[HPforGrownups] Are there no depths to which Siriophiles wont sink?

[Sherry Gomes]

No: HPFGUIDX 99329

Miss Melanie: 

My reply:  You know I don't want to condone or not condone his actions that
night.  But you ask me if I like Sirius?  I do, and you know why?  Because
when I see Sirius in the books I see a person who sat in Azkaban thinking
everyday of his life what he did wrong?  I see a guy who sat there depressed
and beaten down because he lost the only true family he had, James and Lily.

 
I see a guy who I believe truly cared for his godson.  You know you can say
whatever you want about Sirius but if he's bad then my God Snape is.  I
don't care who you are or what you are you have no reason to treat a child
like Snape does.  None.

 

~Melanie

Sherry now:

I guess that's it in a nutshell for me.  Sirius was still a teenager.  He
should have known better, but there are reasons for the fact that kids
aren't allowed to perform certain jobs or operate certain kinds of equipment
even at 16.  They are still developing a sense of judgment.  Which doesn't
make the pensive scene any better or excuse it.  But Snape is an adult, who
is verbally and emotionally abusing students and getting away with it.  I
try very hard to view him with an open mind, since Dumbledore trusts him,
but I still can't get around the fact that he treats Neville in particular
with cruelty.  There's no pretty way to express it.  If I had a child who
had a teacher who constantly humiliated him, I'd be pounding on doors and
doing whatever I could to get that teacher removed.  As someone else pointed
out, Sirius was able to admit he had been wrong, but Snape has never
admitted being wrong in his treatment of Neville or Harry or Hermione.  He
is constantly acting like a bullying teenager, not the adult teacher he is
supposed to be.  Just my two cents.

sherry G