Teen Conflict (was: "Lapdog" and "snivel")

[onnanokata]

No: HPFGUIDX 114997



Dharma replies:
 
Severe Headache
Severe Pain
Sneakerus
Slimypuss
Slimerus
Servilerus
Whimperus
Gitterus
Cowardus
Odorus
Skulkerus
Slitherus
Blunderus
Confunderous
Oblivious
Nausea-us
 
Mel wrote:
 
Wow, I bet you had lots of enemies in school. 
 
Mel, who'd slap either one of her kids if she heard them using any 
names like that

Dharma replies:

Not at all actually ;-) Unlike either Snape, I found negotiating 
between the cliques in my school days, somewhat easier than most 
teens.  Kids like Snape, Harry, Hermione and Hagrid, who were singled 
out for any number reasons, were as likely to be my friends as the 
kids who hung around in big social groups.

Because of that experience, I really try to reserve judgment on 
issues like:

Was James/Sirius a jerk?
Was Snape a jerk?
Why is James calling Snape "Snivellus?"

Some time in my teens it really struck me that differing value 
systems converge in unique ways in schools.  Pretty early on I 
gathered that understanding the context of the conflict from the 
perspective of the individuals involved really clarifies why's and 
how's of escalating negative interactions. I'm under the impression 
that quite a bit of the personality conflict between Sirius/James and 
Snape will come down to the assumption that each party must adopt the 
other's value system to be a decent person.  I'm assuming that 
specific conflicts preceded "the prank" and  "upside down business."  
Books 6 and 7 will hopefully clear some of that up for me.  

How do other list members perceive the conflict between James/Sirus 
and Snape during their school days?  Do we adequate information on 
the topic to make specific determinations about their behavior?  It 
would be interesting to hear other people's thoughts on this topic