Nope, no consensus on Snape (was Re: Snape's Grudge)

[montavilla47]

No: HPFGUIDX 142724

 > Alla:
<SNIP>
> Woudn't you agree that Snape did what ANY half decent person was 
> supposed to do after such person realised that being a member of 
> terrorist organization is very very WRONG?


Montavilla:

Maybe any half-decent person ought to do what Snape did in returning to Dumbledore, 
but it isn't necessarily an easy thing to do.  We have any number of examples in real life 
right now of how difficult it can be to whistle-blow on a powerful organization, even (and 
especially) those who are supposed to be lawful.

Think what it took for the soldiers who exposed the abuses in our military prisons.  Think 
about what happened to an ambassador and his wife when he pointed out a factual error 
in a political speech.  If you liken the Death Eaters to, say, a gangster mob, what does it 
take to turn state's witness on them?  In that case, you're fortunate if you don't have 
friends or relatives they can kill in revenge.  

How easy was it to expose the executives and accountants who robbed the employees of 
Enron?  Or release the memos that showed tobacco companies understood the dangers of 
cigarettes and hid study results.

Did Snape gain all that much from returning to Dumbledore?  He got a job and a place to 
live during the school year out of it.  If he's DDM!Snape and Voldemort finds out for sure, 
then he's earned a very painful death.  If he's LVM!Snape (as he certainly appears to be 
now) and the Ministry catches him, he'll get Azkaban for life at least.  Even before killing 
Dumbledore, he'd get Azakaban for life, like any other Death Eater.

If ANY half-decent person would defy their own colleagues and bosses to do the right 
thing, then there would be a lot less casual evil in the world.  Yes, they should.  We all 
should.  But very few do.

Montavilla.