[HPforGrownups] Behavoir justification was Re: Snape and Harry again.

[Kethryn]

No: HPFGUIDX 114020


Kethryn: 
>> Kethryn who admits that she may be biased slightly towards Snape 
because Alan Rickman plays him in the movies but, at the same time, 
is having a hard time with the scene in the pensive still because 
she wants a reason why James acted like a jerk and a bully without 
making either Snape or James out to be the big bad monster.

Potioncat:
>>I agree (with both parts)  Lots of us get caught up in the bad!James-
-good!James vrs Good!Snape--bad!Snape discussions.  The thing to 
keep in mind is that in the end, both were fighting LV. 


Kethryn again -

Which begs the question, does the end justify the means?  That certainly is a theme that JKR is exploring (the use of the unforgivable curses on the Death Eaters for example) and, just because Snape, for example, is in the OotP, does that justify his behavoir?  Ok, I don't like that example.  Let's take Umbridge (I think we can agree the woman is a sadistic <insert not very nice word of your choice here> who was working on behalf of the Ministry.  Does the fact that she was, presumably, following orders justify her sadistic treatment of Harry?  I don't think so and I desperatly wish that Harry had told someone about what she was doing with the whole writing lines thing.  That is straight up abuse and there is no justification big enough for it and ANY teacher worth his/her salt would have put a stop to it.  I even believe that Snape would have thrown a conniption fit if he knew about it...it is one thing for him to treat Harry like garbage but I think he would prevent anyone...sorry, make that any other adult...from doing so, if it were in his powers.  In my opinion, in Snape's mind, it's one thing for Malfoy to torment Harry because he is just a kid and, like it or not, children are most adept at torturing other children without the teachers coming down on them.  Bullying, from child to child, is considered part of the growing up process (and it does suck, says the child who was bullied) but from adult to child is child abuse and that has a nice long jail sentance to go with it.

So, Snape doesn't stop Malfoy but I believe that he would have stopped Umbridge if he knew what the deal was.

Kethryn who doesn't quite understand why Hermione and Ron did not write to their respective parents about Umbridge, especially when they learned what she was doing to Harry, and who kind of gets why Harry didn't tell anyone, abused children rarely speak out after all, but neither Hermione nor Ron were constrained by the same thing that constrains Harry.  

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