The good Slytherin - Shades of Grey

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 131390

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "dumbledore11214"
<dumbledore11214 at y...> wrote:
> > >>Alla: 
> > >It may be unfair to think of the whole house when I only hear 
> > Draco, but again, I have not met other Slytherins yet, not
> > really.<
  
> > Betsy Hp:
> > Exactly!  It's just as fair to judge Slytherin solely by Draco's 
> > actions as it is to judge Gryffindor soley by, for example, how we 
> > saw Percy ..

 
> Alla:
> 
> OK, Betsy I feel like we are arguing in circles.
> 
> I am OPEN to the idea of good Slytherin, really. I just do not see 
> how Harry can have a better opinion of Slytherins , if all what he 
> saw is Draco and his chronies.
 
  
> > Betsy Hp:
> <SNIP>
>  But he did and does have huge negative thoughts towards 
> > Slytherin.  And Draco fulfilled his worst imaginations.  But since 
> > Draco *is* Slytherin to Harry, no other view point stood a chance.  
> > ...
 
 
> Alla:
> 
> I think you have my train of thought backwards.
> 
> I do not believe that Harry was predisposed to dislike Slytherin 
> BEFORE he met Draco. I believe that Harry dislikes Slytherins 
> BECAUSE he met Draco and THAT I believe is a very rational thing 
> to do.
> 
> Again, I AGREE  that Harry will see  that not all Slytherins are as 
> bad as Draco is, but for now in my mind Draco is the typical 
> representative of House Slytherin simply because I did not see 
> anything to the contrary.
> 
> ...
> 
>  
> JMO,
> 
> Alla.

bboyminn with general comments:

Hummm.... tricky business this good Slytherin thing. First I don't
think /good/ means good, I think it means /not bad/; not hopelessly evil. 

To illustrate, if Draco is redeemed, he will still be a jerk, he'll
just be a jerk who is not on Voldemort's side. The same is true of
other Slytherins, just because they don't support Voldemort, just
because they don't actively oppose Harry, doesn't mean that are all
going to break out into a rousing chorus of 'A Spoon Full of Sugar'.

Slytherin probably are selfish and ambitious, which is exactly how
they got into that House. The probably do lean toward believing that
there is something to being a pureblood. But there are all kinds of
people who elevate themselves for a variety of harmless reason. Some
people in the USA take great status in saying there ancestors came
over on the Mayflower. Personally, I just discovered that a relative
on my father's side of the family signed the Declaration of Independance. 

In Europe, being related to Royalty carries a lot of status and pride.
Even being able to classify yourself as an 'aristocrat', whatever that
means, carries pride and status. Being able to take pride in being
Pureblood isn't really any different that taking pride in being among
the aristocracy. Yes... yes.. I know everyone equates it with racism,
and for Draco that is true, but for other Slytherins, rather than
being a psychotic obssession, it may simply be a point of pride. 

So, how do we know that other Slytherin are not as deranged, obssessed
and nasty as Draco, because of the very fact that Harry doesn't know
them. If they were in-his-face, if they were causing him problems, he
would sure enough know who they are. The fact that they are not, tells
me that they are minding their own business. It further implies that
when the chips are finally down, they will not necesarily side with
Draco. 

It's also possible for the other Slytherins to be nearly a ruthless,
greedy, and cunning as Draco, but to also realize that if their
parents aren't among the rank and file Death Eaters, then Voldemort
winning spells economic ruin for their very ambitious plans to get
stinking rich. Any smart ambitious business person know that if the
world is taken over by a psychotic deranged dictator it's never good
for business. The corrupt and powerful at the top get stinking rich,
but that wealth comes at the economic detriment of everyone else. If
I'm an ambitious Slytherin, that doesn't sound like a good plan to me.

There is plenty of room for the 'good' Slytherin to be generally /not
nice/, and still not support Voldemort. If they don't support
Voldemort, then cooperation with the rest of the wizard world is to
their advantage. That in turn mean they work for the good guys, which
in turn makes them 'good' Slytherins even if they are not nice Slytherins.

In a sense, good Slytherins are simply Slytherins who will not follow
Draco or Voldemort. It certainly does not mean that they will be
showering Harry with warn hugs and kisses.

Search for the answer in the shades of grey, not in pure black and white.

Just one man's opinion.

Steve/bboyminn