Why did James/Sirius believe Peter, not Remus? (Re: Lupin's resignation)

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 99752

Jen:
> But that same idea leads me to wonder--does JKR want the reader to 
> make the same mistake Sirius & James made when they suspected 
Lupin 
> of being the spy in the First War? Did they *also* see Lupin's 
> cowardice, his difficulty standing up to his friends and his 
> ommissions as proof that he was ESE & in-league with Voldemort? 
Will 
> Harry also do this before discovering the truth?
> 
> I would find that a *much* more interesting and enlightening point 
> for JKR to make--see how easy it is to turn your back on a friend 
in 
> a climate of fear and hatred? See how easy it is to let subtle 
> prejudices that were buried during the good times, come out when 
the 
> going gets tough? Now that would really follow JKR's dictum of 
> choice and choosing between what is right and what is easy!


Jen: Hehe--replying to my own post, but it was buried in another 
thread & I'm very curious to get feedback.

We can only speculate why James/Sirius chose to believe Peter was 
clean and Lupin the spy. Nonetheless it was a big mistake with 
tragic results. 

I've always assumed Lupin did something suspicious to earn their 
distrust, but now I wonder if it was simply who he was--a half-blood 
and a werewolf. Maybe in the end it was just easier to believe 
Peter, the seemingly insignificant wizard from a pureblood family 
like themselves, than Remus with his dark side and bleak future--who 
better to turn to Voldemort than the man with nothing to lose?