James the Berk?

[kyntor70]

No: HPFGUIDX 105639

Del wrote:

> Let's imagine that somehow Draco lost his bodyguards, and someone
> started humiliating him. Do you really think Hermione would come to
> Draco's help ? I don'think so, because Draco has over and over again
> insulted Hermione. But Lily did come, and she even seemed surprised
> when Snape insulted her.
> 
> Moreover, it might be speculation to say that Snape never exhibited
> racism before, but it is just as much speculation to say he did. We
> have only the Marauders' word that he did : not exactly an objective
> opinion, is it ?

Kyntor replies:

You're right neither one of us know for sure if Snape has 
used "mudblood" before.  However, he does use it here.  My thinking 
is that if he used it here, he has probably used it before, whether 
or not it was against Lily.


Del wrote:

> So what ? It doesn't change anything to the fact that *in this 
scene*
> James does NOT act with nobility.

Kyntor replies:

James is definately not being noble in this scene, he is being a jerk 
(he is also showing off for Lily).  What these two points do suggest 
though is that the pensieve scene was not stand alone or that it 
displayed James' typical behaviour towards people.  The pensieve 
scene was one confrontation between Snape and James of many.  We 
really can't judge the severity of this one without seeing the others.


Del wrote:

> Mild physical injuries like the one James sustained hurt just the 
body
> and damage only your physical ablitities for a while. Humiliation
> hurts the mind and soul and can damage someone's self-worth forever.
> Once a physical injury has healed, you don't remember it (I don't
> remember the pain that followed my C-section), but hurtful words and
> humiliations can haunt you forever (I still remember some 
humiliating
> things that were done or said to me as a teenager, 15 years ago, and
> it still makes me feel stupid and worthless).
> To believe that physical injury is worse than emotional injury is a
> common mistake. They are both damaging, but most people sustain the
> first one much better and with far less long-lasting damage than the
> second one. After all, which memories of Dudley's bullying does 
Harry
> remember during his Occlumency lessons ? The humiliations, not the
> beating up.

Kyntor replies:

What James did to Snape wasn't really all that sever.  I had much 
worse done to me when I joined a fraternity in college.  I really 
doubt that it scared Snape for life (and I doubt even more that James 
was trying to.  As I mentioned before, he was showing off).  What 
James did do Snape seemed to piss him off, not shame him.

>From eveything I can gather about James' life, it has been pretty 
easy.  It seems that at least up to this point he has had a pretty 
carefree childhood.  He has hardly had the experiences necessary to 
realize that some emotional scars are worse than physical ones.  
James is immature, not sadistic.

We really don't know what Snape was trying to do with that curse.  
Did it only hit James in the cheek because he tried to dodge it?  
Would the curse have missed him completely?  Would it have cut his 
eye?  We can't really say what Snapes intentions were.  Cutting 
someone on the face or neck is very dangerous.  I do not believe that 
anyone would attempt it unless they were trying to seriously hurt the 
other person.

Kyntor