OOP: Sirius, Snape & James the JerkS (was:Sirius the Jerk)

[isabella_080]

No: HPFGUIDX 62634

> "Kewpie" <dkewpie at p...>  wrote:
> > >I can't see how anyone can still find Snape a nasty bastard  
> 
> And "burrow242000" replied:
> > I do.  I will say that I felt a twinge or two for the 15 yr old 
> > Snape.  But there is no excuse IMHO for his treatment of Harry 
> over 
> > the years.  Being abused is no excuse for becoming an abuser. How 
> > many Nevilles and Harrys has he ridiculed, insulted, and 
tormented?

I completely agree that there is no *excuse* for Snape's treatment of 
Harry.  I also agree with other posters that the behavior of James 
and Sirius in the Pensieve scene was utterly reprehensible. Had I 
been at Hogwarts with them, I would have hated them as well. But I 
think people shouldn't be so hasty to divide themselves between 
supporting either Snape or James/Sirius because I think the whole lot 
of them were/are jerks.  I felt absolutely *horrible* for Snape in 
that scene - I just didn't see how he deserved it.  But, let us not 
forget that Snape was at one point a Death Eater....why do I think 
that's relevant, you ask?  Well, I'm goign out on a limb and assuming 
he has at some point probably taken part in Unforgivable Curses, and 
has probably at least allowed murder to happen, if not committed it 
himself.  But, as Dumbledore has said, he is now no more a DE than DD 
himself. So he has *changed*; he has presumably made a choice at some 
point that he did not want to be that DE person that he had become.  
I feel it is more than possible that James, likewise, had reformed 
himself.  Yes, he was said to still hex Snape, but I like to think 
Snape did the same himself (and also, I really *want* to believe that 
once James grew up, it never reached that point in the Pensieve 
again...perhaps it's wishful thinking)

I wholeheartedly believe that James must, at some level, have been a 
good person; I do not believe that Lily would have married him, or 
that Hagrid and Dumbledore would continually vouch for him being a 
good person, if he was only what we saw of him in the Pensieve.  I 
also think that on some level, Snape has good qualities.  But, like 
they said, the world isn't divided in good people and DE's.  He 
treats Harry horribly, but he also has his reasons, as wrong as they 
may be.  He is human and fallible, as James was.  And as human as 
Sirius is throughout this book.  But that doesn't mean he isn't 
capable of love or compassion just because he can be a real jerk 
sometimes.  I believe Snape is also capable of this, we just haven't 
had the chance to see it yet.    

I also think there has to be more revealed about the character of 
James and Lily.  We have only seen one memory of them, but we at 
least know that Lupin cared a good deal about them, and I tend to 
trust his judgements...well his judgements as an adult.  I hope he 
sheds more light on the situation in Book 6.  Note that he was always 
very calm and fair with Snape in PoA; I hope his understanding rubs 
off on Harry.  Already, Harry is proving to be much more mature and 
compassionate a 15 year old than Sirius & James were, considering his 
horror at the scene, and I think that was a major point to including 
this characterization of James.  Because Harry does not = James.  
("It is our choices.." blah.)

One of the reasons I love JKR so much is she is just wonderful at 
creating this beautifully complex characters.  Her world, like ours, 
is not just black and white.

Oh this is too long and rambly.  Sorry.

Isabella