Neville and Snape (was What standards are we using)/Stigmatizing Slytherin

[sistermagpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 144409

Pookie:

I am unsure that the other houses see themselves as "better".  I 
> went to a boarding school that had something like that (different 
> "houses") and we all thought ours was THE one to be in but from 
> what I see only the house of Slytherin seem to actually think 
> they are better- perhaps it is from the Pure blood thinking they 
> think they are better? 


Magpie:

It just seems to me that Slytherin is openly described as the bad 
house, the one to be hissed at and hated.  Harry tells Neville he 
should be proud to be in Gryffindor, and that Malfoy winding up in 
stinking Slytherin proves how Neville is worth twelve of him. Nobody 
questions there not being any Slytherins in the DA.  Harry 
wants "anything but Slytherin at his Sorting, Ron says he wouldn't 
be in that house for the world or something.  Hagrid says not a 
wizard that went bad wasn't in Slytherin. All these seem like pretty 
clear judgments on the character of Slytherins being inferior.

Of course, there's often also a sort of casual dismissal of 
Hufflepuffs as being duffers, though that seems to be challenged 
within the stories. The other houses seem like they're probably more 
like the houses at your school, but yeah, I think the Gryffindors 
absolutely consider themselves morally superior to Slytherins and 
pretty open about it.  

At a regular school you're just sorted into a house.  At Hogwarts 
you're judged on the basis of the qualities of your personality.  It 
invites personal judgment.

-m