SNAPE - is he actually bad?

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 143492

> Whiz:
> I believe that Snape is evil and trying to eliminate both Voldemort
and Dumbledore.  Dumbledore does trust Snape, and now that we've seen
the Unbreakable Vow, we may have a clue why.  As for Voldemort, once a
DE always a DE.  There's no getting out of that club, so Snape has to
play his hand very carefully, especially since other DEs, like members
of the Order, are suspicious of his loyalty.
> 
> The subplot about racism and Slytherin's purification of the race
> agenda seems to me to be Snape's part in the story.

Carol responds:
I agree that Snape has to play his hand carefully and that he's not a
true supporter of Voldemort, but that's all I agree with. Can you
provide any evidence, aside from the one instance when he calls Lily a
"Mudblood" (as a humiliated teenage boy under duress) when he's shown
any inclination to uphold pureblood values? Yes, he's a Slytherin, but
he's a half-blood, and his treatment of Neville (an inept pureblood),
Harry (a supposedly mediocre halfblood), Ron (an ordinary pureblood),
and Hermione (a Muggleborn know-it-all) has more to do with their
being in Gryffindor and with their respective personalities than with
their blood status. Hagrid, oddly enough, labels people as "Squib" or
"Muggle." Phineas Nigelus labels Mundungus Fletcher as a half-blood.
But I can't think of a single instance when Snape does anything
similar, unless you count "How should I know how a werewolf thinks?"
(PoA, quoted from memory). Can you cite some canon to support your
position?

Also, I don't see how the Unbreakable Vow gives us a clue as to why
Dumbledore trusts Snape. Can you clarify, please?

Carol, who sees no evidence that Snape intends to seek power for himself