more or less a random 
> act of nature.  However, if it were caused by being imprisoned in 
> the most soul-destroying prison in existance as a result of being 
> framed for the deaths of 2 dear friends by another dear friend, who 
> was now a threat to the only child of the murdered couple, then it 
> seems plausable that Sirius' response would not be to give Pettigrew 
> a stern talking to (whew, that's the longest sentence I've ever 
> written). There are loads of examples of Viet Nam vets with PTSD who 
> behaved violently out of character, as a result of horrific wartime 
> experiences.

As far as I know, no one has theorized that there are different forms 
of PTSD, based on the type of experience that caused the trauma.   
Actually, the theory is that there is a "generalized stress response" 
that can be triggered by many different kinds of trauma.  Witnessing 
violnce certainly can effect behavior, but I'd say it does so 
independently of PTSD.  As for Azkaban, JKR is very clear that it 
causes depression, not rage or uncontrollable aggression.  I'd say the 
research on Vietnam vets actually supports my view that PTSD causes 
aggression only in those already predisposed to it. The vets most 
likely to be violent when they come home are those who were 
excessively violent during the war (killing civilains for fun, for 
example), not the John McCain types who suffered long imprisonment 
under horrible conditions.

Jo Serenadust also said:
> I don't think that there is any canon evidence for 
> Sirius having a violent nature in his pre-Azkaban days...<

Um, no evidence at all, not unless you count tryng to feed a fellow 
classmate to a werewolf. 

I have to say, for two people with similar names here (Judyserenity 
and Jo Serenadust), we sure have different views of Sirius.  I guess 
you won't be happy unless I say Sirius is a nice guy.  OK, here goes. 
Sirius is a wonderful guy -- nay, a saint -- except when he's choking 
his godson, breaking a boy's leg, slashing everything in sight, 
feeding a classmate to a werewolf, or threatening to AK a former 
friend, which unfortunately is almost all we ever see him do.  There, 
is that better?  No, I didn't think so.   

-- Judy