Political positions of the characters/James reacting to Remus' lycanthropy.

[M.Clifford]

No: HPFGUIDX 150482

>
> a_svirn:
> *Vigilante* is even more ironic. They were anything but. It is the
> Marauders who were law-breakers, not their victims.

Valky:
In war people change the degrees of their moral compass, they act out
their feelings of entrapment in chaos, striking out at the nearest
symbols of the enemy. Children pick up lethal weapons, and others drop
bombs on semi-related civilian settlements. The war doesn't make it
less wrong, but that doesn't stop people getting caught up in
themselves as heroes of a cause and going through with such awful
deeds, despite that they are otherwise good and moral people.

Magpie:
But are you honestly seeing any of this in this scene?  

Valky:
Hi m :) I read your whole discourse although I think from this point
at the beginning there has been a misunderstanding. Well, actually, I
have to take some of that blame for that because I haven't spelled out
recently what I mean by bringing the 'being affected by war' canon
into this discussion, so I am sorry for that. I see your point and I
really do understand how you can say that the pensieve scene seems
very far removed from a wartime scenario. So to explain, I am actually
agreeing that the scene appears removed from the war issues, but it is
not happening in a void, as Alla has very eloquently said on numerous
occassions, there is a backdrop of context beyond the sunny sky and
girls sitting by the lake and I think the number of degrees separating
the schoolyard and the wizard world is much smaller than it seems. 

Now my postulation is that James and Sirius have gone beyond their
original ideological standpoint by the time they are in fifth year,
this is supported by the statement in OOtP (by Sirius? help me Loons)
that they'd had gotten 'carried away' (I think it was Lupin. )
As I see it they have gotten to the point where they believe it
understood by all that Snape is Hogwarts 'little DE' both dangerous
and ideologically the enemy in the war. And so from this platform, and
in the essence of their own 'risk makes it fun' personality they are
choosing to engage Snape to kill their boredom, this is the height of
cool to them and to many others who cheer them on, although later as
adults they realise it was nowhere near what they imagined it in their
minds to be and were not proud of it, in the schoolground they are
objectifying the war issues in a scenario where they are the symbols
and metaphorically the underdogs (light magic users), while Snape is
the overlord (Dark magic User). 

Now the fact that the children of Hogwarts are affected by the war is
only a few degrees from this scene in my theory.  

1. Snape has friends, or has been known to be friends with people, who
are all DE LV supporters, dangerous and Dark wizards with deadly
powers. Thes people are Snape's Friends and they do LV'S kind of magic
to hurt people. Snape has these big scary freinds, he does LV's kind
of magic too, plus he's a skilled dueller and he's a brilliant wizard
. It's not a leap to conclude that most kids at Hogwarts wouldn't
engage Snape in a hysterical fit, its no leap to conclude that he
scared the pants off everyone just by existing.  Can anyone honestly
object to that theory?

2.  They are in the war at this time. It need only be a few days
before this that news came in the Daily Prophet of some poor soul who
lost their family and loved ones to Voldemorts supporters and there is
the reality of their backdrop. Families are being torn apart, the
world is in turmoil, and nothing seems to be getting done to stop it,
moreover there's these kids at Hogwarts who are actually into that
stuff, its on the doorstep and its in the dormitories of Hogwarts. 

3. James and Sirius were both brilliant and gifted wizard kids. The
best at everything they did, according to Lupin. The "best", never
needing or wanting to study with two years of school to go. They were
worse than bored, is my guess. They were superior class wizards in the
art of Light magic, and as far as they were concerned couldn't wait to
prove that that meant 'Superior to The Dark Arts'.  And they didn't.

So these few degrees from the Dark is at light with the war - to -
pick on Snape because we are bored, is where I am coming from. These
things are removed from each other, but they are not unrelated, that
is the basis of my contention.

James and Sirius think that taunting Snape will cure their boredom.
Why? Because of point 1. He's scary, his friends are scary, its a
flirt with danger.  They accept admiration for this behaviour, why?
Because of point 1.  they are taking a risk and point 2.  they are
seen to be taking a stand against the bad ideaology that should have
no place at Hogwarts as far as they are concerned - Now after several
years of this feud going on between them is it really necessary for it
to be front of their minds and of the circumstances in their fifth
year, I think not. But that doesn't not mean its not part of what is
happening. And Finally, they do this without reason other than they
are bored, Why? because of point 3. They ARE bored, to such a degree
that they shouldn't even be at Hogwarts, they should be in Auror
training or something that would challenge their minds but apparently
the 70's WW did not accelerate the gifted. 

So to round the thing off nicely with a RL scenario heres the analogy
that I think fits the picture. 

You are a teenage boy in Germany 1940's some of your friends and loved
ones are Jewish people and you know of their suffering, and you hate
the ideaology of Genocide and propagandic brainwashing that is behind
it. At your school you know a boy, who hates you and kicks you
whenever he has the chance for whatever reason, and you know that he
reads the Hitler youth propaganda and goes to SS training, and you
know his friends are Browncoats who can and will shoot you on sight
for being a sympathiser with the enemy.  You know this kid hates you
and you know he carries a weapon. But you are the best boxer in your
boxing team and you think you can take him even with his weapons.

Are you brave if you walk up and punch him? Do you at least think you are?




Valky