Snape & Draco psychology, DEVIL

[elfundeb]

No: HPFGUIDX 35442

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Tabouli" <tabouli at u...> wrote:

> 
> I said on Draco:
> > But he's worse than that:  the death wishes for 
> Hermione that he expresses periodically, as you point out, go way 
> beyond mere adolescent bullying and veer sharply in the direction 
of 
> the sociopathic child who if left unchecked may take Daddy's 
arsenal 
> to school one day for a murder-suicide rampage (though, in another 
> glimmer of hope, he never threatens to carry out the threats 
himself).<

Tabouli: 
> 
> Mmmmmnahhhh.  From all the profiles of people who suddenly go on a 
sociopathic killing rampage I've ever read and heard about, it almost 
always seems to be the "quiet" ones, the oppressed ones, the ones who 
were victimised and degraded by their peers for years, and finally 
Snape, er, I mean, snap.  Their motivation is to gun down the hand 
that hit them.
> 
> Draco doesn't fit this profile at all.  He's hardly oppressed, for 
a start (wizard blood counting for less everywhere hardly cuts the 
mustard), he's the spoilt rich son of someone highly respected in the 
community, and has two close friends (oafish tho' they be) and, it 
seems, a girlfriend or at least an admirer.  He's far from a greasy 
loser who's victimised by his peers... he seems to be almost the 
Slytherin ringleader!  IMO, his run-ins with the Trio and Twins are 
the fights of children on the opposite sides of a war (whose parents, 
moreover, are high-ranking warriors), not signs of sociopathic 
tendencies.

Well, the sociopath was a bit of a stretch, perhaps, which is why I 
attempted to qualify it by saying "in the direction of."  (I see that 
my dictionary suggests that sociopaths hate all people whereas Draco 
hates only Mudbloods, Muggle-lovers, etc.)  I certainly don't 
disagree that the younger generation is following in the warring 
footsteps of their parents.  But the DEs carried 
out killing rampages, the only difference being that they were 
targeted at Muggles (Arthur Weasley told us at the World Cup that 
half the Muggle killings in the old days were for fun.)  Seen in that 
light, every death threat Draco makes absolutely frightens me; I'd 
have to classify that as "sick."  And that sickness is a DE specialty.

And while Draco does not quite fit the sociopath profile, he's not on 
the opposite side of the fence either.  For example, though not 
victimized generally by his peers, certainly Draco sees Hermione as a 
threat, and it may be significant that Draco did not throw his first 
Mudblood taunt at her until second year, after she had beat him 
academically and Draco was called to task for it by his father.  And 
IMO, though the Malfoys' money buys them a veneer, their respect has 
worn thin.  The lack of respect accorded purebloods is 
increasingly threatening to them. It's partly a numbers game, as the 
percentage of halfbloods in the wizarding population continues to 
increase.  Moreover, I'm not sure Crabbe and Goyle qualify as friends 
rather than paid bodyguards ("you stand by me and I'll get you 
through this school" -- ok, that's rampant speculation, but since the 
elder C&G have been revealed as DEs it doesn't seem extreme for young 
C&G to have been told to stick with Draco and they'd get through).  

> 
> > 
> Eloise (to Cindy):
> >Well, there are at least two of us huddling together for warmth in 
the Bagman 
> is a DE camp<
> 
> (Tabouli, still in her swirling black robes, sneaks back on board 
LOLLIPOPS and goes straight to her cabin, where she extracts a tent, 
some hiking boots and a fuzzy flannel shirt, on which she pins a 
badge that says:
> "L.A.S.S.I.T.U.D.E." (Ludo, Amiably Stupid Sportsman, Is The 
Undercover Death Eater!), and flashes D.E.V.I.L.!  (Death Eater, 
Verily, Is Ludo) in fiery red letters if you press it)
> 
> Actually, I've had a plot reserved on the DEVIL campsite since I 
read GoF, I just don't get to visit it much, what with my LOLLIPOPS 
captaining duties, maintaining the FLIRTIAC dinghy, and my casual job 
as Evil Overlady.  Here, have some badges to keep you warm...
> 
Please send me a L.A.S.S.I.T.U.D.E./D.E.V.I.L. badge!  Silence on 
these debates did not necessarily mean dispproval.  Owl post is fine.

Debbie (also expressing complete agreement with Tabouli's comments on 
Snape which were deleted for space reasons; you've hit on why I like 
him: it's for what he does when no one else is watching)

> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]