Sociopathic Sirius? (and Paranoid Snape?)

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 47256

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Judy" <judyshapiro at d...> wrote:
> Hey, the Sirius Apologists disagree with the Snapefans.  Who would
> have expected that? ;-)

ME: Hey, I am both - Sirius apologist and Snape fan. I guess I have 
to disagree with myself. :o) 
 
>  Sirius and PTSD
> 
> As Penny mentioned, I don't subscribe to the theory that Sirius'
> behavior in PoA can be explained by PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress
> Disorder.)  Symptoms of PTSD usually don't appear until *after* the
> trauma is over.  During the crisis, the person's mind is focused on
> survival, and the person often thinks, "If only I could get out of
> this situation, things would be all right."  It's not until after 
the
> crisis has passed that the full impact hits and the person realizes
> that life will never be the same. In PoA, Sirius is on the run,
> everyone thinks he's a murderer, he's half-starved, the dementors 
are
> on his trail.  He's still in crisis mode; it's too early for PTSD.  
If
> he was going to show signs of PTSD, I'd expect them to show up in
> GoF.  

ME:
Well, I think that Sirius' behaviour in the PoA can be explained by 
PSTD. In fact, I like this theory very much. It is true, that Sirius 
is still on the run, but main crisis, which in my opinion has caused 
PSTD in Sirius, has passed already. He is out of Azkaban. 
It is common for the simptoms to start in three months or later after 
the end of the traumatic event. I think Shrieking Shack was just 
about time.

> I don't believe that a few months in the tropics could undo the 
damage
> caused by 12 years of hell.  Saying that Sirius has recovered by GoF
> implies that people can recover quickly from years of trauma, and I
> don't think that's true.  Portraying Sirius as recovering so quickly
> bothers me because people who've been traumatized in real life are
> often told to "just get over it" and are pressured to recover 
quickly,
> even if that just isn't possible.  

ME: NO, of course you are right. He could not have completely 
recovered in GoF, but he could get much better and I believe that he 
did.
 
> Here's a question that I've been meaning to ask Sirius' (many) fans.
> Did you like him in PoA?  Or, did you not start to like him until 
you
> read GoF?  I'm wondering if people like him *because* of his actions
> in PoA, or *despite* his actions in PoA. 

ME: I did like him in PoA. I would love of course to hear his apology 
to Snape, but since I think that he was too traumatized in Shriecking 
Shack, I am willing to wait more. :o)
In fact I am convinced that we did not hear it only for the plot 
purposes in order for even more explosive revelations in Snape/Black 
relationship to follow. I hope so at least. :o)

 
>  Snape and Remorse
> 
> Penny said:
> >I would argue that Snape actually very definitely lacks remorse for
> hurting others -- or at least he certainly doesn't allow any remorse
> he might be feeling to stop him from abusing his position of power 
and
> knowingly hurting quite a number of the students under his purported
> tutelage.  Yeah, I have some strong feelings about Snape's use of 
his
> teacher role, Snape-fans.  :--)   <
> 
> I see Snape as consumed by remorse; the clearest evidence is the 
scene
> when Fake!Moody says talks about "stains that won't come off." 
> However, even without this scene, Snape pretty much *has* to be full
> of remorse.  What, except remorse for what he had done, would lead 
him
> to risk everything and leave the DEs when Voldemort was at the 
height
> of his powers?  And how could Dumbledore possibly trust a former DE
> who wasn't remorseful? 
> 
> As for Snape's treatment of students, I certainly don't approve of a
> teacher acting that way.  A number of explanations for his behavior
> have been proposed, including the need to impress the Slytherins of
> his opposition to aurors, muggleborns, and Harry.  Even if we can't
> explain away his hostile behavior, though, I still don't think that
> means he is unable to feel remorse.  I think his hostile behavior in
> the classroom shows he lacks *empathy*.  He doesn't know what it 
would
> be like to be a teenage girl teased about her teeth.  He doesn't 
know
> what it would be like to be bumbling at potions.  Snape practically
> comes right out and says he's low in empathy: "Don't ask me to 
fathom
> how a werewolf's mind works!"  I'm not convinced he realizes that 
his
> behavior hurts his students.
> 
> And, yes, being low in empathy can be a sign of sociopathy, but only
> in combination with other factors that Snape doesn't have.  There 
can
> be many reasons for lacking empathy. In Snape's case, it might be 
his
> high level of anger, or it could be that lack of social interaction
> has limited his knowledge of other people's experiences. 
> 
> I think LowEmpathy!Snape fits well with my theory about why he left
> the DEs.  (My theory is that he was in love with Lily, and left when
> the Potters were threatened.)  Until someone he cared about was
> threatened, he didn't fully realize how evil the DEs were, because 
he
> didn't empathize with their other victims. 

ME: I can only state my agreement with this part of your analysis. I 
think that Snape feels a lot of remorse for his past behaviour and 
this is the main reason why I like him so much, in spite of the fact 
that I despise his teaching style. Low empathy! Snape fits here well 
too.

Alla