Conspiracies and re-assessments

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 112383

Chancie:
> I agree!  Lily was coming to defend Snape!  How this could be 
"under duress"  I don't understand.  The only think I can think is 
because Snape was  embarrassed, he called her "mudblood" to 
try to divert the attention to someone else, and show himself as 
a "tough guy", but that in NO way excuses his attitude towards 
Lily!
>

Snape is behaving exactly the way Lily will a few moments later 
when she gets angry at James for defending her.

"I don't want *you* to make him apologize," Lily shouted, 
rounding on James. "You're as bad as he is...."

Snape is angry at being helped by someone he considers no 
better than James.  It only makes him feel worse, and he reacts 
accordingly.  He was being held upside down with his undies 
showing at the time and had every right to be angry at James, at 
least.  

Maybe he was showing off his racist sentiments, but maybe he 
was just tossing the worst insult he could think of at her--a bit 
like Ron saying, "Get away from me, werewolf!" Ron did not say 
that because he hated werewolves, he said it because he hated 
Lupin.

 But I wonder why people make so much of Snape's insult and 
ignore the utterly sexist "I will [leave Snape alone] if you go out 
with me." What *that* says about Lily's honor, I don't like to think.

"You're just as as bad as he is..." IMO, that's not hyperbole, that's 
the gospel according to Rowling. James was indeed just as bad 
as Severus. James undoubtedly became a better person and 
Severus undoubtedly became worse, but there wasn't much to 
choose between them at that point, IMO.

I can understand why some people, although acknowledging 
that James's behavior was really really bad, are reluctant to call it 
evil. But I think that's a semantic thing. "I'm flawed, you're really 
bad, he's evil." Of course, if a character who is better than we are 
is evil, where does that leave the rest of us? I have a feeling 
JKR's answer would be, "In desperate need of a second 
chance." 

James found his second chance sooner than Snape did, but 
they both needed it.  We *know* James caused lasting harm to 
Snape--Dumbledore said so. Wounds too deep for healing, 
remember? James eventually became so good that even 
Dumbledore was ready to overlook how bad he had been before, 
but Snape can't, because he's still hurting.


Pippin