SNAPE - is he actually bad?

[whizbang]

No: HPFGUIDX 143515

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "justcarol67" <justcarol67 at y...>
wrote:

> Carol responds:
> 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? 
snip
> has more to do with their being in Gryffindor and with their 
> respective personalities than with their blood status. 

Whiz: 
Well if by "respective personalities" you mean Bloodtraitors and
Mugglelovers, then yes, it's because they are all in Gryffindor. 
Therefore Snape is upholding pureblood values when he bullies and ill
treats them.  Remember, purebloods tolerate halfbloods.  Hermione
mentions this when she says that the DEs would love to have Harry and
Ron join up.  I get the impression that halfbloods probably wouldn't
hold any important Ministry positions, but they would be tolerated. 
It's the muggles, muggleborns, and halfbreeds that purebloods show
racial intolerance towards.  

In that regard, Snape's calling Lily a mudblood is significant.  He
could have said he didn't need any help from a girl or from a
Gryffindor, or even a muggleborn.  But instead, he chose to use a
racial slur.   The fact that he was under duress is more reason to
accept that this is his true belief.  If he wasn't upset, he might
have thought the better of calling a school prefect a mudblood. 

Carol:
> 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). 

Whiz:
Snape's actions speak louder then words.  

Revealing Lupin's condition to his Slytherin students after being
sworn to secrecy is a good example, however, as is joining the Death
Eaters back when Voldemort was preaching Slytherin's purification of
the race.  Being Lucius Malfoy's "good friend" as Narcissa calls him,
puts Snape in the company of a man whose ideology was unmistakably
stated in CoS.  

But clearly, he does not wish to serve Voldemort the Megalomaniac, so
Snape must have been among those who got "cold feet" and tried to
escape the DEs.  But there is no escape, so Snape must continue to
pretend to be loyal to Voldemort.

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

Whiz: 
Dumbledore's constant insistence that he trusts Snape suggests to me
that he has a good reason to do so.  We have already seen Snape betray
Dumbledore once, by revealing Lupin's condition after swearing
secrecy.  Dumbledore may believe in second chances, but he's not an
idiot.  

The Unbreakable Vow is an example of the kind of magic that can bind a
wizard to certain behavior.  A similar bond between Dumbledore and
Snape may exist, giving Dumbledore a reason to trust Snape.  I tend to
believe that Dumbledore saved Snape's life when he took him to
Hogwarts, not only keeping him out of Azkaban, but saving him from
other DEs.  We still don't know the all the ramifications and
requirements of a life debt, though I'm sure we'll find out soon
enough as Pettigrew owes his life to Harry.