snape is a dufus

[kiricat2001]

No: HPFGUIDX 32689

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "jrober4211" <midwife34 at a...> wrote:
> I have read all the posts about Snape and some of the things people 
> come up with are almost laughable to me. Based strictly on previous 
> canon from the four books, Snape is always a "day late and a dollar 
> short" so to speak. He has always missed the point, or misses 
> integral parts of conversations such as the confrontation at the 
> shreiking shack. Snape is notorious for jumping to the wrong 
> conclusions based on just a few facts , instead of having all the 
> variables to consider in a situation. And Snape isn't interested in 
> hearing all the facts, as evidenced by his treatment of Harry when 
he 
> confronts him sneaking around the castle late at night. With these 
> personality traits so obvious in all four books, I can see how 
Snape 
> got drawn into being a death eater and previously following 
> Voldemort. For those members of the group who are not familiar 
> with "the Andy Griffith Show" in the states, Snape is a dead ringer 
> for deputy Barney Fife, who always had to keep his bullet for his 
gun 
> in his shirt pocket to keep from shooting himself in the foot. 
> 

Whoa!  I can't really believe I'm doing this, but I feel compelled to 
ride to Snape's defense.  As an aside, someone posted a thought a 
while ago that wondered/proposed that people either liked Snape or 
Sirius and if you liked one character, you really didn't like the 
other.  I am firmly in the Sirius camp - I'd happily throw Snape off 
a cliff and ride off into the sunset with Sirius.  But...I'm also of 
the opinion that you have to give the devil his due.  

Yes, Snape can be a right bastard.  He's inexplicably mean to 
Neville, and allows his dislike of James Potter and friends to infect 
his teacher-student relationship with Harry.  But, he did protect 
Harry from Quirrel in PS/SS at one Quidditch match and was the 
referee in another in order to prevent a similar attack on Harry.  
Yes, he lost it in PoA in the Shrieking Shack scene, but it really 
wasn't his fault that he arrived when he did.  Should he have relaxed 
and given Remus and Sirius a chance to explain the situation?  I'd 
say yes, but, given the history between these 3 characters, plus the 
presence of 3 youngsters, one of whom already has a broken leg, in 
the company of a convicted murderer and a man who at any moment will 
transform into a werewolf, and I could at least understand why he 
acted as he did.
 
Snape does not approve of rule-breakers.  No student is supposed to 
be sneaking around the castle at night.  Just because he catches 
Harry doesn't mean he's been lying in wait for that opportunity.  
Snape is probably happy to nail any student who's out of bounds.  
Whether this is how he feels a professor must act, or whether this is 
an outgrowth of some old, deep-seated anger at MWPP for all the rule-
breaking they did without getting expelled, I don't know.  But I 
think it's safe to say that Snape believes in playing by the rules, 
and that the rules apply to everyone, even Harry.  Don't we all want 
that to be true in our own lives - that no one is given preferential 
treatment because of their birth or their looks or because they're 
famous?   

As far as Barney Fife goes, well, Snape has a lot of dislikable 
qualities, but he's not an idiot.  

Marianne, wondering whether she's developed a split personality.