Cultural standards for Snape abusiv

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 144411

> Alla:
> 
> I don't have a problem with healing Snape per se, but am hoping that 
> JKR will make him pay first or at least ASK for Harry to forgive 
> him. I also don't want to see Harry behave as Saint and to me 
> forgiving Snape without any indication that Snape at least regrets 
> his actions will amount to saintly behavior. :-)
> 

Pippin:
I don't have a problem with Snape apologizing if he chooses to.
I have a problem with Harry or anyone else *making* him do it.
That's what Lily was saying too, I think. I don't think you have
to be a saint to see that forcing someone to apologize is just
power-tripping, IMO.

Alla:
> Again, just me. I am sure JKR will be able to pull off any case 
> scenario, just thinking that Snape will not go punishment free. Two 
> or three words, Pippin is it REALLY that hard for Snape to say I am 
> ashamed of what I did? Do you think he is really so not in control 
> of his facilities that he cannot look Harry in the eyes and say " I 
> am sorry". I think for all my dislike of him as "person", I have a 
> higher opinion of his ability to change than you do :-).
> 

Pippin:
I guess I am not clear what Snape is supposed to be punished for,
DDM!Snape, I mean. If it is for serving Voldemort, then I think he is
supposed to have paid for his crimes by changing sides and saving
Harry. I know you think that any teacher would have done that, but
the fact is, Harry himself tells Slughorn that he is *not* agreeing to
help Dumbledore fight Voldemort by taking a Hogwarts job.
Even now, when everyone knows Voldemort is back and the whole
wizarding world is in danger, ordinary teachers are not expected 
to take a hand in the fight. 

If it is for using the 'wrong' teaching methods, I think they are allowable by
Hogwarts standards even if Harry and Neville were frightened by them.
The different standards thing shows up really clearly in your example.
IIRC,where you grew up, no one thinks it is wrong for children to be
left at home for long periods alone. If something happens to such a
child, I guess people would not blame the parents for leaving, they
would say it was just one of those things, right? But in
my country, the parents would be blamed. Can you see how different 
that is? It doesn't have to mean that one culture is right and the other
is wrong, it just means they have made different choices about how
to take care of children. 

If it is for losing his temper occasionally, or for abusing his power, 
fine, as long as everyone else in canon who loses their temper
and abuses power is also punished. To punish just Snape in the name
of showing that these things are wrong and in an ideal world everyone
would be punished for them -- well, that is the definition of scapegoating,
IMO.


I really am not sure how much of Snape's behavior he can help. I don't
think he terrorizes all the children -- we've never seen him lose his 
temper with any child except Harry, have we? He's never lost it with
Harry in class, either. It's only when they are not in class, and Harry
has been doing something particularly James-like, that Snape can't
seem to handle himself. So I don't think Snape is out of control
generally, just in very particular circumstances. Neville and Harry are
sort of a perfect storm. 

Snape is not the only person who can't understand why Neville isn't 
better at magic and has attempted to bully more magic out of him -- 
even McGonagall has done so. And doesn't Hagrid say that magic 
shows itself when people are angry or frightened? So it would be
very easy for Snape to make excuses for himself in Neville's case.
I'm not saying they're valid, just that Neville seems to bring out
the bully in a lot of wizards besides Snape. Are they all going to
apologize too?


Pippin