Snape as one of the Good Guys... again

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 127658


 Alla earlier:
 
Well, I think that Catlady's example was right on target. I don't 
think that she was trying to analogize everybody's else actions as 
much as Snape's. You said it yourself - this "hypothetical" order 
member was willing to indulge in strictly personal actions on  
expense of the order. Well, that is EXACTLY what I happen to think 
Snape is doing. I mean, definitely, if you don't think that Snape
is really carrying a grudge against James to Harry, then analogy 
won't work, but otherwise, yes, to me Snape is THAT self-indulgent.
 

Magda: 
I don't think carrying a grudge is the same thing as rape or assault.
They are very different things and not at all comparable. Rape and
assault are crimes, and carrying a grudge is not.


Alla:

Yes, of course, they are not the same things, but again, IMO it 
works on "analogy" level, not on the literal level of comparison.

In your earlier post you were arguing that being on the side of 
Dumbledore is the only "good" that counts in the large sense, 
correct?

So, no matter what Order members or whoever fight Voldemort do while 
they don't fight Voldemort directly, they are still the good guys, 
correct? If I am misrepresenting your argument, please correct me.

Now, Catlady gave a very good hypothetical of the act, which 
hypothetical order member commits, while NOT fighting Voldemort 
directly.

Whether in the "METAPHORICAL" sense Snape actions could be 
analogysed to rape, I am not sure, but I am not directly opposed to 
that analogy.

 
Magda:
If the hypothetical Order member was refusing to obey orders because
he was jealous that Hermione's marks were better than his, then it
would be grounds for concern and Dumbledore should step in and deal
with it.  But it would not mean that the HOM is a Bad Guy(TM), it
would just mean that he needed some strong guidance from an objective
person who could set him straight.  Jealousy is a character flaw, not
a crime.

Alla:

Well, who says that bad guys do not need counsel, unless they are 
totally lost to the Dark and don't accept any counsel? I think this 
is a very good example, actually. I would only add to this example 
that such hypothetical order member would do his/her best to 
sabotage Hermione's marks somehow.



Magda:
And since I think Snape did a better job teaching occlumency than we
could have hoped for based on the first four books, I don't blame the
grudge for their lack of success.  As you say, there was a lot of
backstory between Snape and Harry by this time, and Dumbledore should
have realized it.  As Snape says, "I assure you I did not beg for the
job", and there's no reason to think he's lying.


Alla:

But such backstory, the lack of trust,etc was totally created by 
Snape ( IMO only), so yes, I think that  the fact that he let his 
personal feelings interfere with professional ones for five years 
with Dumbledore turning a blind eye to it of course hurt their cause 
tremendously.

To make a long story short - my SPECULATIVE conclusion of my highly 
speculative post is that Snape's not being NICE to Harry for five 
years hurt the side of GOOD in a major way.


My opinion only,

Alla.