Sirius revisited--emotional maturity

[mnaper2001]

No: HPFGUIDX 104820

> Ally:
> 
> Ah, but Sirius has his shortcomings as an adult, too, doesn't he?  
He 
> says himself that you can tell a person by the way he behaves to 
> those who are inferior to him and turns around and abuses his house 
> elf.  A cruel thing.  He allows Snape's head to bang around when 
> transporting him - a petty thing.  Even as an adult, he makes no 
> apologies for the "prank" despite the fact that it endangered Snape 
> and Remus, another petty thing.  He breaks the rules re: Grimmauld 
> Place on a number of occasions - an arrogant and reckless thing.
> 
> What Sirius has going for him is his love and devotion to Harry and 
> James, but outside of that, I think he's more than a little 
boorish.  
> He doesn't seem to have a lot of remorse for things he's done 
wrong, 
> and doesn't seem to care much about the possible implications of 
his 
> impetuousness.  Despite having broken ties with his reputable 
> pureblood family, he still seems like quite the elitist to me in 
> OOTP.  
> </quote>
> 
> Amey:
> First question, was their friendship so formal that he needed to 
say sorry? And just for a simple comment? If I remember right, he 
said sorry to Lupin in Shack for believing him to be a spy. That was 
a much seriuos thing, and it needed some comment after 12 years. But 
I don't think Sirius was thinking of anything else except fun and 
adventure full moon brought. And of course Lupin didn't take it that 
seriously himself. (It's like Hermione saying she wished to see 
thestrals also. Gosh, that opens up another thread if it is a hint. 
Sorry to bring it up if it is FAQ). 
> As for his shortcomings as adult, is he really a fully-grown normal 
adult? I mean, I don't want to post the whole thread of azkaban and 
others, so I will skip that part. As for allowing Snape's head to 
bang, Snape wasn't at all interested in hearing Sirius' defence in 
Shack, was he? Their rivalry is really bad. (Remember Harry and 
Draco, I doubt if they had done anything else in the position). I am 
not at all sure the Prank endangered Remus, I mean he was a werewolf 
then, so what the only danger was he being recognised as such. As for 
Snape, he is always taunting Sirius for being in the house, not 
risking his life etc. Is this not a petty thing? He fully understands 
the condition and still does the same thing, I agree with Harry 
somewhat, that this was one point which made Sirius come to DoM (of 
course along with love for Harry). Whatever DD says about Sirius not 
rising to taunts, it is a big factor. I am sure DD only said that to 
Harry because he didn't want harry and Sanpe's rivalry to grow more. 
> 
> 
> Amey, a seroious defender of Sirius....
> 

Ally:

I agree that Snape has his own problems (I actually think they both 
are quite alike in terms of being arrested in their emotional 
development), but the fact that Snape is petty doesn't justify Sirius 
being so - it just makes them both wrong.  

I think Sirius did endanger Remus.  If he was discovered as a 
werewolf, he would have likely been imprisoned.  If he had killed 
Snape, he probably would have been executed himself.  That's what 
makes Sirius so problematic for me is that he never thinks anything 
through - he has a sense of entitlement about him.

As for being imprisoned - well, yes, he was.  Sirius is really no 
different after imprionment than he was after the Prank.  So not only 
did he not change when he was in prison, but he apparently didn't 
change much before going there either, unlike James, who did mature 
and see the error of his ways at a young age.  Yes, he had a hard 
life, but just as so many people say that's no excuse for Snape not 
changing, how can it be an excuse for Sirius not changing?  Maybe it 
makes their faults understandable, but it doesn't make them 
acceptable.